I have seached and have come up with, a 215/45/17 is what i think i want a little wider and taller than my 205 40 17 that are on it now, i didnt get **** for mileage out of them, mighta been my heavy foot, but im lookin for a tire with decent performance, i dont race or anything but i like have some performance out of a tire, and it needs to have good treadwear because i hate buying tire so often. any suggestions? i want either 215 45 or 215 40 possibly even 205 45 but i dont know too much about tire sizes. my car is not lowered at all and i think the 215 45 would fill the fender well a little more too. thank you.

*EDIT* this is a 92 SI JDM H22A swapped. 4th gen

 

http://www.idontknow.com


try tirerack.com

 

215/40/17 will net you the stock tire / rim combination.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Shakes &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">215/40/17 will net you the stock tire / rim combination.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes.

also, the 215/45/17s will make the car feel sluggish.

btw, bookmark this site http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bad-monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

yes.

also, the 215/45/17s will make the car feel sluggish.

btw, bookmark this site http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

Good URL.

However, why would an extra 5mm make the car feel sluggish? I realize they sidewall will be a bit taller than the OEM size, but I don't think it'd make that big of a difference. I'm curious because I can get a smokin' deal on some 215/45/17 tires for my 5th gen, but I'm afraid of rubbing (i'm on coilovers). But if it's going to negatively affect the performance of the car (vs. a 40 series), I 100% won't do it.

 

205/45/17 is what we have stock on our 5th gens in the u.k


Modified by fastfu at 5:09 AM 3/12/2005

 

In the US, the preferred tires size for a 17" wheel is 215/40/17 or 205/45/17. However, our cars come with a 205/50/16 from the factory.

It also depends on the offset of the wheel, from what I understand. You might not rub with a 215/45 and a +50 offset 17" wheel. However, with a +40 offset, you might. Add some lowering springs, and I guess some people rub with a 215/45/17 (not to mention the speedo reads 2.3% slower than you're actually going vs. going 1.2% faster with a 215/40/17 ).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Sushiboy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Good URL.

However, why would an extra 5mm make the car feel sluggish? I realize they sidewall will be a bit taller than the OEM size, but I don't think it'd make that big of a difference. I'm curious because I can get a smokin' deal on some 215/45/17 tires for my 5th gen, but I'm afraid of rubbing (i'm on coilovers). But if it's going to negatively affect the performance of the car (vs. a 40 series), I 100% won't do it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Rubbing isn't necessarily the issue with a 215/45, so that's not something to worry about. the car feels sluggish because you're adding about .6" in added overall diameter. it doesn't seem like a lot, however that .6" makes the gearing longer, enough so where you can tell that there's an acceleration difference. When i had 215/45/17's on the car, it felt like an added 200 lbs of weight when i got on the gas. This was on a stock lude, so maybe the turbo guys aren't as concerned, but i would think for stock/mild NA builds that tire size is too big.

and, i did rub (on a stock suspension then) on 215/45/17's in the rear on the plastic tab.