205 vs 215 tires???
 

I'm getting some 2xx/40/17 Kumho SPT tires but dam the price difference for the 205 vs 215 is sooooo much. $268 vs $356.

Basically this is only my street tires and there will no track time. So what's the biggest difference other than width. Does the look of the tire on the wheel look that much different? Last longer? handle better?

Tire gurus need you help.

Re: 205 vs 215 tires??? (MNsnowdaboy)
 

Well not only will you pay more for the wider tires but chances are they probably will also be too big for your car and rims.......

How bout you tell me the size of rims you have (width) and the car that this is going on.

Cheers.

Re: 205 vs 215 tires??? (MNsnowdaboy)
 

If your car is an Integra or a pre-'01 Civic, get 205/40-17, which is the best matching 17" size for your car.

There won't be any significant difference in performance or treadlife.

my bad.....17x7.5 45mm offset, lowered about 1.8" and it's for a 99 prelude

Re: (MNsnowdaboy)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MNsnowdaboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">my bad.....17x7.5 45mm offset, lowered about 1.8" and it's for a 99 prelude</TD></TR></TABLE>

205/45-17 would be the best size but those are even more expensive. They might also look a little stretched on those 7,5" rims.

Out of the two sizes you named the 215/40-17 is the better of the two sizes for your car. Still a little small but it's do-able. Technically you could still ride on the 205/40-17s but they would be undersized. by about 2.6% or 5/8" in diameter.

If you can't afford the right size of tire for your car I would suggest looking at a different tire model/make that is more affordable.

I hope this helps,
Cheers.

of course....you always have to spend more money then what you thought you were going to spend. I guess the 215's it will be but dam I'm broke as a joke now since I just ordered by wheels.

Re: (old man neri)
 

Neri is correct. 205/45-17 is the best size, but 215/40-17 is pretty close too. Get the proper size for your car. Either of these should work. (I would NOT get 205/40.)

I don't see 205/45-17 on the Discount Tire website, but they're $85 (plus shipping less rebate) at the Tire Rack.

Either size, at least the Kumho SPT is a great tire for a VERY reasonable price. It's cheaper than a lot of tires that are nowhere near as good. If you need tires, you may as well get the best for your money, and that's the SPT. You won't come anywhere close to tires this good if you try to spend less.



Modified by nsxtasy at 7:07 PM 8/11/2006

This is where i'm getting confused, read the spec carefully?

some post says the best size is 205/45/17 but also say that the 205 is not wide enough. I've have people told me that the 215/45/17 is too thick and will rub. So wouldn't some 215/40/17 be perfect?

to sum it all up....

205/40/17=too narrow
205/45/17=perfect (some people's opinion)
215/40/17=what I thought was perfect
215/45/17=people have said is too thick/high and will rub.

As you see how does 205/45 be good while being narrow and too high??? This is good edjumacation for me though...haha

Re: (MNsnowdaboy)
 

What you generally want, in selecting tires, is the size for which the outer diameter is approximately the same as stock. You don't want them to be too much larger or wider, or they could rub. You don't want them to be too much smaller, either. The closer they match, the less error you will be adding to your speedometer and odometer.

You can use a tire size calculator (like this one) to compare each of these sizes to your stock 205/50-16 size. Here's how the outer diameters compare:

205/50-16 0.0 percent (stock)
205/40-17 -2.6 percent
205/45-17 +0.8 percent
215/40-17 -1.2 percent
215/45-17 +2.3 percent

Now you can see why 215/45-17 might rub; it's a lot bigger in diameter AND it's wider than stock. Why don't those other sizes rub? The 205/45-17 is only slightly larger in diameter and it's the same width as stock. The 215/40-17 is wider, but it's smaller in diameter than stock.

You can also see why 205/45-17 and 215/40-17 are better than the other sizes: because their outer diameters are much closer to your stock size.

Either 205/45-17 or 215/40-17 will work just fine on your car.