I have a 00 em1 and I currently have 17" enkei's, I will be dropping my car on gc sleeves with illuminas. My question is I would like to tuck, or come real close. I think I can only drop my car 2-2.5 inches on the illuminas without running into strut travel issues ( correct me if I'm wrong). My question is would I be better off with 16" with say a 45 series tire over a 17" with a 40 series? I want to get as low to the ground as possible on a 2-2.5 inch drop and not have a gap in the wheel well.

 

Here are the calculated outer diameters of the 16" and 17" sizes for your car:

205/45-16 - 23.26 inches
205/40-17 - 23.46 inches

So the difference in ride height and clearance and "gap" between the two tire sizes is 0.1 inch. By comparison, the difference in diameter between a new tire and one that is worn down to the treadwear indicator bars and ready for replacement is 0.5 inch, so the difference in ride height and clearance and gap in that case is 0.25 inch.

HTH

 

so would I want a 15"

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mikeycivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so would I want a 15"</TD></TR></TABLE>

You're forgetting (or not understanding) a basic concept in choosing wheel and tire sizes. Changing the diameter of the wheel does not change the outer diameter of the tire size. When you use smaller wheels (for example, 15" wheels), you should be getting tires with a taller sidewall, so that the outer diameter of the tire is the same - whether it's 15" wheels with 195/55-15 tires, or 16" wheels with 205/45-16 tires, or 205/40-17 tires. If you want to lower (or raise) the ride height of your car, or change the fender gap, you do it by changing the suspension - not by changing the diameter of your wheels.