help please

 

yes
get 45's

 

no. i have 205/40

 

they look better, but they are a lil small.

 

i too have 205/40/16's and i think they're fine

 

whats the overall diameter difference between 205/40/16 and stock?

 

I love your rims! Beautiful car!

 

i stand corrected because of your car. Maybe it was 35's i saw before but i used to have 45's and i thought that they looked fine

 

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

IMO, they look to othin w/ 40's on a 16" rim. Plus, if you with a 45 or 50, that would give more sidewall for support.

X2

 

Agreed

 

I think 40's look fine; I've got them:


If I had to do it over though, I would've gotten 45's for the reasons stated above. I don't mind 40's so much because 45's would mean a higher car

 

cali cars always the cleanest.

 

thanks guys....i was just askin because i'm buyin subzero's with 205/40's on them and i was just wondering how they would look

 

one thing, not gona help you, but dont get 215/45 on 17's. i did that so that when i hit pot holes and stuff it wont smack the rim as easily and i wont have the hard hit. well it helped that, but it looks poop

 

well, seems like this thread is discussing mainly how the tire would LOOK... but what about the changes in functionality - I mean.. thats what tires are for right? function not form?

SO, ok they may look fine.. however, there are a few issues you should look into:


1. Your spedometer will read a speed 4.2% too fast.. so when your speedo says 60mph, you're really going 57.5mph

2. Sidewall height - you better live in an area where the roads are very well maintained. 45 series tire would offer much better protection for your rims and also less headaches..

3. Overall diameter (22.5 compared to 23.4 stock wheel/tire) would be less, therefore your car will actually sit .9 inches lower - may be a problem if you're already lowered (think - scraping your lip on driveways)

4. The overall diameter being less, your wheelgap will actuall be half an inch (.45inches) larger.. therefore, whether you are lowered or not, your car will "look" higher according to the wheelgap (which most people go by when looking at how low a car is)..

5. The less sidewall height you get, or, the smaller the profile of the tire, the more the tires will "grip" onto faults in the road.. for example, I had 205/40/17 rims and i could NEVER let go of the steering wheel especially on the highway or my car would just veer left or right according to patches and lines in the road... I supposed it wouldn't be less drastic with a 16" rim, but you'd still have the same problem compared to a 45 series tire..

I am speaking from direct experience by the way


SO...whats the bottom line?- you've got to watch out for potholes, your steering will have a mind of its own on anthing less than perfect roads, your spedometer will be off, and your car will sit lower but actually appear to be higher according to the wheelgap..

My $.02 - go for the 45 seres tire.

//Alex



[Modified by AVD23, 12:57 PM 4/2/2003]

 

Very thorough. Excellent info. Thanks.

 

will my mileage be off???

 

good point.. for every 57.5 miles you've traveled, your odometer will add 60 miles.. (4.2% too many)

so, instead of 100,000 miles, you would have 104,200 miles (if you switched the wheels at 0 miles and kept replacing your tires with a 40 series sidewall)

yet another reason to go with the 45's

-Alex

 

40's are cool on a nice drop.
nice car btw

 

1. Your spedometer will read a speed 4.2% too fast.. so when your speedo says 60mph, you're really going 57.5mph

wow!! thats even better than.. when you think your going fast.. your not.. your actually going 2.5mph slower!!!