Hey everyone.
The previous owner put on 13inch epic chrome wheels. I had them on for a day when i go the car on the road, but i got a good deal on some 14inch stock wheels, so i had those put on. I was just wondering if anyone was running smaller rims? Im thinking of putting some new tires on these wheels for the summer. They are cheap! haha I like the look of the smaller wheel, rather than a bigger wheel, like a 17inch.
Heres a picture of the car when i first got it with the epic wheels:

The tire that is on the rims, are 185/70R13. What would a 175/70R13 look like in comparison?

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84 2m4

I wouldn't necessarily change rims but I would look at tires. The profile and style of tire can make a huge difference. The rims you have look very nice and they do have an advantage. The smaller size rims are very good for tight manouveuring. I found back in the 70's that the guys with smaller rims had an advantage on a slalom track.

So long as the rims look good, I don't see any advantage to changing. Of course if you want the big rim look, don't settle for a size up. Go up to 17's.

In the meanwhile, I think your rims look pretty darn good.

Arn

This website will give you the tool to see the different aspect ratios in real dimensional difference.

http://www.fieroshop.com.au/tyrecalculator/
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[This message has been edited by Arns85GT (edited 02-08-2009).]

With the 175/70R13 you would be 7 mm lower than with the 185/70R13.
You would also have 7 mm more wheelgap with the 175/70R13 tires.
(7mm = slightly more than a quarter inch)
The rubber tread would be 10mm smaller in width (about 3/8 of an inch)

Depending on what the car is calibrated for, the speedometer would also be off by 2.4% if it were calibrated for the 185/70R13.
Use a tire size calculator (like below) to find a tire that matches the diameter given the info on the doorsill.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

edited to fix profile of tire
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1988 Fiero GT

[This message has been edited by Daniel (edited 02-08-2009).]

The standard tire size for the Fieros with 13 inch rims is 185/80/R13. You need to get something about the same height to keep your speedometer near correct. You can use this http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp or http://www.venommotorsports...ewheelcalculator.asp or any other tire size calculator keep it near correct. The 185/70R13s you have now are actually not tall enough, so your speedo probably runs a little on the high side. You could run 195/70 or 75 R13 and it would be better. The 175/70R13 is too small. You speedo would show 75 when you're actually doing 69.

Most guys start theads now about 13 inch brakes, not wheels, you almost had me confused for a second there! lol

The reason why id like 175/70R13's is because that is a popular size, and those tires are easier to come by. RIght now i have snow tires on the back, im not sure what size, but the odometer has been reading less miles that i have actually done. Is there a way to adjust the odometer to the tire size?
thanks

quote Originally posted by doublec4: Most guys start theads now about 13 inch brakes, not wheels, you almost had me confused for a second there! lol

yea, i figured i would change it up a bit haha

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84 2m4

So you have 14's You are right, not as many tires to choose from but, you have nice looking rims and the tyre calculator should help yo narrow down the size you need. Happy shopping

Arn

You can get converters for different tire sizes, such as from dakota digital, this would allow easy calibration for any tire size.
You may also be able to use the gear from a fiero with 14" rims, still restricting you'r tire size to that diameter.

When you take your snow tires off the rear just buy some tires that match the front ones and the speedometer will be within 2%. Or you can go to 225/60R14 and be dead on. Another option would be 195/70R14 but that would put narrower tires on the rear.

quote Originally posted by Duke_On_Fire: Okay, i just checked my tires. I have some brand new tires in the front that are 215/60R14. The tires in the back are 205/75R14, and they are tall lol. The stock size for my car was 185/80R13. I did that tire calulator, and with my tires on the back, my speedometer is off by 5.9%. I would like to have an accurate reading as possible, but the there are not many tires to choose from lol.

I don't know about the odometer problem, if it's really even that significant but I would imagine that could be cured with a different TSS unit. Generally speaking your tires should have the same sidewall aspect front and rear. In fact, in some states they wouldn't pass if they weren't. The 14 inch wheels can carry most any size sidewall but the factory performance tire set-up on those rims, like the 85GT, is 205X60X14 on the front and 215X60X14 rear. If it was me I would put your fronts on the rear and get 205X60X14's for the front. I have 195X75x14's on another Fiero front and rear and their fine too. For winter tires I run a spare set of rims that have 185X75X14 tires in the front and the same size studded snows for the rear.The smaller tread size gets down into the snow better instead of 'sitting on top and snowplaning'. The studded snows make it go great in the white stuff.

I think the whole reason for the original 13 inch rims on the 84 and maybe 85 base Coupes was that they were cheaper to make, tires were cheaper and had less rolling friction and better mileage than bigger tires. You could also try to find a set of the 13" turbine wheels that were an option.

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Notchbacks RULE

"Let a man drive a Fiero and he'll own one.
Teach a man to fix a Fiero and he'll own eight....errr...nine."

[This message has been edited by Fierobruiser (edited 02-08-2009).]

I have the stock 13" Steel wheels on my Fiero... I actually like them, a pair of beauty rings makes them pretty stylish.

quote Originally posted by Duke_On_Fire: Okay, i just checked my tires. I have some brand new tires in the front that are 215/60R14. The tires in the back are 205/75R14, and they are tall lol. The stock size for my car was 185/80R13. I did that tire calulator, and with my tires on the back, my speedometer is off by 5.9%. I would like to have an accurate reading as possible, but the there are not many tires to choose from lol.

That's not necessarily true... If the person who put those wheels on there changed the speedometer gear inside of your transmission at the same time, your speedometer/odometer should be accurate... if not, then it's a simple matter to get the correct one. Costs about $5 for a new nylon gear :P Just gotta get the right color gear for your 14" rims...

13" is 29-tooth red
I think 14" is 30-tooth Purple
15 should be 30-tooth Blue
and 16 31-white...

If I'm reading my chart right. But, you can get these gears just about anywhere... and to replace it, you just have to open your decklid and look down on the top of your transmission. There is a sensor there with two wires going into it, that unit comes out, and there should be a gear attatched to the bottom of it... if there isn't, for the love of god fish it out and re-attatch it to the sensor before putting it back into the transmission. GM sells them, but you'll have to have a shouting match with the parts guy there, because he'll insist it's one thing, when it's really not... and after 45 minutes of arguing that that's NOT what's in your transmission, he'll remember the color-coded gear system they had, "Back in the day" :P

If you've got an AC Delco dealer nearby, that's the best place to get them... I'm sure somone could chime in with part-numbers for those to help you find the one you need. My source is down atm.

[This message has been edited by Twilight Fenrir (edited 02-09-2009).]

thats cool, i didnt know they have different gears like that. Thanks.
Im still unsure if im gonna use these rims or not lol.

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84 2m4