97 accord wheel & tire size

[WillEat4F00d]

I have a 97 Accord. The "recommended" specs for the tires are: 185 65R 15 88S. If I wanted to get 17 or 18 inches instead, what kind of specs would I have to look for? Thx.

[nsxtasy]

Originally Posted by WillEat4F00d

I have a 97 Accord. The "recommended" specs for the tires are: 185 65R 15 88S.

That's often referred to as 185/65-15, which is the old way that tire sizes were expressed. The other specs aren't all that important when selecting a tire. The R in the middle doesn't mean anything important; it just means that it's a radial tire, which most quality tires are. The 88 is a load rating and the S is a speed rating; as long as you're buying good-quality tires, the load and speed rating are extremely likely to meet the minimum needs of your car.

Originally Posted by WillEat4F00d

If I wanted to get 17 or 18 inches instead, what kind of specs would I have to look for?

205/45-17 for the 17", 215/40-18 for the 18". I recommend not going larger than 17", though; the short sidewalls on the 18" leave the wheels susceptible to damage from potholes.

If you're looking for good tires in 205/45-17, I recommend one of these:

If you never will use them on snow or in frigid cold:
Dunlop SP Sport Maxx $130
Kumho Ecsta SPT $97
Yokohama ES100 $99
Yokohama S.drive $107

If you need to use them on snow and in frigid cold as well as in moderate to warm temperatures:
Avon Tech M550 A/S $99

Above prices are from the Tire Rack.

[WillEat4F00d]

Thanks. Yeah, I was planning to get 17's anyways because 18's looked too big for the car. I will be looking for those first set of tires you posted since I live in the deep south and it never snows or anything.