A question about tires. I drive a 2000 Honda Civic Si 2DR

[iconboy]

Hey guys

Let me start off by saying that I dont know anything about cars- which is why i bought a honda civic. I take it in for oil changes and have never had a problem with it (thank God, knock on wood). So I dont know much about tires and sound systems and whatever. I drive a 2000 Honda Civic Si 2DR with everything stock on it.

Anyways Ive noticed that one of the tires has a leak in it and the rest of the tires are really worn out badly. Ive owned the car for about 5 years and have never changed the tires so i think its time to change them. Right now the tires on the civic are Pirelli (sp?) P185/65R14 which i dont know what it means except i think the 14 at the end means they are 14" ? Anyways they are stock rims (black with a lot of rust) with bent/scratched up plastic hub caps ontop.

Right now Canadian Tire is having a sale on their MotoMaster Se Tires. For the size i need according to the website- the tires are $74 a pop which is about $290 without taxes. And i assume this means they will just put these tires on my old rims.

BUT...

I found this guy on craigslist selling a set of four 15" stock alloy RIMs w/ Michelin TIRES from a 2000 Honda Accord SE (P195/65R15 91H). They are silver. Tires itself are 8/10 and rims have scratches so 6/10. Overall condition = 7/10.

He wanted $400 for the tires , but i talked him down to $300

First off do you guys think these tires will fit and be ok on my honda civic?

Do you think that this is a good deal? Even though the tires are used the seller assured me that they were healthy enough to get another 2-3 years out of them.

OR do you guys think I should go with the Canadian Tire tires as they have a 5 year warranty?

so confused! :(

thanks in advance for any help/ insight!

EDIT: BTW here is a picture of the tire that dude is selling :)

[philcruicks]

Buying used tyres generally isn't a good idea, you don't really know where they've come from or what they've been through.

Personally I'd say stick with new ones from a proper tyre supplier.

and P185/65R14 breaks down to:

P - speed rating (P= 93mph/150kph)

185 - width (mm)

65 - profile (mm)

R14 - radius 14inches

[leedogg]

http://www.tirerack.com/

for all your tire research needs.

[Bloodwork]

Tires are generally one thing you definitely do not skimp on when it comes to a vehicle. Remember they keep you stuck to the road and not wrapped around a tree. As for a brand I'm partial to Bridgestone.

[chconline Veteran]

If you're after the best all seasons... Continental ExtremeContact DWS ;) Everything else are just 'no seasons' compared to these. They stick like glue in the dry, does the same in the wet, and runs circles around people in the snow unless they have Xice2's or Blizzaks. And that's coming from a guy who actually have Bridgestone Blizzaks on his other car.

As others have advised don't skimp on tires. They keep you on the road and it's a fundamental part to your safety. You can't put a price on safety.

[sc302 Veteran]

Here is the downside to the accord rims, the bolt pattern will not match a civic. It is about 4mm off from what I just read. You will be stuck with rims and tires that won't fit on your car. IMO either find someone selling stock civic si rims with tires or stock civic rims with tires. Make sure they are of the same year (or at least same body shape) to be sure the rims will fit properly. Short of that buy the tires to fit on your rims and either deal with the rust or send them out to be fixed.

Accord 4 cyl bolt pattern 4x114.3

Accord 6 cyl bolt pattern 5x114.3

Civic bolt pattern 4x100

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=92

go to tire rack and search for wheels, search for wheels for each car, and you will see that the bolt pattern is different between them.

[revvo]

Right now Canadian Tire is having a sale on their MotoMaster Se Tires. For the size i need according to the website- the tires are $74 a pop which is about $290 without taxes. And i assume this means they will just put these tires on my old rims.

Avoid Canadian Tire, especially their Motormaster brand tires.... they can't even balance their own tires.

i"m also shopping around for all season tires for basically the same car as yours, except mine's a 1998 and I don't even have rims, I'm rollin with some steelies :D.

