Civic Steelies

**quagmire** · 11-14-2002, 01:37 PM

Is it only the 7th gen Civics that come with 15" steel wheels, or did they come on other years too? The reason I ask is that the tires I bought the car with suck-diddly-uck, and I want to replace them. I like the look of a steel wheels, so I figured when I went to get tires, I could ask if they had a Civic in lately to get the wheels from. If not, I guess I'll have to save for a set of 16" Slipstreams.
On a side note, what would good tires could a get at a reasonable price? Say like $150 for the whole set, maybe more. i suppose I could ask the tire tech, but I value ya'lls opinions and experience more.

**Jims 86LXI HB** · 11-14-2002, 02:16 PM

Originally posted by quagmire
Is it only the 7th gen Civics that come with 15" steel wheels, or did they come on other years too? The reason I ask is that the tires I bought the car with suck-diddly-uck, and I want to replace them. I like the look of a steel wheels, so I figured when I went to get tires, I could ask if they had a Civic in lately to get the wheels from. If not, I guess I'll have to save for a set of 16" Slipstreams.
On a side note, what would good tires could a get at a reasonable price? Say like $150 for the whole set, maybe more. i suppose I could ask the tire tech, but I value ya'lls opinions and experience more.

The 7th gen's are the only years of civic to get 15" steelies. The only 6th gen's to get 15's are the alloy's for the SI's. One other thing is how wide are those steelies? With 205 width tires, you'd want wider rims 6" to 6.5"

As far as rota's and your choice of tire, how do you want your car to perform? Since you've mentioned the rota's I would assume weight is important to you, correct? Do you want a all-season tire or performance rubber only. With a $150 tire budget, your not going to be able to get a worthwhile tire.

And their's the matter of size. Their are 2 plus sizes for 15" for the 3rd gen accord 195/55-15" (stay away from 195-50) and 205/50-15. You will find a bigger selection and better prices with the 205's.

**quagmire** · 11-14-2002, 03:46 PM

I was hoping you'd respond Jim. I'm looking to start autocrossing, so thats what I want to tire the car for. And yes I care about weight, so thats why I picked the Slipstreams. As far as the $150, I was really just pulling a number out of my ass. I was in trucks before this, and just one 35-12.50-15 was $150, so I dont really know what I was thinking.
Are BF Goodrich G-Force T/As any good? A friend of mine has them on his Cuda that he autocrosses and loves them. If not then what are some good tires for autocross that dont wear too fast, but will give good handling?
Also, would running 16 with the correct plus size be better than 15s with the correct plus size for handling?

I also have suspension questions, but will save those for later.
Thanks.

**1989se-i** · 11-14-2002, 04:16 PM

how much do steelies weigh?

**Grant2k** · 11-14-2002, 05:19 PM

Jim, correct me if i'm wrong (i probably am) but you would want to go with 15" rather than 16" spipstreams and 205/50/15s for the best performance in an autocross situation, right? i know i have read a lot of stuff on hear saying 15s are the best, but if you use a 16 with less sidewall, would that be just as good? what size 16 would be comprable to a 205/50/15? it would be a 205/45/16, correct? and is it possible that that particular 16" tire may actually be a bit shorter than the 15 and in turn have less sidewall and be better for autocrossing? i am rambling confusing ideas now, so i'll shuut up.

and a barracuda autocrosser? elephant on rollerskates. awsome.

**Jims 86LXI HB** · 11-14-2002, 07:49 PM

Originally posted by quagmire
I was hoping you'd respond Jim. I'm looking to start autocrossing, so thats what I want to tire the car for. And yes I care about weight, so thats why I picked the Slipstreams. As far as the $150, I was really just pulling a number out of my ass. I was in trucks before this, and just one 35-12.50-15 was $150, so I dont really know what I was thinking.
Are BF Goodrich G-Force T/As any good? A friend of mine has them on his Cuda that he autocrosses and loves them. If not then what are some good tires for autocross that dont wear too fast, but will give good handling?
Also, would running 16 with the correct plus size be better than 15s with the correct plus size for handling?

I also have suspension questions, but will save those for later.
Thanks.

Hmmm, I think their's 2 way's of looking at what you want to do. 1. is to get stuff that's a inhancement, with the goal to have fun, but with the realization that you aren't going all out to place up higher on the winner's list. 2. is to get stuff that's pretty darn good and theirfore more expensive. With the goal of giving it your best shot to place on the winner's list. I think you can you can do the serious effort to different degree's.

For what you want to do, 15" is the way to go. 16" rims may look better but 15's are going to be lighter and most of the autocrosser's I read about use 15". Those 15" civic steelies are going to weigh at least 20lbs per, so getting rota's would be a significant improvement. The steelies would be ok if your out for fun and not really chasing placement.

