Tire Question

[easysuper]

I have tried searching the tire threads till my eyes crossed. I am looking for the size I need for the Vredestein Quatrac that will fit my 2014 RTL for the front.

[canamjhb]

Try 175/55R15. Little bigger than OEM but fit fine. That's the size I am running. When I pulled the old tires off I was concerned about the fender bolts rubbing the inside of the wider new tires. Don't know if they would but to be cautious I pulled each fastener out one by one and snipped about a quarter inch off each one with a bolt cutter. Takes only a couple minutes per side. Then took old tires and wheels along with new tires to Costco and had them mounted & filled with nitrogen.

[canamjhb]

Actually it is only slightly wider ...... the OEM 's are 65 Aspect ( sidewall ) the 55 is a bit smaller so it should not be a problem .................. Mike

Thanks, Mike. I didn't think there would be any problem but those extra long fender bolts just looked menacing. So, I gave them a snip job. Easy to get out and easy to get back in. Menacing no more.....

[daz]

I have tried searching the tire threads till my eyes crossed. I am looking for the size I need for the Vredestein Quatrac that will fit my 2014 RTL for the front.

I have 165/65/14 Quatracs coming from Tire Rack today. $160.18 to my door. Two fronts.

[Richardv]

I havre 165/65/14 Quatracs coming from Tire Rack today. $160.18 to my door. Two fronts.

... you are saying your 2014 RT is running on 14" rims ? I am under pretty sure that in2014 they are on 15" rims.

If I am wrong, please correct me..

[KX5062]

... you are saying your 2014 RT is running on 14" rims ? I am under pretty sure that in2014 they are on 15" rims.

If I am wrong, please correct me..

Nope, you're correct.

[Bob Denman]

Actually it is only slightly wider ...... the OEM 's are 65 Aspect ( sidewall ) the 55 is a bit smaller so it should not be a problem .................. Mike

If I'm understanding what you just posted...
The tires on the older (pre-2013) bikes were 165/65-14
The newer bikes use 165/55-15 tire.

The difference is that they used to use 14" front wheels. They switched to 15" hoops, to make room for the Brembo brakes up front. In order to keep the same front tire width: they just went with a lower aspect ratio...

[Bob Denman]

No problem, Bro: I had you back!

[easysuper]

I'm having trouble getting the Vredestein before I leave for Deadwood, My other choices are a Kumho Solus or a Hankook Ventus , what do the tire experts out there say ?

[easysuper]

I'd really like to assist on this ....However most of the Hankook brand are called " Ventus " ( I guess they like that name ) ....Kumho isn't much better , they also like " Solus " name ...... So more info is necessary ........ Too bad on the Vredestein they are lots better than the other two, by quire a bit ....... Mike

The two that I was looking at Mike were the Hankook Ventus V4Es H 105, in a 175/55 R15 SL BSW OE. Or The Kumho Solus KH16 in a 175/55 R15 SL BSW OE.
I am open to suggestions , I am not a aggressive rider , but we do a lot of touring with a trailer, I have 34K on the factory tires on the front and going on my second Kumho on the rear.

[easysuper]

Thanks -...the Kumho only has a good rating for Dry, Wet, and Wear ............ that Ventus also has " good " rating for D,W, & wear ......... it's numbers for good are slightly better than the Kumho but we are talking tenths of a percent ..... VS. the Vredestein Quatrac 5 , which is in the excellent range for 5 category's which includes comfort & winter ..... considering you will have these tire for possibly 35,000 + miles !!!! .......your call ....Mike

Here's another question Mike. When I try to order these over the phone what car do I tell them I'm putting them on because we all know if I tell them my spyder they will not sell them to me.

Thanks .

[canamjhb]

Here's another question Mike. When I try to order these over the phone what car do I tell them I'm putting them on because we all know if I tell them my spyder they will not sell them to me.

Thanks .

Never had anyone ask about the car they are going on. But, if they insist, just tell them they are for a custom vehicle. Phone sales people really don't care about much except getting your credit card.....

[easysuper]

Never had anyone ask about the car they are going on. But, if they insist, just tell them they are for a custom vehicle. Phone sales people really don't care about much except getting your credit card.....

