Is there any reason ever to want or buy 14's for the xB?

Is there something 14's do that 15's, 16's, 17's, etc. can't achieve? (e.g. softer ride, better mileage, etc.)

Just very curious as I never see them on boxes! Thanks.

 

Tires are cheaper and lighter. I am sure there are a few more good reasons for this but I don't know any off the top of my head.

 

less weight! push that 105 harder! yeah! :D

 

The smaller the tire, the more rotations your wheel has to go through to go the same distance. And when I say smaller, I mean the outer circumference of the tire, not the standard tire size. The further you go away from stock the more you are affected, since the MPG, MPH and your car computer are all calibrated for the stock options.

Going down from 185/60/15 to 185/60/14 is a 4% Difference. In other words for every 100 revolutions that the 15" tire goes through the 14" goes through 104.

Over the course of a mile :

185/60/15 = 74.58" Circumference = 849 revolutions
185/60/14 = 71.44" Circumference = 886 revolutions

That is a difference of 220' every mile. Over time that is a lot of extra wear and tear on the drivetrain.

You can do the math for yourself and try different tires here :

http://www.csgnetwork.com/tireinfo4calc.html

 

I don't see the sense at all for going down in size....

 

Let's see, softer ride, less likely to sustain rim damage on potholes, cheaper tires, novelty...

The overall diameter isn't a function of the rim, but of the tire. All tall section tire on a small rim might be bigger than a short section on a large rim.

If you want to experiment with this, stock Echos came with 14s that bolt right onto xBs and xAs. You could probably make an Echo owner very happy with a trade!

 

i forget his name but theres a member with a BCP xB with 14" miata rims on it. doesnt look all that bad

 

i know who your talking about, they are his winter tires though and they are a black w/ poliched lip i think.

 

Hello
yup my winter wheels though I am thinking of throwing these back on the car the ride is smoother and it does have more pep.

 

doesnt look bad for 14's

 

14" = jdm k-car style.

plus you don't have to use 185/60 tires you can use 185/70 to keep the tire diameter closer to stock

 

Use 14" wheels with a higher profile tire (70s to 80s) the diameter will be similar, and the ride will be much smoother.

 

true

 

a few reason why to use 14's would be less strain on the engine. in return you get more torque and horse freed up because the engine isnt trying to turn something bigger.

 

Umm, I think that you need to rethink the problem. The wheels are smaller, but the tires end up being the same diameter. If you could get more torque and HP from smaller wheels, all the F&F guys would be running 12s!

 

Well there is the issue of rotational mass/unsprung weight. There are racing 14's under 10 lbs. What would be intereting is a comparison of the weight of tires with different width/aspect ratios...

 

good point... took a quick peek on tire rack and looked for similar tire diameter & same tire width vs. the oem size... ran across this...

michelin harmony...
185-60-15 (oem): 19 lbs diameter: 23.6"
185-65-14: 19 lbs diameter: 23.4"
185-70-14: 19 lbs diameter: 24.1"

seems the tire weights will be about equal... so pretty much the weight savings will be from the rims themselves...

 

Updated for the hell of it I think Im the only one rolling on 14's. Wraped em in new Falken Rubber and shot them with a fresh coat of paint.

 

i own a 98 subaru impreza L myself. the steel rims i have now weigh a total of 40 pounds a peice (rubber included). im going to sears to get some 18 pound 16"s big weight savings and cheap too, 270 for a set of 4 dunno if they come wrapped in rubber already and they look halfway decent

 

Where does one go to find decent looking 14's? Everyone's going larger so most stores only carry 17-18's or at the the smallest, 15's...

ebay is a little tedious, but looks like used may be the only available option?