Jim:
According to an article in British Motoring (it was a little periodical by
Moss) the aspect ratio of 185R 15 tires was 82. The recommended "modern"
replacement size in the article was 205/70x15 or 195/75x15. The latter is
almost non-existent.
The one thing to keep in mind (in my opinion) is that the steering and
suspension of these cars were designed for narrower tires. In fact the tires
on the UK market cars were 165R 15! Going to super wide tires can put stresses
on the suspension it was not designed to endure. Symptoms of this are twitchy
or darty steering, wandering over uneven road surfaces, rougher ride.
Not long ago Car and Driver did a small article about the real larger tires
and wheels. They used a VW Golf with a stock 195/65x15 size tire on steel
wheels for the control. They then fitted 16" alloys with 205/55 tires, then
17" alloys with 235/45 tires, and finally 18" alloys with 245/35 tires. The
results showed that the 16" upgrade created a small improvement in g-force
load and a maybe a little crisper subjective feel. The others were actually
worse than the stock set up, plus their unsprung weight was higher. Overall
they evaluated the stock set up as their prefernce for daily driving and brisk
back roads fun.
Unless you plan to autocross, race, or just you like the look of the
bigger wheel and tires, larger tires and wheels probably won't do a lot to
significantly improve the handling of these old cars. FWIW, my car has 15"
Panasport wheels and 205/65 tires. The wheels are much "truer" than the stock
steel rims. As for the tires I will go to 205/70 tires next time. Keep in mind
that almost ANY modern radial you can buy will be a lot better than the
original Michelins or Goodyears that came on the cars when new.
Jim
(snip)
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