14'' & Lowering

Anto Modded

Ex. Club Member
im looking at getting 14'' alloys with 185x45xr14 tyres. i want the car as low as can be without arches rubbing. can i lower it 60 mm ? its a 1.0l. Anyone done this or have any pics . All help would be great.
 
Most people go 30-35mm...

Im sure its been done:
30-george20Custom.jpg
 
Does anyone make 185/45x14 tyres ? and if they do wont they be a bit small in the arches, I thought the usual size to use was 185/55x14.
 
185/55/14 have high side walls. too high for micra fitment to be near standard. and why go higher with poorer handling when you can go lower on sidewalls and get better feel and acceleration.
i think 195/45/14 would be best for overall grip. i havent heard of a 185/45/14. you can get 185/50/14. if you have less than a 6" rim though then get the 185/50/14.
you will be ok when lowering 60mm.
 
W4RDL3 M1CR4 said:
My micra had 13" wheels on as standard like mate.
Yes but the standard 13" rims carry 155/70x13s which have a diameter of 21.5" the 185/45x14 would only have a diameter of 20.5" a full inch less, but using a 195/45x14 would only increase diameter by 4mm at 21.7" and 185/50x14 would decrease the diameter by 6mm at 21.3".

Nissanz1, why would the 185/55x14 be too high a sidewall, standard 155/70s have a side wall height of around 108mm 185/55 have a height of 102mm, 6mm lower profile, so it would have less flex than standard, and even with the inch bigger rim there's only half an inch increase in diameter using the 14" rim, the same as using 195/45x15 the favourite wheel/tyre swap size.
 
13" with 155/70/13 547.0mm diameter
14" with 185/55/14 559.1mm diameter
14" with 185/50/14 540.6mm diameter
14" with 195/45/14 531.1mm diameter
15" with 195/45/15 556.5mm diameter
15" with 165/50/15 546.0mm diameter


see how 185/55/14 is quite high over the standard diameter. the reason we have 195/45/15 on most 15" wheels is there is no choice for a better/smaller profile tyre. so its a compromise for a 15" wheel. you can get 165/50/15 which is better at 546mm diameter. but you need 6" or less wide 15" wheel, and the overall traction is not so good as its a narrow tyre comapred to the 195.
if you have 14" alloys you now have a choice of tyres. 185/55/14 even though it has shorter tyre wall than a 155/70, it is still quite high, and makes the overall diameter a way out from standard, in the an unhelpful larger direction, slowing the car down. choosing one of the other profiles 195/45/14 or 185/50/14 will make the handling even better with a stiffer sidewall and also lower than standard overall diameter making the acceleration a bit sweeter aswell. your also saving weight. which give more performance gain.
 
thanks for the help. i think i'll go for 14" with 185/50/14 tyres as they seem to be a close match to the standard 13''s. Now ive to find a shop that does 60mm if i can
 
i accidentaly odered 165 /60 /14" on mine, maah, theyre shoddy cheapo tyres anyway, so im gonna run em untill i can afford to lower it then got for some 195/40/14 Avon or even Yokohama Advan A038's

(ala mini cooper!!)
 
im gonna wait tho, to get new tyres, as mine are brand new, and they grip better than the 185 13's..... and theyre 165 14's.. but im deffo after some 195, 14's and lower it about 35mm..... then the whiteline bits i suppose.....
can get them off rally parts websites.
 
15" with 195/45/15 556.5mm diameter
15" with 165/50/15 546.0mm diameter

this sounds stupid but would the 45 not be a smaller tyre instead of the 50.
I got my new micra and going looking at alloys and from some of the threads it seems i could go for a 15'' alloy with 165/50/15 tyres which would leave with the same near enough power as the standard 13''s
 
6" wheel rim is the maximum for good fitment you can have on a 165/50/15 tyre.
45 is 45% of 195, 50 is 50% of 165, which is smaller.
if you wanted the 165, you might have to get a non after market wheel to get a 6". in fact check the size of the k12 15" wheel that i think would be no bigger then 6" or less. its same pcd.
 
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