i was lookin at gettin rims, and when i looked at the clearence inside the wheel well there certainly doesnt look like enough room and i was wonderin if anybody has seen this. right now i have the stock 15x5.5 alloy rims if anyone knows if the new ones will fit please tell me

 

for a 17x7 wheel, a 215/40/17 tire provides the exact factory tire height. Your speed and clearance will not be changed.

 

well i was lookin at this bar thing of some sort that is in the wheel well and looks like if i put a bigger rim in, the tire will hit, but youre sayin it should fit just fine?

 

You're probably looking at one of the control arms that is L-shaped coming down towards the hub like so... L[] So long as the wheels are offset correctly, normally just for FWD cars, then you will have no problems.

 

yea i think thats what im lookin at, it attaches near the coilover and goes above the tire. and were you sayin my speedometer will even read correctly with the new rims also?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mpxs20 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and were you sayin my speedometer will even read correctly with the new rims also</TD></TR></TABLE>

The speedo/speed sensor is accurate depending SOLELY on the fact that your overall tire height will be roughly 24.2" tall. That height is achieved using the factory 195/60/15 tire.

If you up the wheel size, the tire profile must get smaller to keep the 24.2" height. After the math, a 215/40/17 tire gives you an extremely close overall tire height, while maintaining the correct width for a 7" wheel.

An alternative would be using a slightly narrower tire, 205/45/17, which would be an exact height match for the 195/60/15, but the tires might look slightly awkward (stretched over the wheel), harder to mount, and less availability for that size.

The difference is almost negligible, the 215/40/17 being about .19 inches smaller than the 205/45/17.


If the numbers don't make sense, think of this...

195 / 60 / 15
_A___B___C_

a = the width of the tire tread in millimeters, divide this by 25.4 to get inches.

b = the series, or profile height of the tire from the rim to the outside of the tire, often referred to as the thickness. this number is a percentage of A, the tread's width.

c = the wheel size, self explanitory.


If you take the tire's width (195mm) mulitplied by the series of the tire, 60, you get the sidewall height, but there is obviously two sidewalls to measure on the tire. So multiply times 2. Now add your wheel height, and you have your 15" wheel, plus your sidewall height (x2) = 9.2" and you get a 24.2 inch tire, which brings us full circle. (no pun intended)

Does that help any or have i just made it worse?

 

no actually that does help, but i guess what im more worried about is that L shaped thing hitting the wider tire

 

It's all about the offset. Usually around +40mm on FWD cars. So long as the wheels are desinated for FWD cars, there's almost never a problem.

 

ok cool thanks for your help man!