Awesome C&D article on upsizing wheels and tires

[Stanley Rockafella]

Personally I'm a fan of nothing more than 15's on older cars (e30 incl). Just sad that there's only ONE producer of stock sized tires for our German cars, and they are Korean :/

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/effects-of-upsized-wheels-and-tires-tested

IMHO, daily drivers need nothing lower than 55 or 60 profile. Drivers will enjoy better fuel economy, faster 0-60, quieter ride, and more wheel protection (no more curbed wheels!).

discuss

[mr2peak]

EVO M3 used 16's stock. I think that's the perfect size. Way larger tire selection than 15's as well.

Tire selection really is the kicker.

[reelizmpro]

I agree BUT, and this is big, there aren't many tires being made in our size anymore for 15 and 16" wheels which was always an oddball size. Therefore, I found myself paying more for a 15" tire than I would for a comparable 17". 17's look the best on my e30's so I went that route with narrow tires (215/40/17) than the usual 235/40. Beside the cost, the 215/40 was lighter and closer to stock diameter for better gearing. I also went to a lighter wheel. For the 200-330hp I run on my street cars, going lighter made a big difference.

[Stanley Rockafella]

17's look the best on my e30's so I went that route with narrow tires (215/40/17) than the usual 235/40.

you consider 215's "narrow"? holy crap!

[Red46]

EVO M3 used 16's stock. I think that's the perfect size. Way larger tire selection than 15's as well.

Tire selection really is the kicker.

This is how I feel too.
15's and 17's are ok too but I prefer 16's

[Wschnitz]

16s are the bomb, its a bummer there are only like 5 225-45 choices for them though. Dunlops seem to be the current best option in the star specs and dz102s.

[nando]

Profile height is a percentage, not a fixed number. Its meaningless to say a 55 or 60 is the minimum, without knowing the tread width. Theres a big difference between a 195/60 and a 255/60!

[fanofe30s]

Ignoring the cracked lights, I think 205/50/16 is ideal for me.

[ELVA164]

I agree that I'd be uncomfortable with anything much lower than a 50 profile on my 16" wheels, but I think they avoid looking goofy or out of place on the car and there's a fair amount of sidewall for potholes and such in a daily driving scenario. Looks also come down to the style of wheel, however. Like others have said, the smaller wheels are more original to the cars but the tire selection is dismal. 16" wheels have great, economical availability and will for the forseeable future.


The really important thing here, like so many of these debates, is it's really all splitting hairs and people's personal preferences outweigh the nominal differences in X factor or Y factor.

[AndrewBird]

As Nando said, the profile number is a PERCENTAGE. In his example, a 195/60 has a sidewall 117mm tall (roughly) where as a 255/60 tire has a sidewall 153mm tall. Same profile number, but 36mm different in height.

This is why you generally see smaller profile number with wider tires. I.E. - a 185/70-15 has the same rolling diameter as a 235/55-15, meaning their sidewall heights are the same despite different profile numbers.