Well I just got my RT-615's today from discount tire. Great deal, but the only (potential) problem is that they sent me (2) 205/40/17 tires and (2) 215/40/17 tires. This year the car will be on 17x7 wheels and Neuspeed Race springs w/KYG AGX'x. Am I going to have a problem with rubbing if I just throw the 215's on the rear, or will it be okay? I certainly don't mind getting a slightly upgraded tire for free, I just want to make sure they are going to fit. If not, I need to call them and figure something else out. Thanks a lot


Modified by Gizzo at 1:14 PM 3/1/2006

 

205/40/17 is the right size for you car. The 215s they accidentally sent you are not "upgraded" they are just wider/bigger. If I were you I would just call discount tire, tell them they fucked up and have them send you the right tire free of charge. If you mount the 215s they may rub, those are pretty wide and the diameter is bigger. Once you mount them and find out they rub you can't send them back anymore. Just call, my $0.02

Cheers.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The 215s they accidentally sent you are not "upgraded" they are just wider/bigger. If you mount the 215s they may rub, those are pretty wide and the diameter is bigger. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well actually IMO a 215 would be an "upgrade" from the 205 if the tire would fit properly(who wouldn't want a wider tire?). I just don't want to deal with shipping the damn tires back and waiting again. Also, 215 is just the width of the tire isn't it? I thought the profile was the only thing that affected diameter(in respect to width)...

 

the 40 is a percentage of the width. If you increase the width the sidewall will also increase as a result for a given aspect ratio. In this case it is not much. My biggest concern would be width.

And wider is not better, it's just wider. Your car should have came stock with 185s, 215s are 30mm wider. If you stick to only 20mm wider you usually don't run into problems. Another thing to consider is how wide your rims are? Are 215s approved for that rim width?


In the end it is your choice.

 

I would send them back, too. Otherwise you're stuck with different-sized tires, and you won't be able to rotate them, etc.

They made a mistake, let them make it right.

(Stick with the 205/40, which is the proper size...)

 

Okay, well from what I read, nsxtasy is the man when it comes to tires, so I guess I better send them back. Thanks for the responses

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Gizzo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Okay, well from what I read, nsxtasy is the man when it comes to tires, so I guess I better send them back. </TD></TR></TABLE>

*sigh*

That's it, I am changing my name to nsxtasy, no body listens to me :'( ....lol

Cheers.


Modified by old man neri at 12:48 AM 3/2/2006

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by old man neri &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And wider is not better, it's just wider. </TD></TR></TABLE>

How do you figure? If there are no clearance problems, then yes, wider is better. . .did those old Pontiac commercials teach you nothing.

In all seriousness, I have owned 1 autocross car and 2 RWD (yes Domestic V8) Drag cars. And believe me, wider is better. I will spare all the scientific mumbo jumbo, but look at it logically. . .bigger contact patch=more traction. Now, is there a point where there is too much. . .well, once again, no clearance issue; and wheel wide enough to handle the tire, then you are just fine.

I am not trying to start an arguement or anything, just wanting to point us toward the truth.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Gizzo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Okay, well from what I read, nsxtasy is the man when it comes to tires, so I guess I better send them back. Thanks for the responses </TD></TR></TABLE><TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by old man neri &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

*sigh*

That's it, I am changing my name to nsxtasy!....lol

Cheers.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This forum should be called what does Nsxtasy think.

and to make this post useful, i would send them back as well.

Ali

 

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

. . .bigger contact patch=more traction. </TD></TR></TABLE>

A wider tire does not give you a bigger contact patch. It gives you a different shape of a contact patch. Unless you lower the PSIs in your wider tires. It is better to suit the width to the weight and the power/torque of the vehicle. The bigger more powerful vehicles obviously need bigger tires.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1488386
This thread eventually starts talking about it.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I will spare all the scientific mumbo jumbo</TD></TR></TABLE>
Please feel free to get into it if you got it as I have never raced myself. I usually approach a problem from the scientific end, others approach it from the practical end. It gives most problems a good viariety of knowledge to help solve it as we meet in the middle.

 

old man neri knows his tires, too. You can trust his advice.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HPotter &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bigger contact patch=more traction
.
.
.
I am not trying to start an arguement or anything, just wanting to point us toward the truth. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Read.

Whatever advantage there is to wider tires is due to the different shape of the contact patch, as old man neri pointed out.

However, a difference of 10 mm is relatively insignificant. You'll never feel it.

Think about it - if there were that big a difference in grip - there isn't, but if there were - what's going to happen when you rotate your tires and move the wider ones between the front axle and the back axle? It would change your handling drastically - which means you would still want to return the tires.

 

Well guys, since you want the scientific "mumbo jumbo", I will start a new thread about it. I am a Mechanical Engineering student (I can hear the "oh god"s from here, lol) so when I provide stuff like that I am gonna be detailed. I will start a new thread about it so as to not ***** up this thread.

As far as this case is concerned, I do agree, get the same size tires all the way around. . .and don't risk rubbing on account of such a small difference. However the statement of wider not being better, was just a singular statement that I was addressing.

So, as I stated, I will start up a new thread about this, and we can proceed to debate and get into a technical discussion far beyond what most will care to read!!! As that it is 1 am where I am at, I might wait until the morning, because I have to be up fairly early. . .and my mind isn't on top of things right now.

So, look for the thread tommorrow morning!!! I will title it something like "Wider tires. . .are they better?"

Thanks guys. . .and like I said, I am not trying to start an arguement or anything, I just like a good ole fashioned technical debate!!!!!!

 

I'm not saying that wider tires are never better. I'm saying that you'll never feel a difference of 10 mm in street driving. Also, differences between one make/model of tire and another are almost always far, far greater than differences between one size of a given tire and another that's 10 mm wider. So therefore, unless you're already using the stickiest tires possible, if you're looking for better performance, you'll find a whole lot more by concentrating on getting stickier tires, rather than wider tires. OTOH, if you're talking about driving on a racetrack with R compound tires, then sure, go for the wider tires.

 

Well I am sending the tires back in the morning. Discount tire is emailing me a label so I can ship for free and they will send out the correct size later in the day. Very good customer service. for discount tire

nsxtasy-
From a post that I read a while ago, you stated that the RT-615 Azenis were category 3, which consisted of pretty much the stickiest tires you would want to run on a street car w/occasional track use. So regarding the stickiness of tires, wouldn't the Azenis be my best choice?

 

The azenies would be your best choice as long as you don't mind the shorter thread life that they offer. Roughly 10k miles.

Ali

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PrinceAli132 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The azenies would be your best choice as long as you don't mind the shorter thread life that they offer. Roughly 10k miles.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

I need to read some of this wider tire vs. skinnier tire stuff later at home. It is very intriguing. I had another member on here explain it to me before and I understand some of it but I need to read this further to gain a better understanding. So thanks to those who take the time to explain this as it seems very complex, or maybe people just complicate it alot.