-
There were many reasons for the change of the site software, the biggest was security. The age of the old software also meant no server updates for certain programs. There are many benefits to the new software, one of the biggest is the mobile functionality. Ill fix up some stuff in the coming days, we'll also try to get some of the old addons back or the data imported back into the site like the garage. To create a thread or to reply with a post is basically the same as it was in the prior software. The default style of the site is light colored, but i temporarily added a darker colored style, to change you can find a link at the bottom of the site.
Time for new rear tire
- Thread starter PW2013STL
- Start date
Is the 205/65R15 Quatrac a better fit on the rear than the 205/60R15? I had just ordered a 205/60R15 and now I'm second guessing myself. Being a narrower tire than the Kenda will the 60 be too small (circumference/height) when stretched onto the wheel?
Last edited by a moderator:
OK so I totally botched up what I was trying to say...my apologies.
The sidewall of the 205/65 is taller than the sidewall of the 205/60, resulting in approximately .8" more total height on the 65. This makes the 205/65 taller than the stock Kenda while the 205/60 is approximately the same height as the Kenda.
BUT, both the 205/65 and 205/60 are narrower than the Kenda at appx 8". When you put a narrower tire onto that same wheel meant for say a 225 it will stretch the tire out some making it wider and shorter (see OPs pic of the mounted height/width vs unmounted height/width). How much shorter it might get though really depends on the individual tire profile and rim width. What is the actual rim width of the rear wheel?
So my question is: If the factory speedo is underestimating speed AND the rear wheel is really meant for a 225 tire, mounting a 205/60 will work (I've read plenty of reports of people using it). But it doesn't seem like it would effectively improve the speedo reading at all and might even make it worse (all based on internet tire size math...not actual measured sizes which admittedly could differ). Meanwhile the 205/65 will also work but seem to result in a more accurate speedo since it should be slightly taller then the mounted Kenda.
I'm guessing the 205/60 might have slight better performance though given the slightly shorter sidewall (as compared to the 205/65).
Last edited by a moderator:
PW2013STL
Active member
On my wife's 2021 sea to sky I am running the 205/60 r15 whereas I am running the 205/65 r15. Her speedometer is 1 mph lower at 60, based off of what the Garman XT shows. Mine shows 60 at 60 based off of what the Garman XT shows. Both tires are the same brand and model and I have driven both Spyders and I cannot tell any difference in handling. Both seem to wear equally. Both sizes fit well.
The OEM rear Rim our Spyder's run is slightly OVER-Tired with the OEM 225 wide tire on it, which tends to make the beads 'pinch' in a bit, compounding the tendency of the centre of the tread to bulge out at revs, making it worse than it needs to be!! So by going for a Narrower Tire in the 205, you reduce that & are actually running a tire width that's MORE appropriate for the Spyder's rim width. But if you ran the same (lower) profile tire in a 205 as the OEM 225's tire, you'd be getting a smaller rolling diameter and making your speedo error WORSE; so by going to slightly narrower tire with a slightly taller profile, you overcome that particular issue - the 205/60 only just over comes it & will make your speedo slightly more accurate; the 205/65 not only overcomes it but also increases the rolling diameter sufficiently that (depending upon the actual dimensions of the particular brand/make/type of tire you fit rather than it's nominal sidewall size 
) gets closer to making your speedo almost exactly correct! 
hyea:
As for the performance degradation you might expect from running a higher profile tire, the rest of the Spyder's suspension is such that I truly doubt you'll be able to detect any reduction in performance just by fitting a 205/65R15 a/mkt tire & running it at an appropriate (lower) pressure for the (lighter) load a Spyder imposes over that of the car those tires are capable of carrying :lecturef_smilie: In fact, I'm pretty sure that once you get used to how it feels to run a tire at an appropriate pressure for the load, you'll find the performance IMPROVEMENT to be very pleasing as well as better for your suspension, ride, puncture resistance, & handling et al! :thumbup:
A 205/60R15 is a good choice of size for the rear of your Spyder; a 205/65R15 is probably a better choice of tire size for the rear, but it's not a massive difference, and running any reasonable quality a/mkt car tire in a size that fits & at the appropriate pressure for the Spyder's lighter load in both or either size will very likely see you achieving a significant improvement in all aspects of your Spyder's tire performance over that provided by the OEM Spec Kenda! :yes:
) gets closer to making your speedo almost exactly correct! hyea: As for the performance degradation you might expect from running a higher profile tire, the rest of the Spyder's suspension is such that I truly doubt you'll be able to detect any reduction in performance just by fitting a 205/65R15 a/mkt tire & running it at an appropriate (lower) pressure for the (lighter) load a Spyder imposes over that of the car those tires are capable of carrying :lecturef_smilie: In fact, I'm pretty sure that once you get used to how it feels to run a tire at an appropriate pressure for the load, you'll find the performance IMPROVEMENT to be very pleasing as well as better for your suspension, ride, puncture resistance, & handling et al! :thumbup:
A 205/60R15 is a good choice of size for the rear of your Spyder; a 205/65R15 is probably a better choice of tire size for the rear, but it's not a massive difference, and running any reasonable quality a/mkt car tire in a size that fits & at the appropriate pressure for the Spyder's lighter load in both or either size will very likely see you achieving a significant improvement in all aspects of your Spyder's tire performance over that provided by the OEM Spec Kenda! :yes:
Last edited:
That's good to hear. Always great to have real anecdotal comparisons!
