Tire Width

[blaxemj]

I wanted to know what is the widest tires I would be able to put on my stock alloys (1992 EX 15X5.5), with out having any rubbing issues with the fenderor any of the suspension components. I've read that 205/55/15 is a good tire size.. but can it go any wider? TIA.

[C91BLX7]

I think 215 will work

[ExplodingCake]

It's to wide for the stock one. It will go FAT FAT FAT!

You're better off with 205/55/15

[blaxemj]

thanks guys for your 2cents , how about if I get 5mm or even 15mm spacers, do you guys reccommened them or would they somehow cause problems... I hear that they are suppose to aid with handling. I like the wide tire look .

[C91BLX7]

thanks guys for your 2cents , how about if I get 5mm or even 15mm spacers, do you guys reccommened them or would they somehow cause problems... I hear that they are suppose to aid with handling. I like the wide tire look .

I think 215 will not rub, but I think they are too wide for stock rims

[johnl]

The real issue is that the wider the tyre on a given rim the more laterally unstable the sidewalls will become. This will give a softer ride but steering response and handling in general will suffer, even if you may pick up a slight improvement in grip.

A wide tyre on a narrow rim makes the sidewalls behave as if they were effectively less stiff than they actually are, and conversely the same tyre on a wide rim will behave as if the sidewalls were stiffer than they really are, if you follow my meaning.

The stock 195 tyre is already a very wide tyre for the stock rim width (only 5.5J, i.e. 5.5"). The stock tyre size can be fitted up to (I think) a 7J rim (might only be 6.5J, not 100% sure), which will make it behave in a more responsive and 'sporty' manner than on the standard rim.

As a rule of thumb for a performance application you want the tread width to be about the same as the rim width (or the rim even wider than the tread if you don't mind some harshness), though the section width will tend be greater than either due to the sidewalls not being 'straight', i.e they bulge a bit.

A 205 or 215 on a 5.5J rim is going to be way too wide for the 5.5J rim, even if in theory it can be fitted to that rim size. Such tyre width would be much better suited to at least a 6.5J rim, probably a 7J or even a 7.5J, and maybe 8J for the 215 tyre. Of course a tyre should never be fitted to a rim that is outside the rim width range specified by the tyre manufacturer, even if some people do do this for that 'super stretched' sidewall look (not a good idea).

Besides, a tyre fitted to a rim that is too narrow just looks wrong to anyone who knows much about tyres, and is wrong.

[blaxemj]

The real issue is that the wider the tyre on a given rim the more laterally unstable the sidewalls will become. This will give a softer ride but steering response and handling in general will suffer, even if you may pick up a slight improvement in grip.

A wide tyre on a narrow rim makes the sidewalls behave as if they were effectively less stiff than they actually are, and conversely the same tyre on a wide rim will behave as if the sidewalls were stiffer than they really are, if you follow my meaning.

The stock 195 tyre is already a very wide tyre for the stock rim width (only 5.5J, i.e. 5.5"). The stock tyre size can be fitted up to (I think) a 7J rim (might only be 6.5J, not 100% sure), which will make it behave in a more responsive and 'sporty' manner than on the standard rim.

As a rule of thumb for a performance application you want the tread width to be about the same as the rim width (or the rim even wider than the tread if you don't mind some harshness), though the section width will tend be greater than either due to the sidewalls not being 'straight', i.e they bulge a bit.

A 205 or 215 on a 5.5J rim is going to be way too wide for the 5.5J rim, even if in theory it can be fitted to that rim size. Such tyre width would be much better suited to at least a 6.5J rim, probably a 7J or even a 7.5J, and maybe 8J for the 215 tyre. Of course a tyre should never be fitted to a rim that is outside the rim width range specified by the tyre manufacturer, even if some people do do this for that 'super stretched' sidewall look (not a good idea).

Besides, a tyre fitted to a rim that is too narrow just looks wrong to anyone who knows much about tyres, and is wrong.

Wow dude! great insight , thanks for sharing your knowledge, so i guess I'll wait until I get wider wheels (most likely 15X7) and then get the 205/55/15 tires.

[quaidum]

i am riding on 205/50/15 nitto neo gen and i think they are great i had fuzion hri 195/60/15 and they were not as nice but they were still good

[johnl]

i am riding on 205/50/15 nitto neo gen and i think they are great i had fuzion hri 195/60/15 and they were not as nice but they were still good

Comparing two different tyres fitted to the same rim is to some degree comparing an apple with an orange. The particular wider tyre may well be more responsive on the same rim as a particular narrower tyre, but the sidewalls may well be stiffer on that particular wider tyre compared to the particular narrower tyre, which overcomes the in principle difference between them with respect to behaviour on a particular rim width. That same wider tyre may well be even better on a wider rim.

[bcjammerx]

To true, not a good comparison

And usually when you buy aftermarket rims you go for wider and taller rims.

I need to find out how wide my 240's rims are [currently on the honda]. I think they are wider. I believe the tires are 205/55 15's and the sidewall doesn't stick out. But again, I have no clue how wide the rims are.

[johnl]

I need to find out how wide my 240's rims are [currently on the honda]. I think they are wider. I believe the tires are 205/55 15's and the sidewall doesn't stick out. But again, I have no clue how wide the rims are.

The rim size will probably be marked on the rim somewhere on the inside of the wheel. I'm not sure if it always is. A tyre emporium should have a an external guage that will tell you the rim width if you can't find it marked on the wheel. It's usually a bit hard to measure with any accuracy with a tyre mounted, but it's possible if you use a bit of lateral thinking.