Yes Bf-Goodrich G-force KDW tire's are excellent, but their gonna bust your wallet at $153 each for 205/50-15 Two other alturnatives are Falken Azenis sports $65 a tire and the kumho 712's at $63 at tire. I vote for the Azenis tires. In a cost does not matter enviroment, the KDW is a slightly better performing tire.

**Jims 86LXI HB** · 11-14-2002, 07:55 PM

Originally posted by 1989se-i
how much do steelies weigh?

Well civic 13 civic steelies weight 16lbs. 14" steelies weigh 18lbs, so 15" likely weigh 20lbs. No one actuall list thier weight, but I did see where several other car's with 15" steelies came in at 20lbs, so.

**quagmire** · 11-14-2002, 09:23 PM

Sounds good. I dont now anything about car tires or good sizes, been reading about trucks (and musclecars) since 7th grade ( I'm a sophomore at UT now). Anyway, those azeni's sound like a great deal. If I were to put the Azeni's on my stock steelies, would that still yield good handling, considering sidewall and other variables i now jack about? Only reason I ask, is because I can't afford new wheels right now and I REALLY need new tires. I've already gone into two death slides. "shiver"

**Jims 86LXI HB** · 11-14-2002, 11:02 PM

Originally posted by quagmire
Sounds good. I dont now anything about car tires or good sizes, been reading about trucks (and musclecars) since 7th grade ( I'm a sophomore at UT now). Anyway, those azeni's sound like a great deal. If I were to put the Azeni's on my stock steelies, would that still yield good handling, considering sidewall and other variables i now jack about? Only reason I ask, is because I can't afford new wheels right now and I REALLY need new tires. I've already gone into two death slides. "shiver"

I'm going to assume when you ask if you can put the Azenis on your stock steelies, that your talking about the 15" civic steelies and not your stock 14" steelies. Yes you can, and you will notice a big improvement in how the car handles. The tire is very stiff and that will minimize sidewall deflection. In a car that is modified to reduce body roll, some sidewall flex is a good thing, it help's keep more of the tires contact patch on the road, in spite of the body roll. And keep in mind that if and when you deside to move up to the rota's, that you'll be able to sell your 15" steelies without a problem to someone else on the board.

And if you were wondering about getting Azenis sports for your stock 14" rims, your in luck they offer that tire in 14", which is really surprising.

**quagmire** · 11-14-2002, 11:50 PM

Actually, I did mean my stock 14" wheels. Sorry for the confusion. So, do you think it would be better handling wise to wait until I can afford 15" steelies to put the Azenis on? Only reason I ask is because I'm planning to get new tires soon, so I'd like to know if there is a significant handling difference between my stock 14s and the Civic 15s with Azenis. Secondly, will the heavier 15s hurt acceleration significantly? Because, my stock motor doesnt need anymore loads to haul around, my fat ass is enough.

**Jims 86LXI HB** · 11-15-2002, 12:30 AM

Originally posted by quagmire
Actually, I did mean my stock 14" wheels. Sorry for the confusion. So, do you think it would be better handling wise to wait until I can afford 15" steelies to put the Azenis on? Only reason I ask is because I'm planning to get new tires soon, so I'd like to know if there is a significant handling difference between my stock 14s and the Civic 15s with Azenis. Secondly, will the heavier 15s hurt acceleration significantly? Because, my stock motor doesnt need anymore loads to haul around, my fat ass is enough.

The weight differance between 14" and 15" steelies isn't much, 2lbs. But were are talking about a wider tire in the 205/50-15, that's a bigger factor. In my opinion it would be worth the expence of getting the 15" steelies. Especially since if you wanted the lighter rims, you'd allready be a step closer with the same tire size. Now to give you all the fact's 195/60-14 Falken Azenis Sports are $44 a tire. Here's the place that I'm getting those price's from.

http://www.ec-securehost.com/OnlineT...l#FalkenAZENIS

**quagmire** · 11-15-2002, 07:18 AM

A question. Those look like they have great dry traction, but what about wet traction? It rains a lot in Houston and Austin, and wet traction is one of the reasons I'm looking for new tires. I guess I probably should have mentioned that before.

**Jims 86LXI HB** · 11-15-2002, 09:36 AM

Originally posted by quagmire
A question. Those look like they have great dry traction, but what about wet traction? It rains a lot in Houston and Austin, and wet traction is one of the reasons I'm looking for new tires. I guess I probably should have mentioned that before.

No problem, I will say that every non all-season high performance tire I've ever owned has out performed every all-season tire I've ever owned in the rain. I don't care how the manufactuers say thier all-season tire perform in the rain, my experience was always different. Now I'm sure that would be a totally different story in the mud and snow. I'll post in a couple of different forums where I know people are, that have those tires.

**quagmire** · 11-15-2002, 11:08 AM

Great. Then its settled. As soon as i make it back to H-town, I'll visit Discount Tire and ask about the Azenis. Ill also inquire about the civic steelies, but they're not a sure thing.