IdahoMtnSpyder
Active member
What's happened to all the previous recommendations to run a 215/60-15 tire on the rear? I thought that was the most ideal replacement size.
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
Well the 215 size is not always available, 10mm is about 5/16 of an inch and the difference in traction is negligible ..... Mike :thumbup:
When you can get one of them, a 215/60R15 is also a good choice of a/mkt tire size for the rear, they're often almost the same rolling diameter as the 205/65R15's :thumbup:
cruisinTX
Member
Since I have not used a 205/60, I cannot address the question completely. With both of the 205/65s I have used my speedometer reads 75 when actual speed compared against a Garmin 590 and a bicycle app in the phone is 74.5mph. On my first 205/65 I ran 25psi and it was down to the wear bars in the center at 9400 miles while the outer edges still looked almost new. I'm now running 17psi in the front and 19 in the rear to see if the rear Hankook will out last the Yokohama with even wear across the rear tire.
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
I will ..... however if you used 17 psi that would be even better annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd it would feel more comfortable ..... Mike :thumbup:
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
It's never too late to adjust your PSI .... both Peter & I like 15 to 17 in the rear of an auto tire. .....Mike :thumbup:
New Rear Tire - something different
https://g.co/kgs/iTRGJy Forceum Henna 225/60r15 . I have tried this tire and it fits with no rubbing although it is close. The ride
is very good. Very stable. Pressure 22 psi in colder temps and 20 psi in warmer wx works fine. only 1000 mi so far and no wet wx yet
but hoping, being a high performance directional tire there will be no issues.
https://g.co/kgs/iTRGJy Forceum Henna 225/60r15 . I have tried this tire and it fits with no rubbing although it is close. The ride
is very good. Very stable. Pressure 22 psi in colder temps and 20 psi in warmer wx works fine. only 1000 mi so far and no wet wx yet
but hoping, being a high performance directional tire there will be no issues.
Last edited by a moderator:
I just checked on the Forceum website, looking for specs & load/pressure info on this tire, got some very good but rudimentary info from the site itself & some more specific detail about them from a tire industry contact over where they're made; and given the info I got, then doing the calculations, which will admittedly be a little rough anyway due to the load/pressure detail available & some assumptions I had to make about the specifics of your loaded bike; then unless you are VERY HEAVY &/or carry an excessive load, to achieve the best balance you can between traction & tread longevity on that tire, you really should be running pressures somewhere between about 17 & 20psi in that tire - 20 being the max for 'full load/high speed/high temperature' riding!
Running that much pressure in lighter/slower/colder conditions will mean you're getting less than ideal traction; running more risk of tire damage due to road debris/hitting bumps etc; getting a noticeably harsher ride; and accelerating the tread wear, especially in the middle of the tread; but in a very slight trade-off, you might get marginally better fuel economy.... And that's without taking into account the growing evidence that 225 wide tires are just a tad too wide for the Spyder's rims, which tends to force the middle of the tread to wear out quicker as well! :lecturef_smilie:So I'd suggest that you should probably drop your pressure in that rear tire a little, also noting that running a higher pressure in colder temps then lowering for hotter temps is the wrong way round too! Ideally, you should run LOWER pressures in colder temps to increase the heat the tire develops thru use, giving you better traction and hydroplane resistance in the wet; and HIGHER pressures in hotter temps to avoid over-heating, excessive tread wear, & damaging the tire's carcass! You probably won't have done anything lasting with just 1000 miles on the tire, but running them that way for too much more/longer will set the wear & behaviour of the tire in a way that's not really reversible, so you really want to change your pressures NOW, or you'll get increasingly less benefit from doing it as the miles progress, IF the tire lasts that long! :shocked:
Just Sayin' :cheers:
Last edited:
BLUEKNIGHT911
Sadly Passed Oct 2024 - RIP
I just checked on the Forceum website, looking for specs & load/pressure info on this tire, got some very good but rudimentary info from the site itself & some more specific detail about them from a tire industry contact over where they're made; and given the info I got, then doing the calculations, which will admittedly be a little rough anyway due to the load/pressure detail available & some assumptions I had to make about the specifics of your loaded bike; then unless you are VERY HEAVY &/or carry an excessive load, to achieve the best balance you can between traction & tread longevity on that tire, you really should be running pressures somewhere between about 17 & 20psi in that tire - 20 being the max for 'full load/high speed/high temperature' riding!
