I have been researching the tire/wheel combo for a long time now and think I have decided on something (I would appreciate suggestions on others too since I am new to this... just not the BFG AT's b/c they are overpriced, and my friend that has them says they have terrible traction and make a bad sound at high speeds like on the highway). I definitely LOVE the Cragar Soft 8's wheel. The tire I am still lenient with but so far I like the aggressive look of the General Grabber AT2 and its not out of my price range! This is my first car so bear with me and my poor knowledge of cars... Anyways, I need help figuring a size for my wheels and tires that will be big but too big where its rubbing. Would 15X7 5-5.5 0B for the Cragar's and 215/75R15 100S OWL for the General Grabber's work? I want my car to get a more aggressive look and not the soccer mom look it seems to give to all my friends.

EDIT: After reading many more threads on here I have fully determined myself as clueless... The backspacing and offset thing is confusing me. I do not want to spend money on a lift kit. It would be nice for my car to be an inch higher maybe due to the wheels but $100+ for a lift kit is too expensive for me. I would also like my wheels to sit a little farther out from the car but I've read that wheel spacers are bad for the struts (<- i think thats the right term..)? Then I read something about the offset can make the wheels farther out. Again, I'm clueless but bigger, meaner wheels that will help prevent losing traction and mild off roading would be great. And the wider wheel base for control and looks

 

Where do I begin?

First off, you're doing the right thing by asking for advice.

Hmm BFG AT's, nice OFF ROAD tire. They are ALL TERRAINS after all, they actually have excellent traction, when they're OFF road. They're not really supposed to be ON road tires, they do come on the Ford Raptor and the BAJA edition of the FJ, and some 16 yr old teen girl neighbor of mine has them on her F-150 because she's insecure about herself. They'll hum, and handling not so great. Nearly ANY All Terrain tire, or Off road tires, will probably not be optimal handling ON ROAD, and they'll mostly all HUM.

Cragars... seriously? Well, they do look pretty neat, I've installed a few dozen sets in my time. First you should know is that the size you listed does not bolt on correctly to your CR-V. 15x7 is doable, but the 5x5.5 is not, nor is the offset at zero.

5x5.5 is the bolt pattern, and the 2003 CR-V bolt pattern is 5x4.5. The studs don't line up correctly and you wouldn't even be able to fit them onto the hub. 5 lugs, 4.5/114.3 apart.



Backspacing, or offset is where the actual hub of the wheel is positioned on the wheel itself. The CR-V usually has a high offset, somewhere in the +40 to +50 something. Meaning the hub of the wheel is close to the outer part of the wheel. 0 Offset would mean the hub is directly in the middle of the wheel.




For spacers, a lot of times I've seen people with spacers that push the wheel out, and it in turn doesn't allow the lugs to get enough threading to hold the wheel onto the studs correctly. In turn I've seen a Ford focus with ghetto spacers on a AutoX course have its wheels go flying off while lapping because he had maybe 1/5 inch of threading on his lugs. Why he thought this was a good idea, I'll never know. Why he thought it was a good idea to RACE like this I'll also never know. Now imagine the same thing happening, while you're driving in traffic, or on the highway.

I do not understand "meaner wheels will help prevent losing traction"

Did you mean "meaner tires"?

If that is the case, that is incorrect, aggressive tires/off road tires help with traction off road, that in turn does not translate for optimal ON road use. BFG AT's, General Grabber AT's, Wranger AT's, Michelin AT2's, etc, all hum, and they all are possibly mostly likely more squiggly ON ROAD. ON road street tires translate to better traction ON road.

"wider wheel base for control and looks"

You are associating that 1 = 2, and A=B. Wider may or may not mean you're getting more traction, this isn't a old Pontiac commercial where they talk about wider is better. Considering that you're talking about off road A/T tires for street use, you're handling will suffer, so will your gas mileage, and other driving characteristics, such as comfort, road noise, braking distances, and handling. Not to mention your setup, if you should find a way to fit it, will most certainly lead to awkward tire wear, cupping, feathering, abnormal inside or outside shoulder wear, etc.

As you can see there are many considerations when you are looking to change the wheel and tire characteristics of your vehicle, and all of them should be taken into account if you decide to change things. It should be done properly, correctly, so as not to lead to more seriously problems.

 

If you want some other OPTIONS, you could go with a tire that isn't AS aggressive as a ALL TERRAIN tire.

I haven't checked on sizes, so I don't know if they're available. Considering the stock size is 205/70/15, all things constant, and you squeeze in some slightly larger, some tires that aren't quite ALL TERRAIN but at least more aggressive might give you want you want, yet still offer some comfort and drivability for daily use.

All of the tires listed are SUV tires, or truck tires, mildly aggressive, but good enough for good ON road performance as well.

Michelin LTX
Yokohama Geolanders AT-S (slighly more aggressive, teeth in tread blocks prevent from tread squirm)
Pirelli Scorpion ATR
Goodyear Fortera Tripletreads
Goodyear Silent Armors
Dunlop Rovers
Kumho Road Venture
Bridgeston Dueler AT Revo (more aggressive)

Again, I do not know all the sizes offered, these tires MAY or MAY NOT be available for your application. These are just some that popped in my head as ones I've driven on. Maybe try looking some of these up and see if they catch your eye for the "look" you want, because your tires, too sexy for your tires, too sexy for your tires, so sexy it hurts, but still keeping some civility.