Best tire pressure for 69 dart with P245 60R14
Like several have posted,very much personal preference especially if its about how it looks.
If a wide tire is used on too narrow of a rim, then the tread closest to the sidewall gets lifted. That negates the major advantage of a wide tire.
245/60r14 is pushing the limit on a 7" rim for a BFG T/A Radial. In the US, Hankook doesn't offer a tire in that size.
The measurements that you need to be careful with on the front is the backspace and offset. Too much backspace and the wheel or tire can touch the upper control arm-balljoint, and/or sway bar arm. Too little and a big tire can catch the fender lip - distance is somewhat dependent on specific model.
Moving the offset further out increases the distance your wheel turns vs. the pivot line created by the ball points.
Very Generally
Pressure should be within the tire manufacture's recommended range.
Wider tire usually has wider tread and can develop more traction on smooth dry pavement if the rubber compund is sticky enough.
Narrower tire has a better time cutting through snow, water, etc and concentrating force where friction is more important than sticktion.
Shorter tire will lower your effective gearing and taller tire will increase it. In other words, a shorter tire will accelerate the car more easily, everything else equal.
Bigger tire will generally weigh more.
Shorter sidewall will be stiffer and more responsive. Taller sidewall provides more protection and maintains better contact on rough pavement.
In the US, Hankook offers a sporty all season tire in the sizes Johnny Dart mentioned, and they'd fit well on a 14 x 6, 6.5 or 7" wide rim. Obviously you may have different choices in Brazil.
Thanks for all the information Mattax, I will probably put on not more than 1,000 miles a year on that car and just want to make it look better with a wider tire, as IMHO the 205 looks skinny to me for that car.
Once the stock rims are 5.5" wide and I run 205 70 R14, replacing with a 7.0" rim for the 245 60 R14 would be equivalent and as you described I may experience some edge lifting on the bands due to the fact the band will be wider than the rim. In order to avoid that I`d imagine I needed to lower pressure.
Tire options for 14" rims in Brazil are almost none, the largest you can get from major brands is 185 any larger than that would be imported tires. Hankook only offers the 245 and 235 60 R14 then it goes down to 205.
BFG cost like US$ 350 each so i am not spending that.
Currently my dart has the 5.5" rims and 205 tires and shows that on the rear wheels, I need to set pressure like 26 psi or lower to have full contact, any higher will make the sides of the band lift and lose contact.
And that means also uneven wear I guess.
Any way, I am surprised with all the good info I got in response.
And once you gave all that info I`d ask you one more thing... is it ok to use old magnesium rim wheels from the 70`s today? I heard something about these old mag wheels cracking due to aging...
The set of rims I am about to buy look like new and had little use, besides I will put on a tall tire with good amount of rubber.
I am asking all that before I go spend some ca$$$h because these things are way more expensive down here. Thanks again to all.
