i own a 94 accord with H&R sport springs on tokico illumina shocks, which is a 1.75" drop in the front and a 1.50" drop in the rear . i wanted to know what tire size should i use with a 17x7 rim ? should i use 205/45/17 or 215/45/17 ?

 

205/45-17.

 

thanks . i also found some threads where most of the people recommended the 215/45/17 instead of the other size because of the concern of potholes and bad roads . i couldn't find the reasoning behind this . do you know why some people recommend this size for that type of reason ?


Modified by tonezilla at 10:32 PM 3/5/2006

 

Well, potholes and susceptibility to damage are more of a concern with shorter sidewalls. But this is a bigger factor in choosing the size of the wheels, rather than the size of the tires. Here's why. Every one inch larger the diameter of the wheels reduces the sidewall height by half an inch, and the sidewall height is a factor in protecting the wheel. However, the difference in sidewall height between those two tire sizes is less than two tenths of an inch, which is less than the difference in sidewall height between new tires and tires that are worn and ready to replace. Pretty small, and not worth the downsides of 215/45 (higher price, increased chance of rubbing, some inaccuracy of the speedometer/odometer, poorer acceleration).

Bottom line: stick with 205/45-17 and you'll be fine.