14" tyres wanted for Corsa

[mattj]

As the title says... stuy and i are broke... with most of our $$ tied up in the alpine were searching high and low for tyres, mainly dunlop 73's and 85's (185's...but will use 175's).

Does any one have any spares there willing to part with??

either PM me here or email me at mattsjames@yahoo.com.au

please help us
cheers
matty

[Rallyray]

Tamsey has some I think....

[AV1611]

Matt

It is time you upgraded to 15s. There are so many 15s out there, it isn't funny. We've got a fairly large pile of 15s. Some of them were purchased, many of them were given to us. 15s are the way to go!

[Spac]

Team Clown Features have resisted going to 15s because 15s break half-shafts, 14s don't.

Still got those Silverstones here if you need me to drag them out. On 200B SX wheels already, if that helps.

[AV1611]

I've never understood that one - 15s break half-shafts...

I always thought that horsepower broke half-shafts... Especially if you are running a LSD or a locker and you hit rocks under full throttle.

I know that the 15s are a slightly bigger circumference and all that, but is it really that big a difference?

[Ben Wilson]

Bigger diamater = more unsprung weight + higher polar moment of inertia. I wouldn't think it would make enough difference to break halfshafts though.

[Matt]

The larger tyre *may* provide more grip which, when combined with an unsympathetic driver on rough surfaces, leads to greater snap-loads on the drivetrain.

Originally Posted by Ben Wilson

I wouldn't think it would make enough difference to break halfshafts though.

Put it this way, Fro would break shafts whether he was on 14"s or 15"s.

Stewy, how old are your half shafts? I think you would have broken one by now if you had that tendency. If you have the 15"s, we have the tyres.

[Ben Wilson]

Originally Posted by Matt

Put it this way, Fro would break shafts whether he was on 14"s or 15"s.

Fro would break shafts if he was running on the rear disks....

[Spac]

Fro is hardly a good example. That man can break anything... and he can do it with way less power too...

15s = bigger, heavier, and more traction = more chance of busting half-shafts.
15s definitely provide more grip - the contact patch is greater, the tractive effort is lower (due to greater rolling diameter) and they're (almost always) better patterns than 14s.

My old Sadnut had not much power (probably marginally less than Fro has) but was driven VERY unsympathetically... I won't claim to be able to dish out Fro-spec abuse, but I did give it a good try...
It had 14s. I never broke a halfshaft.

[Matt]

I had 15s. I never broke a halfshaft. Claude has 15s - how many halfshafts has he broken? Kari has had 15s for years, and plenty of power too. He broke his first halfshaft at the last event he did. They were the original shafts too.

Anyway, shafts are cheap. Tyres aren't. If Carl is the sort to slide the car sideways under full noise across boney surfaces, then perhaps he may start breaking shafts on 15s. On the other hand, if he doesn't, then he may be throwing away seconds per stage due to the poor tyres he is forced to run.

Ah, what would I know? I am just as guilty of competing on cr@ppy tyres, and I run 15s now...

[Spac]

I thought that Claude's car runs something other than standard 1600/180B half shafts? (Will stand corrected if I'm wrong).

Otherwise, interesting. The conventional wisdom when I had the Sadnut was that 15s were faster but almost certainly going to result in halfshaft problems. At the time, I thought that this was the Collective Wisdom of the Greater DLC [sic x10000], but you're saying otherwise.
Particularly if the two most powerful Saduts out there (Clod and Kari) are still running standard bits wihout breaking half-shafts regularly.

And you are far more guilty of running on cruppy tyres than anyone else I know. I'm no tyre snob, but you have no self-respect. Expect mucho abuse from Anna if you turn up to Corsa on 20% tyres like you did at BRM.

And none of this is helping Matty/Stewy find tyres for next weekend.

[Matt]

Actually, I was a bit off target. Clod's car has a very nice LSD in it, and I believe CV shafts (isn't it funny - here we are saying what another forum member's car has/hasn't got in it, and really we could just ask him ). Kari's car is the real deal though - low ratio diff, locker, regular half shafts. Yes, that is the traditional recipe for disaster with guys that are going quick.

It is helping though - it is keeping the thread at the top of the forum!

Re: cruppy tyres:

[Shabby]

It woludn't matter Spac the Powah of the FJ would shred the new tyres anyway, run what ya brung Matty and shred them till they are bald.


Go the FJ Matty,


Shab

Closet Dato (FJ) Sicko

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Shabby

...run what ya brung Matty and shred them till they are bald.

Oh, I have a gift.

[Warps]

I'm a little confused (no news there)

Are 15" tyres "better" because there is a better range of treads and compounds available, or are they better because they are 15"?

for example, would a Bridgestone RE460R in a 185/60R15 (609mm OD) be that much better than a Bridgestone RE460R in 185/65R14 (602mm OD)? Not trying to be smart, but just doing my homework before investing in lots of new wheels and tyres. Looking to ditch all the 13's I have, and upgrade to 14's or 15's.

May have a cheap source of Bridgestone tyres available to me, so the question really only applies to the Bridgestones. If Bridgys are the crappiest tyres out there, then maybe I need to rethink my plans.