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Cavalier/Vectra A (1989) wheel/tyre size recomendation.

Posted: Fri Apr 07, 2017 3:04 pm
by japseguten
Hi there!

I am looking to replace the tyres on my Opel Vectra A. It currently sits on 185/65r14 all season tyres, and I want to upgrade to some larger summer wheels. I do have some old 16"4x100 alloys on 205/50R16's laying around with rotten tyres, Should i replace the tyres on these, or get a "new" used set of wheels and tyres that are better optimized for the car?
I really love "cav-slabs" and someone in my country is selling a set, but they use 195/50R15's (they need new tyres anyway though). Don't really know what the best size is, and would love some insight on this :)

Re: Cavalier/Vectra A (1989) wheel/tyre size recomendation.

Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 8:12 pm
by iangsi
GSI 's ran 205 55 15's on the slab rim from the factory most other models ran 195 60 15 's only the Turbos had 16" wheels from new but I don't know what size tyres were fitted

Re: Cavalier/Vectra A (1989) wheel/tyre size recomendation.

Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 8:32 pm
by Mazza
Turbo's to my knowledge were 205 50 16s

However when replacing the tires some owners switched 205 45 16s... or larger rims size

Re: Cavalier/Vectra A (1989) wheel/tyre size recomendation.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 6:56 pm
by cav24v
To keep the same rolling radius you should use 205/45/16's but you might get away with 50 profile.
There are quite a few calculators that you can check the rolling radius on.
Don't forget its illegal to have an under reading speedo.

Re: Cavalier/Vectra A (1989) wheel/tyre size recomendation.

Posted: Sun Apr 09, 2017 10:24 pm
by James McGrath
If you want to keep your original wheels, first of all what model do you have and what engine is in it?

As your current tyre size is 14r I'm guessing it's not a GSI/Turbo.

It's a little difficult to explain as over time the tyre sizes changed for different models. It's all rather complicated so I won't bore you with the details but very basically if it's a 1.8 or up it should have at least 195mm wide tyres. Probably 195/60r14 in your case.

If it's a 1.6 or below it depends on age.
Very early low spec models had 165/80/r13 tyres, then 175/70/r14 became the standard unless it was originally fitted with alloys, in which case they were fitted with 195/60r14 tyres.

If you go with the 'cav slabs' then you can either go with 195/60r15 or 205/55r15 tyres it's up to you.

Re: Cavalier/Vectra A (1989) wheel/tyre size recomendation.

Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:10 pm
by japseguten
James McGrath wrote:If you want to keep your original wheels, first of all what model do you have and what engine is in it?

As your current tyre size is 14r I'm guessing it's not a GSI/Turbo.

It's a little difficult to explain as over time the tyre sizes changed for different models. It's all rather complicated so I won't bore you with the details but very basically if it's a 1.8 or up it should have at least 195mm wide tyres. Probably 195/60r14 in your case.

If it's a 1.6 or below it depends on age.
Very early low spec models had 165/80/r13 tyres, then 175/70/r14 became the standard unless it was originally fitted with alloys, in which case they were fitted with 195/60r14 tyres.

If you go with the 'cav slabs' then you can either go with 195/60r15 or 205/55r15 tyres it's up to you.
Sorry for the late reply!

It is a 2.0i 8v "Opel Vectra A GL trim". My grandpa bought the car new in 1990, so i'm guessing the 14" steelies are original and stock despite the smaller tires they now have.
Either way, thanks for the reply on the tire-sizes for the "slabs". The ones I consider buying are using 195, 50 on r15's, so that would probably be to small for the car? I would prefer not having to buy new tires for them as its fairly expensive here in Norway, and i'm on a tight (first-car) budget ^^