<VV> Stock wheels or not???

[Bryan Blackwell]

Hi Joe,

I will flatly state that tire quality is *the* most important factor - 
assuming the tires meet the minimum load capacity and fit on the rim.  
If we could get really good tires in a 205/70-13, that would have 
easily been my first suggestion in this thread.  I have directly 
compared "zoom zoom" looking tires in 50 series on fat wheels to very 
stock looking 70 series tires on stock wheels that were good where it 
counted, and it was no contest in any measure (rain, shine, snow, ride, 
handling, you name it).

The huge advantage of the speed rated tires isn't that you'll ever 
drive that speed, it's the quality and engineering that has to go into 
a tire that will withstand the TUV tests.  For a daily driver, an H 
rated tire is usually a nice compromise between ride and handling.  
Your S tires are still a good step up from "no-rating" tires, and I'd 
be really surprised if there was that much difference between the 13 
and 14 inch versions - of course, if one could find them.

--Bryan

On Aug 2, 2005, at 10:20 AM, N. Joseph Potts wrote:

> The changes you describe aren't just in the RATINGS or even just
> width/aspect ratio of the tire - the changes are in the WHEEL (rim) 
> size,
> which I suspect is most important.