My stock 88 coupe has stock 14" wheels on it. When i got it, it had 205/60r14 tires on it. These tires are very hard to find, and so far I have replaced the worst two with a new set of cheap 195/70r14.
I found a set of 16x6 Grand AM wheels on ebay for around $225 shipped. I can mount a 215/55/r16 or 225/55r16 tire on these. It would cost me around $500 overall to replace all the wheels and tires, and it would cost me about $150 to replace the aging rears with a set of stock 195/70r14s to match the front.
Would this upgrade be worth the money in the handling department? Or should I stick with the stock tires for now and look at upgrading the no-name part store cheapie shocks and struts?
Will the 16's be enough of an upgrade or should I look at 17" or larger wheels?
I think the 'expiration date' for all tires is 6 years. There may be tread left but heat cycles and exposure to ozone, sunlight, etc. ruins them. They get to a point where they are no longer soft enough to grip the road like they should.
New tires made a big difference in my confidence. As for size, I think 14's are going the way of the dinosaurs. You may be able to order them from on-line tire stores like Tire Rack. They send them to your local tire dealer and they put them on for you.
Careful with Grand AM wheels. I found out the hard way. Grand AM wheels must be pre 99 to have the same bolt pattern. Grand am from 99 on have 5x125mm pattern. Hopefully you already know this.
You can likley sell the 14 inchers. Used tires sell easy these days at least around me. You said two were new they would easily fetch probably over half of the new in store price. You will for sure feel the difference from 14s to 16s. I could feel it when i went from 14s to 15s back in the day. Make sure you want the look too.
Keep looking though, you might find some with tires already mounted on them, saving you some cost.
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 01-27-2014).]
The wheels I found look close to the oem fiero 14's, and they are a good price. I am aware that not all grand AM wheels will work.
I've been on craigslist a lot and i haven't' found anything in my price range at all. there are almost no 16"+ OEM wheels in the 5x100 bolt pattern, and all the aftermarket wheels I have found used look really cheap (multiple bolt patterns) or are too expensive
It looks like it's these, or buy another pair of stock tires for now and save up for some new 17's down the road.
Tirerack has Michelin Defenders in 14. I got wheels too, so they were shipped mounted, all I had to do was put them on. They don't look like much, but they work well, even in snow.
If you change tire/wheel diameter you're supposed to change the VSS gear, otherwise the speedo, odometer, and some computer functions will be off, will a two inch change, way off.
Are you changing height too, i.e., lowering? Don't you kind of have to? No one seems to be mentioning it, but I think going to larger wheels is more involved than just finding wheels and tires.
Be sure to double check the offset on these wheels. As I recall, he 88 Fiero (V6) used +37mm offset on the front wheel and a +30 offset on the rear wheel. I think the model with the Iron Duke used the same offset on all four wheels (+30 ??). Check out this thread for more info: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/131644.html
------------------ FierOmar
[This message has been edited by FierOmar (edited 01-29-2014).]
if they are 16x7's they probably are 42mm offset. on my 88 i put a set of 16x7 Beretta GTZ rims, I think that they stick out a little in the front, and the rears are about 5-8mm to narrow. I may put a 5mm spacer on the back with some 5mm longer studs.
Tirerack has Michelin Defenders in 14. I got wheels too, so they were shipped mounted, all I had to do was put them on. They don't look like much, but they work well, even in snow.
If you change tire/wheel diameter you're supposed to change the VSS gear, otherwise the speedo, odometer, and some computer functions will be off, will a two inch change, way off.
Are you changing height too, i.e., lowering? Don't you kind of have to? No one seems to be mentioning it, but I think going to larger wheels is more involved than just finding wheels and tires.
The outer diameter of the tire is what matters for that, you would get a lower profile tire to keep the outer diameter close to the outer diameter of the stock tires.
if they are 16x7's they probably are 42mm offset. on my 88 i put a set of 16x7 Beretta GTZ rims, I think that they stick out a little in the front, and the rears are about 5-8mm to narrow. I may put a 5mm spacer on the back with some 5mm longer studs.
Rob
Did any Fiero 14 inch rims come in different widths or offsets? I thought that was only the GT/Formula 15 inch rims.
Though my Formula has 4 same size aftermarket wheels and they do stick out in front more than the factory 15 inchers did, because the factory front rims were skinnier and had a different offset.
This diagram is helpful:
[This message has been edited by 2.5 (edited 01-30-2014).]
Did any Fiero 14 inch rims come in different widths or offsets? I thought that was only the GT/Formula 15 inch rims.
Though my Formula has 4 same size aftermarket wheels and they do stick out in front more than the factory 15 inchers did, because the factory front rims were skinnier.
All Fiero 14" Hi-tech wheels are 14x6 35mm offset, 84-88. The 88s 15" diamond lace wheels had a 15x7 30mm rear (dimensionally the same as 86-87) and 15x6 37mm front.
Edit: Doh! Ninja'd by Joe Torma's pic.
[This message has been edited by carbon (edited 01-30-2014).]
