nub here about tire sizes. what tire size would give me the best protection for my wheels if i had 17x7. I used to have konig troubles of that size and the tires I had on them offered little protection. I sold the wheels. However I am looking to invest in another set of 17's. This is my daily driver.

I think i had 215/40's on my konigs. Is there a tire that is thicker that would better protect my wheels from potholes. I am also not dropped and I live in NYC.

 

You could use 225/40, but your speedometer will be a little off, and, depending on how low you may go in the future, you may rub. Also, on your current stock suspension, you'll look like a truck

 

so what does the number/40 mean?

can i use 215/45? or x/50? i sort of don't really understand the tire readings.

 

215 is the width in milimeters
40 is the side wall height. In this case, it's 40% of 215

 

so 215/40
=
x/y

hmm. i thought the bigger the y the thicker your wheel is. overall increasing the diameter. like how stocks have /55's. is that correct? what about x? the width? i thought the width is like 17x7in and 7 is the width. i'm confused.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bboixtc &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">17x7in and 7 is the width. i'm confused.</TD></TR></TABLE>

this is a description of a wheel size, not of a tire. And yes, in that sense 17 describes the diameter of the wheel and 7 describes the width in inches.

Tire sizes are written in a different format as described by InvaderTrax. ie stock prelude tires are 205/55/16. The last number (16) describes the wheel size the tire is mounted on. The rest he explained

 

oh well that I do know. That the last number is x/y/z "z" being the wheel size the tire is mounted on. What I meant was, which tire size would be best for a 17 in wheel to give me the most protection. Like doesn't the "y" explain the thickness of the tire basically between the ground and the rim?



so what part of the tire exactly does the "x" describe

 

"x" is the section width, basically the tread contact with the road

also another answer to your question about protecting the rims......higher quality tires have a build in lip protector......the bead seats and the side wall slides higher up on the rim to protect the lip of the rim........basically you get what you pay for.......ask the guys at the shop when you go to buy tires