Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler Why yes, I do use this forum for everything...

In addition to the kid, we just got a new (used) car: 2001 Honda Civic EX. It needs new tires (private seller, knocked down the price a bit because of it.) I called the tire shop our (trusted) mechanic recommended, got some outrageous prices on Yokohamas, and asked about Kumhos. Reviews tend to be good on those. In any case, he said he had some in stock, but they were of a slightly different size than the car called for. The car says 185/65HR15. The tires he mentioned were 190/60HR15. He said that the circumference was the same in the end. I thought I understood tire sizes, but apparently not. Can someone shed some light on this? What will using a slightly wider tire gain me in terms of performance, safety, treadwear, etc?

Ken, congrats on the Civic. My wife had a 2000 EX that never gave us a day of trouble.

Can I ask why you are looking at such fancy tires? The car itself is not at all tuned for performance. If I remember correctly, we replaced the tires on ours with the lowest price of "off brand" I could find. Honestly, I couldn't tell the difference in the way it drove.

Tried the same thing on the Accord EX we owned, and I hated the tires. Goes to show you......

Anyhow, as long as the final diameter stays the same, you'll be fine.

Here is an explanation of tire sizing.

Well, the car came with H rated tires, and I figured that's what I'd have to go with. I kind of feel like this guy's expensive, but now that I've started the process, I feel bad about backing out. Also, having the recommendation from my mechanic (again, whom I trust and value the advice of very much) kind of makes me think it's worth it.

Ken, I always buy my tires here Tire Rack, good prices with many choices.

+1 for Tirerack. Their online wizards will tell you the exact kinds of tires that are recommended and will fit.

My wife's car needed new tires a few months back and rather than paying the dealer $900+ for a new set, I ordered a much more highly rated set and had a local shop install them for a total of about $400.

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Ken, I always buy my tires here Tire Rack, good prices with many choices.

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How much does the install usually run for 4 tires (if you don't mind me asking)? I'm getting a number of ~$380 for the Kumhos, which look to retail at tire rack for $49/each. That's about $196. As I figure it, it would cost roughly $320 from the Tire Rack to a local installer of unknown quality. Of course, that's probably missing tax, etc.

No tax from the tire rack just the cost of shipping, Thursday I had 4 tires put on my Suburban at the local tire shop and they charged me $40.00.

Calculating the numbers, tires and shipping will run you around $233.00, even if the mounting costs $50.00 you still save close to $100.00.

Looks like around here, the mounting starts at $20/each+stems, disposal, etc.

Hi Ken,
I am a physician, not a tire salesman, and have been on-call since Friday 7am so I may be babbling nonsense at the moment. I just wanted to comment on the two tire sizes: the car's (185/65HR15) and the ones mentioned as appropriate (190/60HR15). You were told that "the circumference was the same in the end." These two tires are actually quite different in circumference. The first number is the section width in mm from outer to inner sidewall, the second number is the percent of that width (sidewall aspect ratio) that equals the sidewall height, and the last number is the rim width in inches. As you can see, both tires have quite similar section widths (185 vs 190) and rim size is equal (15). However, sidewall height in one tire is 114mm (60% of 190) whereas the other is 120.25mm (65% of 185). If you use the tire that he recommends, your speedometer will show falsely elevated speeds and you will rack up more miles on your odometer than actually traveled. If you are not compulsive and do not care about your actual speed or odometer, then you need not worry. However, we tend to be a compulsive and exacting bunch in the Axiom community and you should at least know the facts before deciding. Best of luck with the car and most importantly, with your kid!
John