chief-long-shin

Help a retard.....

Ok guys, cars currently running on standard 215 *16's at this time but looking to change to another type of wheel.

Found some 17's i like but can i find ones with 215's? Can i hell. Didnt know how much of an impact dropping back to 205's would make.

The alternative is to go for 18's but that leaves me with a predicament in that i dont want my scoob being higher than a range rover but at the same time i dont want to mess with the suspension from standard.

ANy suggestions?

Also what could sway me to 18's would be if anyone has any pics of theirs riding 18's on standard springs etc.

Thanking you all.

The thick one.

lom the bom

i run 18 on mine no trouble at all their 215 35 18

Brit_in_Japan

chief-long-shin, the first task is to decide on the size of wheel you want (e.g. 17" rims). 17" is probably the best size because larger than this and your tyres have to become like rubber bands to retain the same rolling radius (necessary to keep your speedo accurate). Shorter tyre sidewalls mean less compliance, in other words they are stiffer and the ride will become noticeably harsher. No problem for a track car, but not recommended for day to day usage.

For reference I have 215/40 on 17x7JJ rims. For my taste they are a bit too harsh for day to day use, not the most comfortable when you hit bumps and pot holes.

Next decide on what width of tyre you want. Whilst wider tends to mean more grip, it can also mean more expense, especially if you pick some exotic size. Rim width also needs to match the tyres width and wider tends to mean more expensive. The width of the tyres needs to be matched to the width of the rim. Lastly you need to make sure you can actually have those wheels with the offset required to get them to sit nicely inside your wheel arches and not rub.

OK, so now you have the wheels, with correct offset, and you know what width rims/tyres you want. Next you have to decide what aspect ratio tyres you need.

Tyres are quoted in sizes such as 205/55 R16. The 205 related to the width of the tyre in mm. The 50 is the aspect ratio, R16 means 16" radius wheels.

You can use a tyre size calculator for this, like here http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

More information about what the tyre markings mean can be found here.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/tire2.htm

I don't want to make things sound more complex than they are, any reputable wheel/tyre dealer should be able to advise you, or you could simply pick up a set of Subaru wheels for the same make/model as your car as 17" are standard on some models.

Lastly, I have found possibly the best site on the internet to tall you all about wheels and tyres, and much better than I can (it includes calculators for all the above, and more). Please check out this site:-
http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbi...yre_bible.html

HTH
BIJ

chief-long-shin

Huge help, thank you.

Do you think there would be much difference dropping down from a 215 to a 205 tyre?

I'm thinking it would be barely noticeable unless you hold the car on its limits daily which i dont tend to do.

Brit_in_Japan

You can't look at the section width in isolation. You also need to consider aspect ratio and the width of the rims. Also you need to know the size of the original tyres fitted (width & aspect ratio) to work out what's acceptable.

If I assume for a second you have an Impreza with 16x6 rims with 205/50/R16 tyres. If you use the calculators on the link I gave you earlier, the best sizes for 17" wheels, if you insist on 205 section width tyres, are 205/45 and 205/40. Another calculator on that site suggests the minimum rim width for 205/40/R17 or 205/45/R17 tyres is 7". Have you considered what the width is on the wheels you want to buy?

If you look at the FAQ on the Subaru Impreza Driver's CLub site http://www.sidc.co.uk/faq.htm#4.3
they say that getting tyres in the size you are talking about (205/45/R17) is actually more difficult and there is more choice if you go for 215/45/R17.

Please read the page on Chris Longhurst's site to help you make an informed decision.

Jerry B

BIJ
That's a really good website, thanks for posting. Spotted some very familiar looking stuff on there, probably plagiarised by other websites rather than that one!