So I'd suggest that you should probably drop your pressure in that rear tire a little, also noting that running a higher pressure in colder temps then lowering for hotter temps is the wrong way round too! Ideally, you should run LOWER pressures in colder temps to increase the heat the tire develops thru use, giving you better traction and hydroplane resistance in the wet; and HIGHER pressures in hotter temps to avoid over-heating, excessive tread wear, & damaging the tire's carcass! You probably won't have done anything lasting with just 1000 miles on the tire, but running them that way for too much more/longer will set the wear & behaviour of the tire in a way that's not really reversible, so you really want to change your pressures NOW, or you'll get increasingly less benefit from doing it as the miles progress, IF the tire lasts that long! :shocked:
Just Sayin' :cheers:
:agree: 110%, It never ceases to amaze me the number of folks who choose to be the Testers for products from Unknown manufacturers. Spyder tire sizes are very limited, and the tires we both recommend have been proven to provide excellent service in all performance aspects...... I hope CBX keeps us informed about His testing of that tire ..... JMHO .... Mike :thumbup:
Sure it'll change your speedometer reading (& odometer/trip meter reading) if the tire size/rolling diameter changes, but the OE Spec Kenda is small for its nominal size and most Spyders have speedo's (& odo's/trip meters
) that indicate WELL OVER your 'true speed' (& the true distance travelled too!) so there's plenty of scope to run a larger rolling diameter tire, cos it'll still only be making it CLOSER to accurate! For most Spyders and alternative tires, running a 215/60R15 or a 205/65R15 will still only see your speedo (& odo/trip) reading start indicating a little over the true speed (& distance), but by International Agreement & legislation in your Country & mine (& most of the rest of the World too!) your speedo/odo can legally indicate anywhere up to something like 10% over true, but NEVER UNDER! :lecturef_smilie:So if you thought you were doing 100mph when you were (still are??) running the OE Spec Kenda rear & it showed 100 mph on the speedo, & so you thought you travelled 100 miles in an hour of riding at that speed, it's far more likely that you were actually only doing something closer to 90mph & probably only travelled maybe as much as a bit over 90 miles in that hour of riding at an indicated 100 mph; but then after you fitted an aftermarket tire in either of those sizes mentioned above, you probably did something a lot closer to 98 mph & travelled maybe 95-98ish miles in each hour of travelling at an indicated 100 mph... Make sense?? :dontknow:
Only do be aware that there's not necessarily a direct correlation between the speed indicated & the distance travelled indicated, AND that each Spyder is very likely different to any other Spyder, cos they aren't necessarily going to match exactly & nor is anyone else's speedo/odo error or correction going to be exactly the same as yours, there's simply far too many variables that might make a difference for any two to be exactly the same! And even if you think you've measured your speed &/or distance travelled on one of those roadside radars or measured miles distance things, it's very unlikely that you were able to measure either accurately enough to get a true indication of either!! :banghead: It may be close-ish, but really, your easiest/most reliable way of checking the speedo & odo/trip meter accuracy is to use a multi-channel GPS that polls each of more than 6 or so satellites at least 3 times per second to track speed & distance travelled; anything less than that will only be a rough estimation, and even with such a GPS, you'll need to average your speed out over a few hours or more &/or your distance travelled over many hundreds of miles travelled - anything less than that isn't going to be all that accurate...
But then, it doesn't NEED to be exact, not unless you've got some specific reason for it to be more accurate - like if you're a Law Enforcement Officer who needs to 'fairly accurately' measure other drivers' speeds; or maybe if you are doing a Speed/Time/Distance/Economy Run in an attempt to break the World Record for Guinness Book of Records.... in any case like those, you'll almost certainly need to get your Speedo/odo/trip meters calibrated and checked for accuracy on a regular basis, and even then, you often get +/- range of possible error that needs to be taken into account. But for most Spyder Ryder's, any tire that safely/properly fits on the OE rim & under the rear fender without major mods is most likely going to make both your Speedo & your Odo/Trip meters more accurate than the OE Spec Kenda rear tire ever did!!
hyea:Just Sayin' :thumbup:
Last edited:
Similar threads
- Locked
