i just bought some 18 inch rims for my 1998 4cyl lx accord coupe and would like to know what will be the best tire size for them. i found two sizes to pick from them which are 215/40/18 which look much skinny and 225/40/18 which look a lil thicker. I dont know if im right or wrong in which are skinnier or thicker, but i want a tire size that will be a lil thicker so i wont bend or crack my rims. Give me a suggestion or what looks better(as in not soo thick that it will look ugly and scrap my fender walls) and what is skinny that looks nice but will be a danger to my rims. thankyou for you help and suggestions!

 

you want to to look at the second number in those tire sizes. so if looking at 215/40/18, look at the '40'. If i recall correctly, the 40 is a percentage of the first number. So the sidewall would be 40% of 215mm, or 86mm. On a 225 tire, it would be 90mm. Again, if i recall correctly, thats what it is.

EDIT: It is a percentage, but there is also another number that needs to be divided in there somewhere, and i don't know what number it is, sorry.

 

you have to keep the overall tire diameter the same as stock or you're gonna have problems with your speedo calibration.

also you will have a lot more unsgrung weight and this could cause suspension parts to fail sooner

205 50 R16

205 = wire width in mm

50 = side wall hight as a percentage of tire width so in this case it is 102.5mm

R16 = rim size in this case 16"

 

yeah keep close to stock as possible. consider the difficulty of finding certain size tires. harder ones are more expensive. i thought about doing 18's but pot holes will kill you on low profiles. use this http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html to help you out. use internet explorer though or install plugins for other browsers.

 

if your stock tire size is (you can see that in the driver's side doorjam) 195/65/15, then a 225/40/18 would be the closest to stock. now, not quite sure if the wheels you bought are wide enough to fit that tire, but otherwise, heres the tire diameters:

195/65/15- 25"
215/40/18- 24.8"
225/40/18- 25.1"

 

i dont really get what are you saying but thanks all.... so are you saying 215 is closer or 225....i believe 215 is right?!

 

tirerack suggests 215/40 if you go up to an 18. however, most end up with 225/40 since it's a common size with a lot of choices in terms of brands and cost.

 

225/40 is also closest to the stock tire. By the time you dig into those tires and get some of the tread off then you will be right there with your stock wheels. The 215 is smaller and will only get smaller as you drive.

Another thing to consider, the smaller tires will net you a SLIGHTLY!! (emphasizing this so it means DON'T CHEW ME OUT) less gas milage that will only get worse as your progress.

Another advantage to the bigger tires is that you won't have to worry about potholes AS MUCH as with the smaller tires ANNNNND your milage will be a little lower than what you actually have. That .1 of a mm isn't going to make that much of a difference though.

I'd go with the 225 in case you couldn't tell. Also, as stated above, the 225/40 is a more common tire so henceforth, it be cheaper yo'!


And a question. My EX wheels have 195-<U></U>60<U></U> R 15. Should I have 195-<U></U>65<U></U> R 15? I personally like my 60 series more because they just look better on the tire. The 65 series looked like SUV tires to me because of the way they stuck out from the rim at the bottom.

Got mine off a 94-95 EX btw.

 

If you go to tirerack.com, you can look up the diameter of the sock tires. Then look at the different sizes in 18" tires and find something about the same diameter, maybe a little taller, to help with the low profile thing. Just click on the specs tab, it has rim width ranges, diameters, tread widths, ect. They might not have the exact brand you want, but a 225/40/18 goodyear should be the same measurements as say a yokahama or whatever.

 

kooo!!! thanks for all the help you guys gave me...im most likely going to get the 225/40's now because they are much thicker and i dont want to bend my rims in pot holes. thanks again.!!