I just purchased 17 in. motegi traklite wheels...now i need tires. Very soon i will be lowering my car about an inch. What do you think about sidewall size, do you think there would be any clearance issues with a 50 sidewall? I was planning on getting a 40 sidewall, but that might leave too much of a gap, even with lowering the car an inch. I was also looking at the Falken Azenis ST115 tire, does anyone have an opinion on that tire?

 

i have 215/40-17 tires and i love them. they have a little more grip in corners, and there is less sidewall (which also means less sidewall movement in corners). if you want a good auto-x tire size i would recommend 215/40-17. otherwise just stick with the other recommended size, which is 205/45-17, or else your speedo wil be off a little. falken azenis are good tires. so are yokohama avs-es100s although IMO they have a lot of road noise. and bfgoodrich g-forces are my favorite tire. and kuhmo ecsta supras will get you by and don't grip as hard but are ok for auto-x.

 

205/45/17 or 215/45/17

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BB6racer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> if you want a good auto-x tire size i would recommend 215/40-17. otherwise just stick with the other recommended size, which is 205/45-17, or else your speedo wil be off a little</TD></TR></TABLE>

215/40/17 is still very close to stock diameter - you won't notice any speedo error until about 80mph, and even then its only off by ~1-2 mph. I agree with your recommendation on 215/40 though. Good size for the Prelude.

215/45 will most likely rub if your car is lowered any reasonable amount (I don't know the offset of your wheels offhand and actual tire height and width varies by manufacturer so there are no definites).

The Azenis is a great tire - some of the best dry traction out there and decent wet traction too. Very stiff sidewalls for good cornering - much stiffer than the Goodyear F1, Yokohama ES100, and most others. It runs wide, so a 215 in the Azenis is a nice upgrade from a typical 205. Downside is that tire life will be shorter than other performance tires like the Goodyear F1, Bridgestone Pole Position, etc. Has a good reputation as an auto-x tire too.

 

heard alot of people that went 215 and wished they went 225. guess it depends on what you need.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by helicopter201 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">heard alot of people that went 215 and wished they went 225. guess it depends on what you need.</TD></TR></TABLE><TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by helicopter201 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">heard alot of people that went 215 and wished they went 225. guess it depends on what you need.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree that 225 is a nice width for car that is about the Prelude's size but we don't have any real options that are the correct diameter

225/40/17 is the correct size and the only tire distributed in the US (to my knowledge) in that size is the Nitto NT555 (not bad but not a great tire either). Just about every performance tire on the planet is made in 225/45/17 but that tire is really too big for the Prelude. You'll get slower acceleration and its tough to find a tire/wheel combo that won't rub.

I also think that the Traklite is a 7" wide wheel (please corect me if I'm wrong) which isn't ideal for a 225 width tire.

Now, 235/40/17 will work with an 8" wide rim. You'll need a +48-+50 offset 17x8 wheel and possibly some minor fender modifications (depending on the tire) but that would be a nice wide setup.

 

i recommend the new kumho spt as well.

 

Yes the traklite is 17 x 7. Some people were talking about a 225 tire, wouldnt that be too big and have a good chance of rubbing? It's sounds like a 215/40 or 215/45 would be best.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mjH22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yes the traklite is 17 x 7. Some people were talking about a 225 tire, wouldnt that be too big and have a good chance of rubbing? It's sounds like a 215/40 or 215/45 would be best.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The 225/40/17 and 225/45/17 both need a 7.5-8.0" rim so forget about those.

If you are only dropping one inch, you can run either the 40 or 45 profile in 215. 215/40 is about 1/10 inch off stock size while the 215/45 is a little more than that. You'll notice some speedometer error at higher speeds with the 215/45 and you may notice slower acceleration (depending on your current mods and how in tune you are with your car's performance). The 215/45 is better for cosmetic reasons - it'll get rid of a little more wheel gap - but not as good for performance as the 215/40 (smaller size, lower sidewall that tends to be stiffer).

As far as ride quality goes, the difference between 40 and 45 may not be as noticeable as some people will try to tell you. the characteristics of the tire itself are more inportant than the sidewall in this case. For example, the goodyear F1 or the Kumho SPT will give you a more comfortable ride in general than a Bridgestone Pole Position or a Falken Azenis 115.