Question About Interchanging Tires

[yahoo1]

Hi folks! I've got a 2002 Ford Escort SE (4 door), which came NEW with 185/65/R14 Tires. It's now got 195/65/R14 tires, which came with it when I bought the car USED. I don't know for sure, but I assume it has the original rims (wheels) on it.

Anyway, my question is: have any folks discovered any other SIZE TIRES that should work fine on my car without ANY alterations or adjustments needed?

When I look on Craigslist for good used 185/65/R14, or 195/65/R14 tires, there are very few of them. So that's why I'd like to find other sizes that will work fine on my car, if that's possible.

I did see an ad in the paper for NEW 185/70/R14's, which were $50, and that's about $10 less than the 185/65/R14's price. But, would they work on my car???

Thanks for any thoughts!
yahoo1

[Scrapper]

look on your rite front door jam it should tell you what sizes will work. also they have the size's that fit it where you buy tires i'd check at sears don't mean your going to buy there.

[yahoo1]

Originally Posted by Scrapper

look on your rite front door jam it should tell you what sizes will work. also they have the size's that fit it where you buy tires i'd check at sears don't mean your going to buy there.

The label says that my car uses 185/65/R14 tires, and also a 15 inch size tire which I'm not interested in. As stated in my post, I already knew that my car came with 185/65/R14 tires. As I also stated, my car currently has 195/65/R14 tires on it which seem to work OK, so that's why I thought that there very well could be OTHER sizes which could ALSO work well on my car.

[AzTumbleweed]

A tire dealer should have a book that tells.

[denisond3]

You could also poke around on this site:
www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

[yahoo1]

Originally Posted by denisond3

You could also poke around on this site:
www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

Thanks for the suggestion, Denisond3! I'll look there.
yahoo1

[Swepstks88]

YES, 185/70R14 tires will fit your 2002 Ford Escort SE 4-door. I have them on my 2002 Ford Escort SE 4-door without any clearance problems.

[yahoo1]

Originally Posted by Swepstks88

YES, 185/70R14 tires will fit your 2002 Ford Escort SE 4-door. I have them on my 2002 Ford Escort SE 4-door without any clearance problems.

Thank you very much, Swepstks88!! I guess I had pretty much given up hope for anymore comments about my tire question. Welcome to Automotive Forums and best wishes!
yahoo1

[Swepstks88]

Thanks Yahoo1, I learned from you that 195/65R14 tires will also fit my 2002 Escort, but you mentioned that they "seem to work OK"...what do you mean? I've noticed that the original 185/65R14 size tires are a bit more expensive than the other (regular, not specialty) sizes. If I were to change tires again, I would comparison shop www.tirerack.com and the like websites and have the tires delivered to my home. Then, I would have them mounted & speed balanced by a professional friend's auto shop under-the-table for a flat $10-15 each tire...no road hazard, no receipt except all new valve stems previously bought from Walmart to be installed. I would skip places like Walmart for carrying in your tires to be installed. In Oakland, monkeys PLAY & monkeys DO damage because of all the monkeying around that I have seen (ie. stripped oil pan drain bolt because of cross threading or in using an air tool to zap the bolt on when hand tightening will suffice).
If you are not automotive savvy, you can't control your auto repairs very much. Mechanics may take you for a ride $$$. This is why I hate certain mechanics and I hate ALL dealers.
Since owning my 2002 Escort, I've noticed that the back 3rd brake light burns out quite often until I finally replaced that bulb with the long lasting life ones. The long life bulbs are brighter too. There are other common problems with the 2002 3rd generation Escort that I found, but I will save it for another time.

[yahoo1]

Swepstks88, What did I mean regarding my 195/65/R14 tires "seem to be working OK"? Well, I don't think they're rubbing anywhere. However, I have had a huge amount of problems with this car since I bought it in Nov of 2006, including problems with the tires. The tire problems started out with one being flat one morning, which apparently was due to a "slow rim leak" because of rust. I got it fixed at a tire place, but was never able to see exactly what the rim looked like. In other words, how bad was the rust, and did they remove most of it? Anyway, this was a year or two ago, and BOTH of the front tires seem to have VERY slow leaks again! So although there's a lot of tread on them, I'm getting very frustrated with the VERY slow leaks. Actually 88, I've got a hunch that this car might have suffered some FLOODING! As I said, I've had a LOT of trouble with this car! I think that I've spent about $3000 in repairs and maintenance since I got it. And some of the problems seem to point towards the car having had some flooding damage. I'm just not sure.

[Swepstks88]

Yahoo1, thanks for your reply. I understand about the 195/65R14 tires. Although I don't own any, flood cars should have telltale signs like certain related smells that just won't go away or corroded (interior) electrical contacts where it shouldn't be, but then your Eastern climate may make it difficult for you to readily tell. Alas, unless you do-it-yourself, every move you make to better the 2002 Escort will cost you $$$. May I suggest that you attempt to relieve your Escort tire frustration/stress ASAP? Start with the simple methods of inspection like removing one front tire and take it indoors where the freezing cold won't disturb you. Spray some soapy water on the uncapped valve stem to see if any bubbling appears. Spray both edges of the rim/tire to see if there are any tire bead leaks. Check the tire itself for anything unusual (ie. deformations, micro-cracks, etc.). It may be that your front tires only leak with a load on them. If no result...then have your tires taken off the rims and clean and inspect everything (ie. damaged beads, rusty/bend rims, etc.).

[Intuit]

As I understood it, 195/65 is a ratio between tire width and wall height. So a 185/65 in essence, will have more sidewall than a 195/65. 185/70 will work without issue. With the extra wall height, you will have a smoother ride however your cornering and steering may feel uncomfortably "loose." (may feel like you're riding on a bubble) You can increase tire pressure to help compensate.

Salvage yards will let stock, iron/steel wheels go pretty danged cheap. Keeping your old equipment, simply pick up a few 14" wheels from the local UPull&Pay or equivalent. If you already have tires, call around and find out how much for mounting+balancing alone. Checked awhile ago and the local places charge about $5 - $10 per wheel, mounted and balanced. Salvage yards will guarantee their parts for exchange; but of course they won't cover any of the expenses involved with time, inconvenience, labor, etcetera.

You might want to figure up a list of all the parts, (such as wheel bearings, parking brake lines for instance,) and items that may have been and more importantly, will be affected by the suspected flooding, then research all that is involved in obtaining the parts and installing them. That way you can then be prepared with any one of a few decisions including, abandonment, acquiring tools, parts, help for self-repair, estimated cost in future shop repairs. Unfortunately it is neigh impossible to gauge what the costs will be if you're experiencing electrical gremlins. If the vehicle is electrically unreliable, may strongly consider abandonment. Don't know whether lemon laws apply here, but may be illegal to sell it; especially since some repair shops register their repairs with a database that may be pulled with VIN information.