I bought a set of JRD techno rims that are 16 x 7 with 195-50-16 BF Goodrich radial T/A's. I was told to go to a 205-45-16 and that should fix my problem, i'm having a hard time understanding how a wider tire will prevent rubbing? i would like to eliminate the fender gap completely, but not sure if i can do this and not rub. Does anyone know what make of tire will give me the smallest width, as i've been reading some threads where guys are saying that some make of tires are actually bigger then it states on the sidewall. Any help would be great, thanks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allicedout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I bought a set of JRD techno rims that are 16 x 7 with 195-50-16 BF Goodrich radial T/A's. I was told to go to a 205-45-16 and that should fix my problem, i'm having a hard time understanding how a wider tire will prevent rubbing?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Because there are two outer dimensions to a tire: the treadwidth, and the outer diameter. The sidewall on a 195/50-16 is taller than on a 205/45-16 (because .50*195 is a bigger number than .45*205), so the outer diameter of the 195/50-16 is larger than that of the 205/45-16 (23.68 inches vs 23.26 inches).

BTW, when one tire is wider but has a smaller diameter, you can't be sure which one is more likely to rub unless you actually try it. So 205/45-16 might have a lower chance of rubbing, but it might not. Also remember that differences in tread depth (between new tires and worn tires) can change clearances as much as 1/4".

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by allicedout &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does anyone know what make of tire will give me the smallest width, as i've been reading some threads where guys are saying that some make of tires are actually bigger then it states on the sidewall.</TD></TR></TABLE>

They are correct; actual tire sizes can vary from the labeled sizes. Unfortunately, there are no standards for measuring them; for example, a lot of tire manufacturers publish dimensional specs based on the nominal (labeled) size, rather than the actual measured size.

In general, if your car isn't lowered drastically (i.e. not more than two inches), and your wheels are the proper offset to give your tires the maximum clearance (this is a HUGE assumption and not always true), then you can use the tire sizes shown for your car in the FAQ for this forum and they shouldn't rub. There are no guarantees, but this is usually the case.

 

The plan was to tuck the tires slightly, I can't see this happening if the tires are rubbing, the tires are fairly new and buying 205-45-16 to see if they'll work is nto in the budget now. I rather just get another set of rims in that case. Thanks for the help, I'll wait until i get new springs, as the shitty coilovers i have bounce like nobody's business and is likely contributing to my problem.

 

P.S. I suspect that the real culprit is that your wheels have the wrong offset, i.e. they don't position the tire at the point where they get the maximum clearance on both sides, and NOT the tire size itself (since 195/50-16 isn't THAT much bigger in diameter).

 

i would tend to agree, but the offset is a +40, its borderline. Looking at this pic it looks as if i can remove the inner clip it was rubbing and i'd be ok, i just wish i had the time to experiment a little more, maybe this weekend. Thanks.



Modified by allicedout at 9:18 PM 5/26/2007