New tire size!

Legato626 · Post by **Legato626** » September 11th, 2007, 12:07 pm

I have 17in rims and My tires are going out and I would like to know if a size will work. I have 205-40-17 right now and they work fine know rubbing. But will 215-40-17 work fine and does anyone have rubbing with this size?

TREVO123 · Post by **TREVO123** » September 15th, 2007, 7:03 am

thats most likely going to be to wide for your rim, You could go with a 195 and stretch it like the vdub guys do it!

atlantamx3 · Post by **atlantamx3** » September 15th, 2007, 9:56 am

How wide are your wheels?

205s fit perfectly on a 7" wide wheel, and 215s fit perfectly of a 7.5" wheel.

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » September 16th, 2007, 12:56 pm

225 are the widest to comfortably fit in your wheel wells, but since you're on aftermarket rims, it depends on your wheel offset. 215/40/17 are closer to stock wheel circumference than 205/40/17 anyways.

solo_ryder · Post by **solo_ryder** » September 16th, 2007, 1:37 pm

I think that on a 7" rim 215 is a perfect sized tire, gives u abit of a tire lip over the rim, better stance to. That is going to be my next set, 205 looks to skinny IMHO

Whisper · Post by **Whisper** » September 16th, 2007, 3:52 pm

Yeah, it would help if you posted wheel width and offset.

Steeb · Post by **Steeb** » September 16th, 2007, 5:49 pm

Whisper wrote:Yeah, it would help if you posted wheel width and offset.

very true. two most important things in wheel fitment and tire fitment.
what wheel width and offset are your wheels?

being too skinny or too wide for a wheel is all preference. i say this because anything we change or modify on a car is based on preference because its out of the oem spec.

personally i prefered stretched tires because it improves cornering and steering response as well as reduce sidewall flex and makes the most out of your tread.

atm, my mr2 is using 215/35/18 on 8.5 @ 50psi and 245/35/18 on 10.5 @ 45psi, the g35 225/45/18 on 8.5 and 245/45/18 on 10.5 both @ 40psi soon to be 225/45/18 on 9.5 and 245/45/18 on 11, my mx3 is currently using stock wheels and stock tire size @ 40psi but will be using 225/40/18 on 9 @ 43psi. on some of the fitments i am at the max recommended tire mfg suggested specs but some are outside these specs.

while going past the mfg recommended specs further exploits the positive side of tire stretching even more, you run the risk of blowing out beads when passing mfg recommendations i conjunction to using oem mfg suggested tire pressures (can be found in door jam or owners manual). even tho i do pass these specs, i dont recommend anyone use more than the max rim width per tire you choose, unless you choose to use substantially higher tire pressure than recommended by the car mfg to keep the bead seated.

bulging sidwalls are more prone to sidewall flex, which in everyway degrades handling but improves ride quality as well as having lots of unused useful tread become sidewall. same as going too wide of a wheel with a narrow tire, going too wide of a tire on a narrow wheel beyond mfg suggested specs also increases the chance that the tires will break the beads. with super squeezing wide tires on narrow wheels, running higher pressures than oem suggestions will increase chance of the tire breaking the bead even more than a stretched tire.

breaking the bead in either cases is as unlikely as breaking the bead on a 205/55/15 on a 15x6.5. things that will break the bead on your stock wheel n tire size combo are the same things you need to worry about when squeezing or stretching a tire. of course going way beyong mfg suggested specs will not be the same