Keep in mind that offset is also an important measurement when switching wheels between cars.

[Camurai]

In addition to the issues mentioned above by johnl, fitting a tire that is too wide will cause the tire to crown improperly in the center. This can cause excessive heat in the center of the contact patch, increasing tire wear and causing odd treadwear patterns. The sidewalls will also bulge excessively, which can cause heat-related issues and increase your chance of a sidewall blowout at highway speeds. Considering the possible consequences, tires are one of those things that it doesn't pay to experiment with.

[johnl]

In addition to the issues mentioned above by johnl, fitting a tire that is too wide will cause the tire to crown improperly in the center. This can cause excessive heat in the center of the contact patch, increasing tire wear and causing odd treadwear patterns.

I agree in principle, but so long as the tyre is fitted to a rim within the range specified by the tyre manufacturer I can't see it likely to be a real issue. Crowning issues associated with fitted rim width will tend to be more problematic with cross ply type tyres (also known as bias ply) and bias belted tyres than steel belted radial tyres. The only place you're likely to find cross ply or bias belted car tyres these days is with some types of racing tyres.

With cross plys the difference between the tread stiffness and the sidewall stiffness is very little if anything, because the fabric 'cords' that form the tyre casing run from bead to bead and form the basic casing structure for both the sidwalls and the tread, i.e. the sidewall casing is made from the same 'components' as the tread casing with the tread having no additional re-inforcement other than the thicker rubber at the tread. Bias belted tyres have additional fabric 'belts' under the tread section of the tyre, and while these do increase the stiffness of the tread to some degree it isn't all that much due to the flexible nature of the fabric belting material.

As a result the ideal stiffnesses in both the tread and sidewalls tends to be compromised due to the casing having to provide the basic stiffness for all parts of the tyre (i.e. the sidewalls tend to be too rigid and the tread too flexible, in some combination of compromise, meaning that some may have sidewalls closer to ideal but weaker treads or treads nearer ideal but stiffer sidewalls).

This means that deformation in the sidewall (due to the sidewalls relationship to rim width or to lateral and / or vertical deformation when cornering) tends to be also transferred into the tread section of the tyre, so a cross ply or bias belt tyre fitted on a too narrow rim will tend to cause the tread section to become convex ('crowned'), and too wide a rim will tend to cause the tread to become concave ('un-crowned'?).

The concave tread will probably 'pump out' with psi, but a higher psi will tend to be required to prevent excessive loading / wear on the tread nearer the sidewalls. The converse is also the case, i.e. a crowned tread will need a lower psi for the tread to sit 'flat' to the road with more equal loading over the contact patch area.

A steel belted radial has substantially stiff additional re-inforcement in the tread, allowing the sidewalls to be made less rigid than would otherwise be the case, i.e. the casing can be designed in such a manner that the tread and sidewalls can each have a more appropriate individual stiffness for the role they play in tyre behaviour, rather than each being a compromise (as is the case with cross ply / bias ply tyres).

Not only this but the sidewalls can be made with different stiffness in different parts of the sidewalls, typically stiffer nearer the bead and least stiff near the juncture of sidewall and tread, and the casing becomes somwhat like a 'hinge' at this 'weakest' point (this may be also the case with some cross plys etc, but the 'hinge' section will still tend to be too stiff due the basic sidewall stiffness).

Deformation in the sidewall is therefore much less likely to be transferred into the tread section of a radial tyre, any crowning effect much more likely to be caused by the air pressure acting directly on the tread section itself, which is quite resistant to this due to the re-inforcing steel belts (though the wider the tread the less 'beam' strength it will have in this regard, so wider treads may require stiffer radial belts).

The 'tailor made' nature of sidewall and tread stiffnesses with radial tyres is also the reason why radials tend not to be quite as sensitive to camber angles than cross plys etc tend to be, though this forgiving characteristic decreases as profile becomes lower and sidewall stiffness increases.

The sidewalls will also bulge excessively, which can cause heat-related issues and increase your chance of a sidewall blowout at highway speeds. Considering the possible consequences, tires are one of those things that it doesn't pay to experiment with.

Agreed, though again I doubt it will be a real issue most of the time when the tyre is fitted to rims within the recommended range. It might however be an issue when that tyre / rim combination is at the narrower end of the recommended rim width range and used in a highly stressed application such as racing. The more the sidewall flexes the more heat build up there will be, an dwide tyres on a narrow rim will typically have more sidewall deflection and deformation than on a wider rim.

Higer psi will reduce deformation both in the sidewalls and tread, being at least one reason why higher psi is generally better for high speed driving and racing, though specialised racing tyres often are designed to work at somewhat lower psi than road tyres.

I recall reading something somewhere sometime that there are some specialised racing tyres designed for use where there is a rule governing max rim width but not tread width, and such tyres will be designed to be run on rims that would 'normally' be considered too narrow for the width of the tyre.

[ikayto]

To true, not a good comparison

And usually when you buy aftermarket rims you go for wider and taller rims.
.

wrong, just stop giving advice.

You dont necessarily have to get wide/taller rims for aftermarket, it depends on the rim width.

the wider tire you get the thinner your tires would have to be to match the stock tire height or if you want to clear the fender better while being dumped-much thinner. Other wise according to your logic, we'd be running some tall ass truck tires.

195/60/15 => 205/55/15=> 205/50/16 =215/45/16

The middle number, tire height, is the % of the width, which is the first number...