RIP: 14" tires….?

[bmwtool]

I still have bottle caps on my convertible and a couple of months back, Tire Rack still had a couple of options in 195/65/14. Today: zero. Even in the wrong size, 195/60/14, the choices are down to a couple of "grand touring" options, one snow tire, and one summer tire. Race rubber is still available, but is it game over for 14" on the street?

Anybody know of any good options for tires? Will we all be turning our bottle caps into hose reels and end tables in the not-too-distant future?

[Panici]

I still have bottle caps on my convertible and a couple of months back, Tire Rack still had a couple of options in 195/65/14. Today: zero. Even in the wrong size, 195/60/14, the choices are down to a couple of "grand touring" options, one snow tire, and one summer tire. Race rubber is still available, but is it game over for 14" on the street?

Anybody know of any good options for tires? Will we all be turning our bottle caps into hose reels and end tables in the not-too-distant future?

I don't think 14" tires are going away just yet.
There are still lots of older hondas and the like running around on 14" wheels.
A search for 185/65/14 turned up 26 results on tirerack.com


However as you've said, in the stock size of 195/65/14 the selection is dwindling.
Those of us still running 14" wheels may be forced to non-original tire sizes.

Chances are those running on 14" wheels with big sidewalls aren't super concerned with performance, so a small loss in tread width isn't a big deal. Of greater concern is overall sidewall height, which will effect speedometer accuracy.

Eventually 14" tires will disappear, unless there is a specific market driving their production (like the 10", 12" and 13" tires for classic mini coopers).


For reference, here are some size comparisons for non-standard sidewall heights and tread widths.

[BlueMonday]

I just bought a set of Falken Ziex ZE 329 from pep boys. Cost me $340 installed with a 4 for 3 promo. Stock size. They have loads of grip in the dry and wet right now, but if they're like my last set of Falken's they will go off in a few thousand miles. For now I'm happy, even though it's hard to get them to chirp at the moment. :)

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

[estoguy]

I've been running 185 65/14s since I got myt E30... as Panici said, you'll find way more options, as it was a common size for a lot of cars in the 90s. I bomb around in my E30 just fine with those on my bottlecaps.

[nrubenstein]

There are also some decent choices in 185/70-14.

Discount Tire Direct is showing one Falken in 195/65, but I'd probably got 185/70 for a better tire.

[MrBurgundy]

I know Federal makes a 205 65 14

[M10Power]

RIP: 14" Tires

New to E30 ownership and hence new to this forum. Glad to have found this recent thread as I am looking to replace the cheapo rubber that's wrapped around my bottlecaps. I'd checked Costco and TireRack for 195/60/14s and was getting a little dismayed at the lack of results. Here are the tires Panici referenced at TireRack. Any suggestions on these options would be most appreciated!

[Das Delfin]

I got a set of Falken Sincera 14" in the original size a few months ago at America's tires. They are a standard all season tire with a nice warranty. If you want to go to a 16" there are more tire sizes available. A 205/50/16 would be a comparable size to original

[bmwtool]

I got a set of Falken Sincera 14" in the original size a few months ago at America's tires...

This is the issue. Options are disappearing as we speak. I can't find anything remotely like a performance street tire (not counting race rubber) in a 14" from any of my usual vendors.

[redlightpete]

This is the issue. Options are disappearing as we speak. I can't find anything remotely like a performance street tire (not counting race rubber) in a 14" from any of my usual vendors.

Looks like the Falken RT-615K is the last performance option. It is still available in 195/60-14.

[g.ruff561]

Nexen makes a very good 205/60/14. CP???? This is the tire size I like for oem bottlecaps.

[bmwtool]

Nexen makes a very good 205/60/14. CP???? This is the tire size I like for oem bottlecaps.

Cool, thanks for the tip!

[318kid]

I think it's going to be 185/65r14 or 185/70r14 in the future for me. I just installed a set of Snow tires in 185/65r14 and they are good, but I will probably stick with 185/70r14 in the future since it's closer to the original. The problem I've had is that generally a "Name Brand" tire shop won't swap your older 195's for 185's since it isn't the OE tire size!

[Fucatypr]

Looks like the Falken RT-615K is the last performance option. It is still available in 195/60-14.

I run these on my civic and I love them. I will be putting them on the e30 for this winter because it's too cold to run my pirelli trofeo Rs.

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[mike.bmw]

I'm struggling with this right now. I bought my 318is in March of this year. It has 195/65R14 Falken Sincera SN-828s now that are a tad below 2/32nds. They have worn very evenly and are in excellent shape, save for the low tread. They won't pass state inspection come March 2017

I like quality tires. Coming from a track and autocross background, I'm very familiar with tires for that market. On previous cars I've run dedicated summer, track, and winter setups. I am trying to keep this car all original, so I don't really want to upgrade to 15" wheels.

Tirerack has nothing in 195/65/R14 or 205/60R14, which are the only two sizes I will run on the stock 14x6.5 basketweaves. DiscountTireDirect has the Falken Sincera SN-828s that are on the car now @ $70 per tire.

I've expanded my search, but I really have no clue what most of these cheaper tire brands are (I probably sound like a tire snob). I just want something that wears nicely, provides good dry traction in both warm and cold weather. The 318is is a garage queen. it doesn't get drive in the rain, but it does get driven on nice summer and winter days.

I attempted to purchase 195/65R14 Falken Ziex 329s from Pep Boys. I called to see if they were in stock. I placed the online order. I drove to the store, after verifying stock (again), and when I arrived at the store they told me they no longer carry that tire. Thanks, Pep Boys. Good thing I called. Twice.

I've found a few cheap-tire sites that offer tires in the 205/60 and 195/65 size. Some of the reviews are decent, but they certainly aren't TireRack in depth reviews.

Here's what I've found in 205/60: https://simpletire.com/catalog?selec...m=14&zip=20170

Here's what I've found in 195/65: https://simpletire.com/catalog?selec...&query=catalog

The Doral SDL-As (Sumic GTA rebranded, manufactured by Sumitomo) are tempting at less than $50 per tire. They have to be complete crap though, right? I'm willing to spend more to find something truly good/decent.

The Federal SS595s are tempting as well. Towards the end of my semi-serious autocross days folks started using Federals (r-somethings) and they liked them. Not sure how I feel about the directional tread and it limits my rotation from front to back (single sided).

I'm not sure what else is available or where to look. I've called all my local tire chains (including Costco). I've looked at vulcantire, tirerack, 1010tires, justtires, discounttiredirect, and simpletire.

Any thoughts are appreciated.