I think I'll most probably go for some Pirelli P4s, one place was advertising them on sale for $76/each.

[iconboy]

Here is the downside to the accord rims, the bolt pattern will not match a civic. It is about 4mm off from what I just read. You will be stuck with rims and tires that won't fit on your car. IMO either find someone selling stock civic si rims with tires or stock civic rims with tires. Make sure they are of the same year (or at least same body shape) to be sure the rims will fit properly. Short of that buy the tires to fit on your rims and either deal with the rust or send them out to be fixed.

Accord 4 cyl bolt pattern 4x114.3

Accord 6 cyl bolt pattern 5x114.3

Civic bolt pattern 4x100

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=92

go to tire rack and search for wheels, search for wheels for each car, and you will see that the bolt pattern is different between them.

Thanks for explaining that to me in better detail i couldnt make sense of that info when i searched for it online :) I will avoid the accord tires all together.

Avoid Canadian Tire, especially their Motormaster brand tires.... they can't even balance their own tires.

i"m also shopping around for all season tires for basically the same car as yours, except mine's a 1998 and I don't even have rims, I'm rollin with some steelies :D.

I think I'll most probably go for some Pirelli P4s, one place was advertising them on sale for $76/each.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep me informed on your tire purchase! :) Right now im rolling on Pirelli P4s and if i can get them at $76 that would be awesome! :)

Do you remember where you saw this advertised? Are they new?

I would rather buy from a store than a person because then i can use my credit card (Canadian Tire Mastercard) and pay that off slowly over the course of 2-3 months

(IM POOR.) :(

Thanks again everyone for all the great advice! Whenever i have a question about my car i always come to this forum first- sometimes even before i use google! LOL ;)

[Kreuger]

Even if the bolt pattern fits, you could still have trouble. I bought my winters used off Kijiji and they were the same but the width (they were coming off an old Camry and going on my newer Carolla) of the rim itself was different. They didn't fit over the caliper. So now I have to sell these rims and pick up another set so I can have two sets (one for winter, one for summer). So just keep that in mind.

[sc302 Veteran]

Even if the bolt pattern fits, you could still have trouble. I bought my winters used off Kijiji and they were the same but the width (they were coming off an old Camry and going on my newer Carolla) of the rim itself was different. They didn't fit over the caliper. So now I have to sell these rims and pick up another set so I can have two sets (one for winter, one for summer). So just keep that in mind.

yes, you also have to worry about backspacing, but I didn't get there being that the wheel won't physically fit onto the bolts.

[iconboy]

btw someone mentioned that they are "rolling around on steelies" what does this mean? stock rims?

[sc302 Veteran]

steel wheels, not stock wheels. they are ugly low cost wheels in most cases.

Stock 2000 civic si

[philcruicks]

btw someone mentioned that they are "rolling around on steelies" what does this mean? stock rims?

mean the wheel is made from steel not an alloy

steel is cheaper and you'll normally find them on the base model/range cars, these are always covered by a hubcap to make them look nicer.

alloy is more expensive but better, so the higher model/ranges usually have them.

[rathefeare]

Yep my dedicated snow tires go on a set of "steelies" for 3 months out of the year. Yeah they look horrible, but they are cheap and they keep my better wheels from the winter abuse and salt. They also make it quick and easy to change out if we get a freak snow storm in April.

[revvo]

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep me informed on your tire purchase! :) Right now im rolling on Pirelli P4s and if i can get them at $76 that would be awesome! :)

Do you remember where you saw this advertised? Are they new?

Yeah new, it's some store here called Tire Express Mechanic.... except I called them, and they gave me a total of $450 with installation/balancing... so something doesn't add up. I think they included the mail in rebate of $40 in the price advertised.

btw someone mentioned that they are "rolling around on steelies" what does this mean? stock rims?

It's rollin In Style!

I don't have rims/alloys because it wouldn't save much weight unless I got some serious wheels, and clean looking Hondas like mine (not riced) attract thieves.

steel wheels, not stock wheels. they are ugly low cost wheels in most cases.

