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Needing advice on fitting a slightly wider tire onto the old stock 14" rim. I'm considering going with a set of Hankook Optimo's at 215 75r14 rather than the 205 75r14. Any know if this will work?

Yep should fit just fine. Just remember that your speedometer will be read slightly lower than your actual speed.

Yea I figured, I'm hoping the slightly wider tire will improve handling a bit.

Wider tires and a shorter sidewall will help out handling quite a bit. Suspension parts will help out even more though.

Going to a 215 is not much of an improvement really. You're also increasing the sidewall height which won't help the car handle any better, but it does help to make the ride smoother.

I know I know, just trying to get all I can out of it. Couldn't find a used set of larger rims and I needed new tires badly so I'm extracting all I can out of the old girl.

I don't ever remember these coming with 14's. I would double check to make sure the rims actually fit over the brakes before buying tires.

RJolly87 wrote:I don't ever remember these coming with 14's. I would double check to make sure the rims actually fit over the brakes before buying tires.

Yea they did. I believe for this generation the LE's came with 14" while the upper trim levels went to 15" rims.

Yep 14's were stock for a number of years... Unless you ordered an uplevel package then you got 15's with the SSE you got 16's..

I would say if you could find a 15" then I would do a 215/65 15

But if you keep the 14's the larger size won't hurt other than the minor speedo error.. I think without doing the math it may be a 1 mph difference at 50-60 mph..

Money's a little tight so I'm sticking with the 14's for now. Just real hard finding tires in that size. I think I'm going with the hankook optimos. They seem to be a decent tire.

Wait a minute, My 91 LE has 16" rims. They appear to be stock, and fit. I can take pics to prove if needed. But I really want to know what the heck is going on? Has my car had extensive mods, or is it a super rare option for a 91 LE to come with 16s? I'm really curious.

I believe 1991 was the first year the base wheels went from 14" to 15". - BC

Keepin'her_going wrote:Wait a minute, My 91 LE has 16" rims. They appear to be stock, and fit. I can take pics to prove if needed. But I really want to know what the heck is going on? Has my car had extensive mods, or is it a super rare option for a 91 LE to come with 16s? I'm really curious.

If they are the 6 spoke wheels that say Pontiac on one of the spokes then they would be the stock 16" wheels. They were an option on the LE and standard on the SE.

Jrs3800 wrote:Yep 14's were stock for a number of years... Unless you ordered an uplevel package then you got 15's with the SSE you got 16's..

I would say if you could find a 15" then I would do a 215/65 15

But if you keep the 14's the larger size won't hurt other than the minor speedo error.. I think without doing the math it may be a 1 mph difference at 50-60 mph..

215/70r15's aren't usually out of the question either, and an option I have grown fond of lately

Although, if I am honest, the difference between 14's and 16's rolling 225/60r16's is night and day, especially if you can find rims at a salvage yard. When I had the 205/70r15's, I spent about as much time on the shoulder/sidewall as I did on the tread. I can't imagine how much worse it is with the 75's and a smaller rim...

RJolly87 wrote:

Jrs3800 wrote:Yep 14's were stock for a number of years... Unless you ordered an uplevel package then you got 15's with the SSE you got 16's..

I would say if you could find a 15" then I would do a 215/65 15

But if you keep the 14's the larger size won't hurt other than the minor speedo error.. I think without doing the math it may be a 1 mph difference at 50-60 mph..

215/70r15's aren't usually out of the question either, and an option I have grown fond of lately

Although, if I am honest, the difference between 14's and 16's rolling 225/60r16's is night and day, especially if you can find rims at a salvage yard. When I had the 205/70r15's, I spent about as much time on the shoulder/sidewall as I did on the tread. I can't imagine how much worse it is with the 75's and a smaller rim...

It's not as bad as you think. It handles well for being an old tank, cornering to me feels tight but response is sluggish. I'm a goofball though, I like driving under handling cars just to see the limits more than an actually well balanced, tricked out one. You just have more fun!