16" Tyres?

[stiletto72]

Hi all,

I am a new visitor to your excellent website, and have recently bought a slightly run-down UK spec 92 model with T.Bar roof. I intend to fully sort the car, as it has not been modified at all before putting back on the road as an every day driver in standard-ish trim!

It has what appear to be standard alloys, but fitted with 16" 50 section tyres, 2 of which need replacing. All the information says that it should be on 15" alloys/tyres and could I ask the experts if anyone has come across this before, is there a 16" standard alloy or has someone put the wrong tyres on ?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Nigel

[peteV6R5]

Hi all,

I am a new visitor to your excellent website, and have recently bought a slightly run-down UK spec 92 model with T.Bar roof. I intend to fully sort the car, as it has not been modified at all before putting back on the road as an every day driver in standard-ish trim!

It has what appear to be standard alloys, but fitted with 16" 50 section tyres, 2 of which need replacing. All the information says that it should be on 15" alloys/tyres and could I ask the experts if anyone has come across this before, is there a 16" standard alloy or has someone put the wrong tyres on ?

Thanks in advance for your replies.

Nigel

Hi and welcome to the OC
standard wheels were 14 on early REVs and 15 on later revs to accommodate the lager brakes on later the REVs.
Great article in know your 2
http://mr2oc.co.uk/know-your-2-knowledg ... bartid=261
However you must have 16" wheels otherwise the tyres would not fit. So must be aftermarket.
16" should be 45 not 50 to keep the tyres the same overall size
14 = 55 profile / aspect ratio
15 = 50
16 = 45
17 = 40
18 - 35

best bet is to put some pics up as they certainly help.

[shinny]

Welcome

Standard alloys were 15", with the earliest mk2 cars getting 14" alloys. 16" tyres will not fit on 15" wheels, so either you've misread the tyre or you have aftermarket alloy wheels. Pop a photo up and we'll be able to tell you immediately if they're standard or not.

Generally Pete has already said everything that needs to be said...

14 = 55 profile / aspect ratio
15 = 50
16 = 45
17 = 40
18 - 35

That's a very rough guide, and doesn't even represent the standard size tyres accurately! The profile is different between the front and back on the standard tyres due to the different widths (although the sidewall height remains the same), having 195/55/15 at the front and 225/50/15 at the rear.

[stiletto72]

Hi,
Many thanks to Pete and Shinny for your replies and v.interesting tyre info/sizes, etc.
I had a closer look at the car today, and yes, it definitely is fitted with 205/50/16 tyres all round, and as a total MR2 novice, but a long-time classic car owner/mechanic, I made an interesting discovery after wire brushing the back of the wheel rims:-

They are NOT Toyota wheels but Nissan ones! Yes, I feel a real numbskull for mistaking for the original alloys, but the car sits nicely on them, with nothing obviously offset or inset or rubbing anywhere! They are 61/2J x 16" rims, the PCD is obviously the same, and nothing fouls on the brake calipers or struts, so I probably need to acquire the correct items at some time. For now I'm tempted to see what it drives like once its MOT'd but will keep an eye on the handling, as its not the different front-rear tyre width combination it was designed to have.

Attached are couple of pics, for now.

Another problem I have is that the rear boot cannot be opened. The inside pull catch is not working, and the ignition/door key I have will not turn the ext key lock. This could be fun to sort out, me thinks! Any idea how I can access the boot lock mechanism, folks?

Thanks again for your assistance, and yes I'm having my eyes tested soon.....

Regards

Nigel

[peteV6R5]

they do look like some standard wheels.

1st things 1st you really need to get some wider tyres on the rear - the MR2 is set up to have a minimum of 20mm wider tyres (30mm is ideal).
if you have same size then you will get more over steer.
what you can get away with is the width of the wheel,
This chart will give you min / max and ideal tyres for wheel widths.
http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/equ ... dvice.html

6.5" is not really enough as it allows max 215 tyres to get 20mm diff you would need 195 on the front.

nice set of 16" staggered would not go amiss

[Howlin_Mad]

The MR2 comes with two keys, a Master and a Valet. The idea being, you lock the boot and the glovebox with the Master and give the Valet key to the person parking your key so your valuables are safe. Either you are trying to open the boot with the Valet ( to check, try and lock/unlock the glovebox) or you have turned the boot mechanism the wrong way and it has engaged valet mode. If not used often they are notorious for sticking.

Try spraying some WD40 into the lock and keep trying to lock and unlock it.

Oh, and welcome to the club!

HM

[stiletto72]

Hi,
Thanks again for this useful info. I will definitely need to revert to some original 15" alloys for now, as I take your point about the handling issues - its a shame because these Nissan alloys are actually in v.good condition!

Re: the boot lock, I only have the one key, so it'll be interesting to try it in glovebox, doors etc.
Suspect the catch has had little if any maintenance, so could possibly be seized - we'll see!

The car is well worth preserving as the shell is so good. Pity these cars are so under-valued price-wise and have fallen into the hands of neglectful owners instead of ones prepared to properly maintain them....

Regards

Nigel

[shinny]

Those look like standard 200SX (S14) alloys to me, hopefully with spigot rings to change the bore from 67mm to 60.1mm...





As for the boot lock, if the lock is horizontal then it's in valet mode... if it's vertical it's in normal mode and the internal pull lever should work. I'd put money on it being horizontal and thus in valet mode.