I would assume that this would be the case right? Right now, i've got a lowered car with 13 inch rims. If i upgrade to 15's, wouldn't i get more clearance because the larger rim would higher the car somewhat?

 

Yes and no.

Your tire size will play a big role. The overal diameter of the wheel makes a difference.

Running a smaller rim but with a taller diameter may be the same size as a larger rim but small tire.

Ali

 

The overall tire height decides the car's ground clearance, not necessarily the wheel size.

Changing from a 185/60/13 to a 185/65/13 tire will increase your ground clearance.

Start with a tire size calculator, to compare your car's OEM sizing with the 15" wheels and available tire size options.

 

Well, i'm going on the assumption that the tires will be proportionate to the increase in tire size. So let's say we are using the same tires except for the rim size. In that case, i would get more ground clearance right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by klion22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, i'm going on the assumption that the tires will be proportionate to the increase in tire size. So let's say we are using the same tires except for the rim size. In that case, i would get more ground clearance right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you get tires that are proportional to the rim size (meaning that the sidewall and tread width will stay the same), you'd be defeating the purpose of getting a larger wheel. But, yes, obviously the car will have more ground clearance (and most likely fitment issues). Was this question really worth asking?

 

You could just use this and see how it works for yourself.

Ali

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by klion22 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, i'm going on the assumption that the tires will be proportionate to the increase in tire size.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That assumption is almost always wrong. When people get larger rims, they get tires with shorter sidewalls.

As previously noted, what matters (to your ground clearance) is the outer diameter of the tire, not the outer diameter of the rim.

As a general rule, regardless of what size rims you get, you want to get a tire size which uses approximately the same outer diameter as your stock tire size. This has a number of advantages - it maintains the accuracy of the speedometer and odometer, it won't hurt your acceleration or your fuel economy, it reduces the chances of rubbing on the fenders or wheel wells, etc.

For example, older Civics, which came with 175/70-13 tires from the factory, often are upgraded from 13" wheels to 15" wheels with 195/50-15 tire. The calculated outer diameter of 175/70-13 is 22.65" and the calculated outer diameter of 195/50-15 is 22.68", so the difference in ground clearance between the two sizes (which is half the difference in diameter) is less than 0.02".