There is no doubt that lower profile, wider tires will handle better on dry road conditions but you will sacrifice some fuel mileage caused by increased drag of the wider tires. That is why you see skinny tires on cars designed to give high fuel mileage. Also, in bad weather conditions, wider tires may not give as good traction because they have fewer pounds/sq. inch pressing down on the road surface. I.E., the friction coefficient is lower on wider tires. Another factor to consider when replacing tires is how many plies are in the sidewall. Many replacement tires have but one ply sidewalls and this will allow for more sidewall "set" when entering a turn, thus slightly sloppier handling. Tires with two ply sidewalls give more positive response in turns because they have less "set" or give in the sidewall. The ride is also usually slightly more firm. It all depends on what you are looking for. On the 123 cars you can get satisfactory ride, handling and fuel mileage with the correct 14" tires. If all you are really interested in is the look of low profile and big wheels with a little improvement in dry road handling, go with bigger wheels.
