I have a 94 sol s. I bought some 16's a while back and they came with 205/40 tires. The tires are toast and I'm looking to put newer/better ones on. I picked up 2 Toyo proxes 4's in a 205/55 for $50. I bought them without really thinking about the sizing difference cuz I thought it was a pretty good deal.

Now I'm still in need of 2 more tires but before I spend more money I have some questions.

1. Will a 205/55 fit on the fronts? (all stock suspension)
2. If not, can I get a smaller size for the fronts, say a 205/50 or 205/45 or something else? Is is safe to run the different sizes?
3. If I can run 205/55's in the front without any clearance issues will I notice any kind of performance decrease?

The rims I have are Enkei 5+'s. Front what I can gather on the specs a 205 is the widest tire I can put on them so maybe I could run a 195/55 or 195/50 in the fronts?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

205/55/16 the speedometer would be way off, sure they would fit though if not lowered.

 

1. 205/55 will fit fine with very small/no rubbing since the suspension is stock and high.
2. You can get tires with smaller sidewalls, however ideally you want them all to have the same sidewall sizes.
3.195/50s are the ideal size for driving around the streets but 205s will be fine. You will actually have a smoother ride and it will be plenty grippy. They would be as rigid as a smaller sidewall tire but it wont be a big deal.

Ideally you should run 195/45/16s for best compromise between function, looks and comfort. Any smaller sidewall that 45 will suffer in comfort. 195 guaranteed no issues and at 205s Im pretty certain will have no issues either. 205/55/16s will work.

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

 

Thank you for the reply!

With the 205/40's the ride was very rough. Every bump was felt and it was just not enjoyable. Also with the stock suspension and such a low profile tire there was lots of gap between the tire and top of fender, it just didnt look too good. That is the reason I wanted to go with a 55. I figured the ride will be smoother and it will close up the gap without having to lower it.

 

Wow, lots of bad advice has already been posted in this topic.

Your car came from the factory with 175/70-13 tires. You need to get tires whose outer diameter is as close as possible to the outer diameter of that size, so that you avoid rubbing, so that the accuracy of your speedometer and odometer isn't affected, and so that you don't make your car accelerate slower.

And using the wrong size tires is NOT the proper way to reduce the gap between your tires and your fenders. If you want to do that, the proper way is to lower your car by modifying the suspension (springs and/or shocks).

205/55-16 is much much MUCH TOO BIG for your car. I mean, they're HUGE!!! The outer diameter is over 2" larger (almost 10 percent larger) than your stock tires. They WILL rub, and they WILL throw off your gauges big-time, and they WILL make your car accelerate slower, just like putting way tall gears into your car. Whoever told you that size is okay doesn't know what they're talking about. Didn't you notice that they look like truck tires on your car?

The best 16" size tires for your car is 205/40-16. 195/45-16 will also work.

The rough ride with 205/40-16 is due to the short sidewall, and the short sidewall is necessary because of the larger wheel diameter. The only practical, safe, and proper way to have a taller sidewall is to get smaller diameter wheels. You can get 15" wheels and put 195/50-15 tires on them, or 14" wheels and put 185/60-14 tires on them. In general, there's a wider selection of tires in 195/50-15 than in 185/60-14. There are a lot of used Civic and Integra wheels in 14" and 15" sizes; for example, the '94-01 Integra GS-R came with 15" wheels that will fit your car, and it's easy to find used sets that won't cost an arm and a leg.

Wow, I can't believe you've gone down this route. Get rid of those giant tires instead of making more mistakes!

 

I agree with nsxtasy. Those tires are 2 1/2" taller than the recommended size, which is 205/40-16. 205/45-16 will fit, if you are concerned with the ride quality. But yeah, the tires you bought are the wrong ones for a Del Sol.