I have a 97 accord lowered with Eibach Sportlines + Tokico Illuminas. Currently on a stock 185/65/15 tire, but want to upgrade to a higher performance tire for the track. The better tires come in a 195/55/15 or 205/50/15....if I run a stock offset 15" wheel, can I run a 195/55/15 without rubbing? What about the 205?

Thanks,
Mike

 

205/50/15 will fit a wheel that's between 5.5" and 7.5", so they will definitely fit the OE wheels.

I would go with either Bridgestone RE-11 or the Dunlop Direzza Sport Zi1 Star Specs. Both are street-friendly, track-ready tires that will give you outstanding performance in both scenarios.

Tires

 

You won't rub with either of those sizes. Even though they're slightly wider than your stock size, the diameter is more than an inch smaller (5.7 percent smaller for the 205/50, 4.2 percent smaller for the 195/55), so you will actually have more clearance in the wheel wells. For street use those sizes would be way too small - creating issues with looks, accuracy of the gauges, etc - but for the track, those issues don't matter, and those are the largest 15" sizes available of those sticky "extreme performance summer tires".

 

You'll find better performance tire selection with the 205's. Personally, I'm dying to try out some Bridgestone RE11's.

 

The Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec and Toyo Proxes R1R are both available in 195/55-15. On a car that normally uses larger tires, you might want to go with 195/55 because it has a slightly larger diameter than 205/50.