I have a question concerning tires on a newly purchased1975 2002 with 14" rims.... I noticed that the current tires are 195/65s which appear to be too large as they rub the front wheel well when making a tight turn. Is there a recommended tire size for a (non racing) 14" rim on these cars?
Welcome to the club & forums! I'm no 2002 expert, but presumably your options would be a lower profile (ie, lower aspect ratio) or lesser width. However, wheel offset also matters, the rubbing could be wheel-related, if the offset has the wheel too far inboard or outboard in the wheel-well. Spacers can decrease offset, but if the offset is too low, there's no practical way to get the wheels moved more inboard, so then it would have to be different wheels. I suppose caster theoretically could also be an issue, but seems like something would have to be waaay off for some reason with the several suspension locating points. Useful go-to site for things '02 related: http://www.bmw2002faq.com/
As garrison mentioned you need to check the offset wheel spacers sound like they will help your issue. But I know there isn't much less you can get for a new tires with less aspect ratio either. I think 195/60/14 which will giver you a 5% less tall tire which might helps as well. You could do to a 185/55/14 odd size I know but yokohama does have a S drive in that size. Just a couple suggestions.
195/60/14 are the same diameter as the stock set up. Wheel offset and backspace are key to whether they will rub in the front, either against the fender lip or, at full lock, the rear portion of the inner front fender. Search the web on offset and backspace for more details. Find lots of experts at the bmw2002faq web site. John '74 2002
