17 Inch wheels, what size tires would be proper?

[rwh11385]

I believe C///M is running 235's on his E30 fine. That would not be too wide for our cars. 35 aspect ratio may be a bitch to ride on tho.......

[Spaz]

nice, the rims are comming next week, now i just need springs :O

[Brew]

People-
It's very simple to find out what sizes will work well on your car. Check it out:

195 / 65 - 14

The "195" is the width of the tire in mm.

The "65" is a percentage that the height of the sidewall is compared to the width of the tire. 195mm x 65% = 126.75mm. That is the height of the sidewall.

"14" is obviously the diameter of the wheel.


So.... in order to determine which sizes will work, you must first find the overall diameter of the OEM tire. So just add it up. 14 inches is 355.6mm. Add that to twice the sidewall height to find the overall size.
355.6 + (126.75 x 2) = 609.1mm

I 35 aspect ratio may be a bitch to ride on tho.......

It wouldn't be any harsher that any other properly sized tire in that wheel size. Think about it... As you go wider on the tires, the aspect ratio must decrease in order to keep the same overall diameter. So my 225/50-15's have essentially the same size sidewall as 205/55-15 tires.



Hey Mods, this, or something similar, might make a good FAQ. ;)

[Rob]

or you could just plug it into that calculator, thats a lot easier for us math haters

also, there's an great difference in ride quality between a 50 profile 15 and a 35 profile 17

[Brew]

It wouldn't be any harsher that any other properly sized tire in that wheel size

Didn't mean to be a pain, but it seems like somebody asks the "what's the right size?" question every 2 or 3 days and it would be nice if people took a second to understand what the numbers meant so that we didn't have to keep telling them.

[Rob]

i understand. unfortunately, it will never, ever, stop.... :P

[Spaz]

heh this is my first time asking guys...sorry for the trouble :P

[Brew]

heh this is my first time asking guys...sorry for the trouble :P

No worries dude!

[UNHCLL]

EVERYONE BOOKMARK THIS LINK
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

There, now you all know what size tires will be correct for speedo readings.
If you have CLEARANCE questions, thats a whole other ballgame.

[Spaz]

EVERYONE BOOKMARK THIS LINK
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

There, now you all know what size tires will be correct for speedo readings.
If you have CLEARANCE questions, thats a whole other ballgame.

already did, and i know i will have clearance problems too. i'll be asking in about a week.

:o

[grlaneriejr]

One thing to keep in mind;

The lower you go on your sidewall size, the harsher the ride is.

For all you guys wanting 17's, the ride will be very harsh if you do this.

IMHO, 16's are the biggest rim size to run and still get a quality ride, but I am 36y/o and like my kidneys.

[LikeCDoos]

EVERYONE BOOKMARK THIS LINK
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

There, now you all know what size tires will be correct for speedo readings.
If you have CLEARANCE questions, thats a whole other ballgame.

yes this link is very useful. It will answer alot of your questions

[Giorgio]

One thing to keep in mind;

The lower you go on your sidewall size, the harsher the ride is.

For all you guys wanting 17's, the ride will be very harsh if you do this.

IMHO, 16's are the biggest rim size to run and still get a quality ride, but I am 36y/o and like my kidneys.

no dude, the bigger wheels you get keeping the proper tire diameter, the harsher the ride is. It's not the profile that does it.
If you run stretched tires, the sidewall size will be higher than if the tires were wider than the wheels, the ride would be equally as harsh. I'm not sure if that's what you meant, but you might want to think of a new way to phrase what you said before.
edit: this is Bryson talking

[Rob]

A 205/40/17 will most definately have a harsher ride than a 205/60/14

[Giorgio]

c'mon Rob, that's exactly what I said
i need to get back on my computer, still Bryson