The Yaris I brought home came with the upgraded 15 inch wheel/tire combo. The base models came with 14's. Looking around, 15's aren't looking too cheap. Would I be able to get away with going back to a set of 14's? I can get wheels and tires much more affordable in them..
Define "tires". One of the problems I have with my Golf is that there's a great many BMWE36y things at Wal-Mart & PepBoys to put on my 14" rims, but if I want something that does anything other than keep the car off the ground, there's nothing there for street sportscars with rims that "small". No Yokos, no Toyos, no Kumhos, no Pirellis, etc...
You can get 15s for under $60. Any decent 14 inch tire wont really be enough cheaper to be worth it.
I love the 14" BBS basket weaves on my Miata (10lbs each). I do not love finding tires for them. The two current selections are ancient: the Falken Azenis 615 and the Hankook RS-2. Both completely outdated in terms of hot street tire.
If you're looking for something a little bit less aggressive, they probably exist and are cheap, but few people review tires that small, and to be frank, there's a lot of sidewall on a 14". Your handling will suffer.
The Yaris came with 15 in Bridgestone RE-92's. These are the stock tire that came on Wrx's originally. Looking at them on Tire Rack, they have horrible reviews and I would like to get them off before winter. Since i'm on the road for work every day and drive alot on the highway, I just want to find a set of alloys that aren't uber expensive that I could put some daily driver type tires on. I've found some decent 14 inch Crx and Miata wheels on Craigslist for cheap..
peter wrote: I love the 14" BBS basket weaves on my Miata (10lbs each). I do not love finding tires for them. The two current selections are ancient: the Falken Azenis 615 and the Hankook RS-2. Both completely outdated in terms of hot street tire. If you're looking for something a little bit less aggressive, they probably exist and are cheap, but few people review tires that small, and to be frank, there's a lot of sidewall on a 14". Your handling will suffer.
the 615 may be outdated, but it will still grip more than the yaris probably needs. My old 215s still grip more than I need on the street on my miatas.
Joey
peter wrote: I love the 14" BBS basket weaves on my Miata (10lbs each). I do not love finding tires for them. The two current selections are ancient: the Falken Azenis 615 and the Hankook RS-2. Both completely outdated in terms of hot street tire. If you're looking for something a little bit less aggressive, they probably exist and are cheap, but few people review tires that small, and to be frank, there's a lot of sidewall on a 14". Your handling will suffer.
I agree that 14 tire choices suck, but why would going down one size make handling worse? You've lowered your CG, probably your unsprung weight, and the sidewall dimmensions will only be greater if the aspect ratio differs... I used to go down two sizes on diameter on my track tires.
Make sure that they clear your brakes.
"
Correction. The RT615 and RS2 are not outdated for the street. They might not have the same 10/10ths performance at an autocross, but on the actual street they are still WAY more grip than needed.
Get 14" wheels and the Falken Ziex912. That tire was GRM's favorite non-autocross tire.
Having tried the 14" route for a bit... I'm back on 15"s now.
I know this won't matter to you... but with the brake clearance on my 14" panasports and miata brakes... I couldn't for the life of me keep brake weights from melting off. Back to 15" and no more issues and ALOT more nicer tire choices.
kreb wrote: I agree that 14" tire choices suck, but why would going down one size make handling worse? You've lowered your CG, probably your unsprung weight, and the sidewall dimmensions will only be greater if the aspect ratio differs... I used to go down two sizes on diameter on my track tires. Make sure that they clear your brakes.
I agree with your track tire downsizing and reasoning, but I think the OP is about a daily driven street car where outside diameter between the 14 and 15s would remain the same. Which would increase the sidewall height.
When changing wheel sizes people tend to forget, it is the tire that is put on the wheel that defines the final result. Going from the original outside diameter will have an effect on the speedometer and in a way fuel mileage.
dxman92 wrote: The Yaris I brought home came with the upgraded 15 inch wheel/tire combo. The base models came with 14's. Looking around, 15's aren't looking too cheap. Would I be able to get away with going back to a set of 14's? I can get wheels and tires much more affordable in them..
