205/70R14 on a 5.5" rim?

[waqas]

There seems to be an endless stream of posts about tires, and I'm about to add to that.

Has anyone ever put on 205/70R14 on a 5.5" rim?

I'm planning to put on Michelin Defenders 205/70R14, available at Costco for a good price. The specifications (e.g. see specs on tirerack.com) shows that this tire can be mounted on rim widths 5" to 7", so it's within spec.

I like the handling and stability of the 205/70 tires, and I've used them on 6" rims for years. I'm now switching to the 5.5" pressed alloy rims (from a w123). Any opinions about the pros and cons of using 205/70 on the smaller rim width?

[scoot]

I was going to refer you to tirerack just so you could see the individual specs for the tire.  As you may have found, specific tires (brand, size, model) have different allowable rim sizes.  I have never heard of a 205 70 14 being allowed on a 5" rim, I had thought the minimum is 5.5".  But one learns something new every day (except I would say verify one more time what you read).  Having said that, if you really like that tire size then go for it!   That's my 2 cents.

[mdsalemi]

I'm planning to put on Michelin Defenders 205/70R14, available at Costco for a good price.

Overrated is the best description for this tire. Handling is poor. Soft sidewalls and tread squirm combine to make this tire float at highway speed and rollover in corners. I enjoy driving and like to carve corners. This tire made me a timid driver as I never felt firmly attached to the pavement or confident this tire would hold a corner at speed. Please stop rating this tire as an 8 or 9 for handling.

Waqas, that's a review on the Defender posted at TireRack. For sure it is one opinion, however the telling things to me are the part about soft sidewalls, and tread squirm, and float at highway speed. Before I added Cokers some years ago to my Pagoda, these where my comments and experience exactly with the Pirelli P6000 (I think that was the model...)

At least with Costco if you find the handling peculiar, you can take them back...so don't throw out the old tires so fast!

[waqas]

Michael, thanks for pointing that out. I'll look into the Cokers and others before finalizing. I try not to abuse Costco's fabulous return policy, so I'll want to do as much research as possible before purchase.
Regarding my old Bridgestone 205/70 tires, I think it might be worth it for me to try them on the 5.5" rims before finally settling on this size for the next set of tires.

Thanks

[mdsalemi]

Don't forget the tire du jour, which is the Vredestein Sprint Classic. Like the Coker, a bit pricy, however I suspect from reports here that it is a better tire.
I wouldn't have pointed out that review, because in today's anonymous world, you'll find all kind of people saying all kinds of things about everything. But that review was specific, and the issue with sidewall softness might indeed cause the same results he experienced on his Subaru on your Pagoda. I've had that issue as noted and it was like feeling totally disconnected from the car. I didn't like it...but I lived with it for a while because I didn't know any better.

[Raymond]

Goodrich Radial T/As are a good performance tire that has been around for a very long time.  Current editions have good modern compounds and are quite good in both wet and dry.  They ride nicely and don't have enough road noise to notice over the sound of a Pagoda.  I put 205/70/14s on the 5.5" rims on my car as soon as I bought it.  I had Yokohamas that were fabulously grippy in the corners, surefooted in the wet, but a belt separation when they were 7 years old killed one, so I swapped them all for Cooper white walls.  They looked great but talk about squirmy!  And a light moisture on the pavement made them slide like a boot-scootin' cowgirl when you nailed the brakes.  I replaced them after a couple of thousand miles.  Yokohama doesn't make the size anymore so  I put the Radial T/As on my 6" Aluminum rims.  It's nice to have a corner carver again.  I haven't had any clearance problems on any of them.  

[Shvegel]

I had Yokohama Avid touring tires on my car before restoration.  I though they worked pretty well and were very predictable.

[Tomnistuff]

Back in 2010, when I was a Ferraristi, I installed Vredestein Sprint Classics on a 69 V12 365GT 2+2 and drove it 2000 miles round trip from Maryland to Palm Beach.  I pushed it hard because I was running in a convoy with two other vintage V12 Ferraris driven by slightly younger guys.  The Vredestein Sprint Classics felt wonderful at any speed and especially in curves.  I fell in love with the Vredesteins and would like to put them on my Pagoda but can't find them with wide whitewalls.

Tom Kizer

[mdsalemi]

...can't find them with wide whitewalls...

Tom, you cannot find them with WSW because they do not come with WSW from the factory. However some folks here have had the WSW added by the firms that do this kind of thing, such as Diamond Back Classics. Of course you can always add cheater WW too.

http://www.mooneyesusa.com/Port-O-Walls-Wide-White-p/ww12.htm

[vande17941]

FYI- I have tried numerous brands on mine in the 205 size...the only tire I have found that sticks halfway decent at all (and the only tire HR rated) is the Nankang cx668.  They are just as good as the others, cheap, and have better handling and a higher speed rating.  Still...all these 14" tires are passenger tires, definitely not high performance.

[waqas]

Just a quick update on this thread: I was able to procure a full set of five pressed alloy 123 rims (6") so I went ahead with the 205/70R14 Michelin Defenders. It took a while to have the wheels stripped, powder coated, and mounted with tyres, but they're not yet on the car. I'll report back once I've driven the car a bit.

I read through most of the reviews, but it can be hard to decide based on just reviews. Firstly, reviewers don't always indicate the make/model of the car and the corresponding tyre size they're basing their review on. I had a detailed discussion with a local tyre shop manager, and he mentioned different tyre dimensions can play a big role in how a particular brand/model tyre performs, and it's not easy to translate that to our particular size (e.g. sidewall stiffness is dependent on the tyre profile dimensions being considered). Secondly, the particular car type and how it tends to be driven sets the expectations on tyre performance. I finally came across a number of mentions of the Michelin Defender on some generic MB user forums that specifically talked about installing 205/70R14 on their older cars (w108/w111/w107 etc), and they were generally all positive, so I took the plunge.