ok guys i have a 99 integra and i am about to buy some rota gt3 for it. i was wondering what size tire is the best for a 16" rim. i see that there are 205 to 225 widths and 40 to 50 in sidewall size. what is the best combo and why? thanks in advance.

 

You have the same situation as in this other topic. As I noted there, you can use 205/45-16 (0.8 percent smaller than the stock 195/55-15) or 215/45-16 (0.7 percent larger than the stock 195/55-15). There are a lot more tire choices available in 205 than 215. In 205/45-16, you can get the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 ($128), which is one of the very best street tires on the market today, or you can spend less and still get very good performance by getting a tire such as the Kumho Ecsta SPT ($77) or the Yokohama ES100 ($82). In 215/45-16, you can get the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 ($108), which is a very good tire for the money.

225 is too wide and will probably rub on your fender wells.

 

what about the sidewall size. i have 195-55-15 right now and i dont like the look of the tire on the rim. it makes the tires look huge. should i go with a 40, 45, or 50. and how much difference will each one make on the look of the tire.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beaterman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">what about the sidewall size. i have 195-55-15 right now and i dont like the look of the tire on the rim. it makes the tires look huge.</TD></TR></TABLE>

With a properly sized tire, the outer diameter of the tire will remain the same. Since 16" wheels will be one inch bigger in diameter than 15" wheels, the sidewall height will be one half inch shorter. To the extent that the outer diameter is different from stock, the sidewall height changes by half of the difference.

Here are the calculated sidewall heights for those size tires:

195/55-15: 4.2 inches
205/45-16: 3.6 inches
215/45-16: 3.8 inches

If you want less sidewall height than that, get 17" wheels instead of 16".

 

thanks for all the info. someone might want to make a chart or something that can explain the difference like you just did for me.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beaterman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">someone might want to make a chart or something that can explain the difference like you just did for me. </TD></TR></TABLE>

You can use a tire size calculator like this one to calculate the various measurements and compare any tire sizes with each other.