IIRC, the 50-series equivalent to OE 15's is a 205/50-15. There would be no change in gearing or speedo readings.
A quick search on Tire Rack's website revealed at least three different choices with prices below $70 each. That's not a bad price level for a performance tire and any of the three would likely be an improvement over the OE tires.
I've always thought a lowered Yaris with 15x7 wheels and 205/50's could be a rather fun and economical ride.
dxman92 wrote: I just want to find a set of alloys that aren't uber expensive that I could put some daily driver type tires on.
So the issue is more the cost of the wheels then?
What's your bolt pattern? Im assuming 4x100 since you mentioned miata wheels. Ive been able to snag cheap alloys with tires for under $100 for a set of 4 at scrapyards, CL is not always your best answer. But 4x100s are everywhere and easy to find cheap in 15s.
In reply to JThw8:
If the Yaris holds to typical Toyota behavior, the wheels should be 4x100, with one the smallest center bore dimensions.
That means virtually all 4-lug VW wheels will fit, all 4-lug Civic wheels (from 1980) and Miatas, too.
Time for a trip to yard, and take a tape measure along with some cash. You have tons of choices.
so to save money on tires, you're going to go buy some 14" wheels? and then buy some (slightly cheaper) 14" tires?
I bought 15" wheels for the Ranger because I didn't like the 14" tire choices...
ditto my E30...
I parked a set of "racing only" Panasports that we were running on my wife's miata due to the lack of 14" tire choices. BBS's from salvage '95M with Khumo 195/50 were the better option.
How hard are 15's from a Miata to find?
dxman92 wrote: How hard are 15's from a Miata to find?
You won't know until you start checking out EBay, CraigsList, or your local salvage yards.
Do your homework.
mel_horn wrote: I bought 15" wheels for the Ranger because I didn't like the 14" tire choices... ditto my E30...
Yeah, it's getting weird. There are many more choices avalible for my Corrados (both on the stock 15" BBSs right now) than there are for my Golf (with my bright shiny NOS "snowflakes").
Maybe it's my age, but I never thought I'd see the day when a 15" was considered a "small" tire...
You can find many "take-offs" from NB cars. There werent that many NA's that had 15's. There are many, many aftermarket 15" choices. YMMV
dxman92 wrote: The Yaris came with 15 in Bridgestone RE-92's. These are the stock tire that came on Wrx's originally. Looking at them on Tire Rack, they have horrible reviews and I would like to get them off before winter. Since i'm on the road for work every day and drive alot on the highway, I just want to find a set of alloys that aren't uber expensive that I could put some daily driver type tires on. I've found some decent 14 inch Crx and Miata wheels on Craigslist for cheap..
these are the worst tires ever...they came stock on many nissans as well and caused many accidents, especially in the rain. RE92s....take them off as soon as you can.
You can keep the 15s and replace just the tires with better ones for not a lot of money (then again, it wouldn't take much to be better than an RE-92). But 14" wheels are cheap, especially stock alloys from another car. My autocross wheels are 1st gen CRX alloys that I got a deal on - they look a little weird on a Miata but they work. 
You'll have MUCH better tire selection in a 15" size. If you're just looking for good, cheap tires, switching to 14" could work, but I don't see that buying wheels AND tires would save you anything over simply replacing the 15" tires on the wheels you have now.
You can keep the 15s and replace just the tires with better ones for not a lot of money (then again, it wouldn't take much to be better than an RE-92). But 14" wheels are cheap, especially stock alloys from another car. My autocross wheels are 1st gen CRX alloys that I got a deal on - they look a little weird on a Miata but they work.
You'll have MUCH better tire selection in a 15" size. If you're just looking for good, cheap tires, switching to 14" could work, but I don't see that buying wheels AND tires would save you anything over simply replacing the 15" tires on the wheels you have now.
If your goal is to get rid of the Bridgestones in order to improve snow performance stay away from the Falken Ziex912s. It is July and I think my Falkens are still spinning from the Chicago snow.
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