Stock 2000 civic si

Most stocks wheels have plastic caps over the steelies though

That's the USDM 99-00 Civic Si, or SiR in Canada.... It's much more expensive to insure :/

[sc302 Veteran]

Most low end or low model cars have steel wheels with wheel covers/hub caps. Most new cars have alloys. You have to be pinching pennies or specifically looking for steel wheels any more. Most mid ranged cars come with alloys any more unless you go with an optionless mid ranged car.

steelies are not rolling in any sort of style, unless low budget wheels are "style" now. IDK why someone would switch to steelies unless they have some sort of race rubber on them, or for some sort of weight savings vs a 8-11" wide wheel.

[revvo]

That was suppose to sound sarcastic :s

I won't kid myself. What performance gain will I get from going to alloy wheels? Probably very little at best. I'll make sure my next car will actually have nice wheels because it either be an Acura TSX, Subaru WRX or an old 325i Bimmer. Then I'll worry about style :p

[iconboy]

lol then i guess my pirellis are on steelies. never really bothered me until now that i have more of an understanding of what alloy rims are :p oh well -im on a budget :p haha

anyone suggest new tires in toronto installed and balanced for around $350?

[sc302 Veteran]

That was suppose to sound sarcastic :s

I won't kid myself. What performance gain will I get from going to alloy wheels? Probably very little at best. I'll make sure my next car will actually have nice wheels because it either be an Acura TSX, Subaru WRX or an old 325i Bimmer. Then I'll worry about style :p

on a rwd car during weight transfer at launch. you want to have as little weight in the front as possible. switching to steelies will do this on a budget. otherwise a nice set of bogarts are the ticket (the thinner wheels are your fronts).

[CoLdFuSi0n]

You should never buy used tires unless they are from a autherized dealer. You don't know for sure how the tires were stored or if there are any cracks with in the rubber. If you were to look for used tires i'd suggest going to KalTire or any major tire dealership. At least if you did this they have warrenty which covers stuff you wouldn't get if you were buy them used from some guy off the street.

[iconboy]

Hey guys.

Turns out that i was wrong about having Pirelli P4s on my civic. They are actually Pirelli P3000 185/65R-14 which apparently they dont make anymore.

Anyways I took my car to a trusted mechanic I have to get the oil changed and he told me that only one of my tires are bad and needs to be replaced. He said the tread on the other tires was fine and I could easily get another 2-3 years out of them.

So i called around town and noone has Pirelli P3000! :( I did find a place that was selling Pirelli P4 in the size i need for $105 a pop. So what do you guys think?

If i get my hands on a P3000 tire i think i can get away with just changing the 1 tire. But if i cant...

can i get away with changing the front 2 tires with Pirelli P4s?

[sc302 Veteran]

Sure.

[rathefeare]

Hey guys.

Turns out that i was wrong about having Pirelli P4s on my civic. They are actually Pirelli P3000 185/65R-14 which apparently they dont make anymore.

Anyways I took my car to a trusted mechanic I have to get the oil changed and he told me that only one of my tires are bad and needs to be replaced. He said the tread on the other tires was fine and I could easily get another 2-3 years out of them.

So i called around town and noone has Pirelli P3000! :( I did find a place that was selling Pirelli P4 in the size i need for $105 a pop. So what do you guys think?

If i get my hands on a P3000 tire i think i can get away with just changing the 1 tire. But if i cant...

can i get away with changing the front 2 tires with Pirelli P4s?

Just remember new rubber goes on the rear for a street car if you can rotate them. Tight is much safer, intuitive and more controllable than loose.

[Brendan Melanson]

I've had a lot of experience with tires. MotoMaster is a cheap brand, they wear fast too. You can buy new rims at Canadian Tire, and they'll put new tires on them, make sure you have them balanced and rotated and you should see if you need an alignment done as that affects your tire wear.

Go for midgrade tires. Goodyear is a good company, haven't had a problem yet.