Got new tires.
 

185/70/14

The old size was 195 in width.

At first, turning the car with the new tires felt peculiar. I must say, it feels much lighter at rest (no powersteering) and seems to be very very responsive when turning. I could already feel the difference after I left the tire shop. I think it needs balance and rotatation. All this car really needs are adjustable shocks and a front strut bar. This will be fun. :reddevil:

why skinnier?

lol I don't know, but when I showed up I told the people who worked there that I only had $180 in cash and they wanted $190 for all, so I guess they skimped on that???

But this car feels very responsive. I want to go canyon driving!

that's pretty stupid EMC. You decrease the contact patch and now you want to go "canyon driving" with them? You'll most likely notice better handling in the rain but I don' see how less contact patch makes someone want to go out and drive roads where maximum grip is necessary.

It just seems...more...responsive haha

but you may hit your maximum grip earlier than before and then what? Just make sure you're not too retarded out there.

He will find out the difference in grip quickly. Just hope it is in a safe place.

Last year I paid 50 bucks apiece for Sumitomo HTR 215/30/13s....

Don't go canyon driving, find a parking lot and go drifting instead. :)

Did they put that size on all 4 corners? If you have wider in the rear your rear will still grip as per normal. The reason for the better response is that there is less tyre to turn there for less friction. You only went down 1 step 10mm less than before. If you like how it feels but stil want to be sure of maximum grip then next time save up for a set of very sticky road tires. Get something that will last but has lots of grip. Example: your brand in 195 will grip the same or less than a top quality sticky tire in 185 with the same sharp response that you like.

Tyres are phenominal things....very very impressive. I will share my experiance as a novice race driver. I used to use GoodYear Eagel F1's 255 rear & 235 front on the race track...I was very used to the limits of the tyre after doing more than 200laps on them over a period of 2 years....my times on this paticular track used to be 1.12....in some corners the whole car would slide latraly for a few moments during the corner. Then came the superlap event so I had to get some semislicks. I just managed to secure & set of race wheels & tyres the day before the event....not a good idea when you are trying to lap as fast as you can after 1 warm up lap on tyres you have no idea at what point they let go. Anyway it ws damn scary at first....the times went as such 1.11--1.07--1.07---1.06---1.06. I still have no idea what the limits of the tyres are but holy shit can they grip & the size is 225 all round.

Iv also only just found out iv been using to high a pressure & that there is plenty more grip with a slightly lower pressure. One experianced race driver using the same tyres on the day asked me if I had them squeeling yet. I said no. He reply that I was not useing them to the limits. Hahaha yea no shit when the car is a daily driver you kinda dont want to put it in the wall.

I know this is off topic but tyres, suspension & power to weight are key to fast & good handeling cars. We have a racing serise here called pro7. It all FD, FC & FB plus right down to S1 RX7's. They fully strip the cars, put in a cage & all run on Toyo R888 semi-slicks. The FD's are stock blocks with no porting & the turbos taken off to make it cheap for everyone. These cars are so well setup they lap the track from 1.07 up. I have over 400hp & do 1.06 for now. Iv been to a test day & personaly tailed one of these car around the track & holy shit can they corner...there power is so liner & smooth that for most of the track they are at full WOT & about 2 car lenghts ahead of me on every corner....nice to pass them on the straights like they are standing still.

I think with wider semi-slicks, perhaps 255 on the rear & a far more agressive suspension setup I will be passing them on the corners with the extra grip & power....but hey thats racing & I love it.

Op is a Panzy, 215 on 14s is where its at :p

HAHAHA :rofl:

Like phoenix7 said, maximum grip will be reached earlier. However, in a stock 100hp first gen, skinny tires do make the car more fun. Because there's less rubber "in the way", the steering and road feel is better. That's why people with classic cars say modern tire sizes/compounds ruin the cars. As long as you're treating it like a live-axled car from the 70s you'll be ok.

Dr-Rotor, that's the huge difference between race and street tire compounds. The compound will make bigger changes than tire size.

Hell, I'm going with skinny tires since I got 13x5 Minilites, but it's just for romping around in the hill country roads, not competition or anything serious.

lotus elise rolls 175's up front ;)

But it's also a smaller car and hopefully better tires than the OP bought.

eh, just pitching in for moral support
275s ftw!