The reason I asked was because EVERY time I have called Discount tire and ordered tires delivered, they have asked me what car did I want them for.

[aka1004]

What sizes are acceptable?
165x55x15
175x55x15
Any other options that did work?
I have 2015 RS with newer front fender with led lights.
Thank you.

[fatenhappy]

Actually it is only slightly wider ...... the OEM 's are 65 Aspect ( sidewall ) the 55 is a bit smaller so it should not be a problem .................. Mike

Just thought I'd have a look at wheel-size.com to see what differences between the 175/65R15 and the 55R15s …

Tires	Tire 1 (175/65 R15)	Tire 2 (175/55 R15)
Section Width	175 mm %	175 mm = %
Sidewall	114 mm %	96 mm ↓ 15%
Overall Diameter	609 mm %	574 mm ↓ 6%
Rim Sizes	15x5 15x5.5 15x6 15x6.5	15x5 15x5.5 15x6 15x6.5
Circumference	1912 mm %	1802 mm ↓ 6%
Revs per mile	842 %	893 ↑ 6%
Speedometer	Assuming that this is OE tire and speedometer readings are correct %	When speedometer reads 60 km/h actual speed will be 56.5 km

Does this sound like its about right to you guys ?

[fatenhappy]

What sizes are acceptable?
165x55x15
175x55x15
Any other options that did work?
I have 2015 RS with newer front fender with led lights.
Thank you.

AKA … have a squiz at wheel-size.com and there are others out there too …

The beauty of these is you just dial in (fill in the blanks) your current wheel/tyre and then in the adjacent column dial in the dimensions of the wheel/tyres you are wanting to go to as the modification / adjustment … Straight off it gives you changes in just about anything if there is to be any … And what you need to do to make it work and complete with active diagrams so you can see the changes

It has been a real eye opener for me in some ways … just such things as one profile size change on average (up or down) will change the tyre width by a whopping 1/2" accordingly … I never knew that !… So when juggling this stuff it will give you concise information on any proposed differences. in just seconds.

All of this is 'supposed' to be independent of brand. (Apparently all tyres of a specific nomenclature/description supposed are exactly the same size etc as the next brand … Hmmm, I'm not really convinced on that one … but until I see otherwise I'll go along with it! ..)

[Peter Aawen]

with Mike! Those internet sizing charts show the NOMINAL sizes for tires for comparison purposes, but each manufacturer can use different methods to determine which nominal size they want to put on their tires, and the nominal sizes can often be anything up to 20-25mm different to another manufacturers tire with the same label on the sidewall!! And the rolling dia or circumference can be even more different! The biggest variation I've encountered so far was 50mm difference in rolling diameter from the nominal size, but that was an off-road tire.... still, I've got 1/2 dozen different brands of the 'same' nominal sized car tires here right now to write up, and not one brand is the same size as any other, nor are any of them ACTUALLY truely the size as the size printed on their sidewalls - but the internet charts would have you believe they are all identically sized & if you know which method each manufacturer has used to arrive at that particular nominal size, you can see there's an arguable case.... arguable, even if not necessarily quite believable!

The ONLY way to really compare tire sizes is to compare the physical dimensions of each tire.... the manufacturers do publish them.

[aka1004]

thank you and I have used 175 before with old fender without a problem but these new fender seems to have less room inside the tub so I was trying to find which ones, exact brand and size actually fit.

[Fat Baxter]

Here's another question Mike. When I try to order these over the phone what car do I tell them I'm putting them on because we all know if I tell them my spyder they will not sell them to me.

Thanks .

In they absolutely insist on knowing, try either of these:

- "These are exact replacements for tires already on my car." (On some menu-driven websites, this is actually an option)

- "1970 VW dune buggy."

Slightly OT: I'm starting my search for a new rear tire. I just learned that Walmart carries the General Altimax RT43 line (which I currently have on my Spyder). No more weasel-wording your order with Tirerack! $80.

[Richardv]

thank you and I have used 175 before with old fender without a problem but these new fender seems to have less room inside the tub so I was trying to find which ones, exact brand and size actually fit.

Kumbo KH16 does fit both fenders style, so does the Hankook v4. Both in the 175/55R 15 size.