LeeVen

Okay. Tires just aren't my thing.

So I'm at Tires.com and checkin out some rims.

Then I ask it to select some tires for a 17/7.5 wheel.

It recommends:

205/50-17
215/45-17
225/45-17

How the hell can it recommend a different width tire for the same damn size wheel? Does that just means the tire is going to bulge out more?

Would it be wiser to grab the smallest width of the selections? What advantages/disadvantages?

RETed

Grab the "middle" - the first number is relative sidewall width, so the widths can vary a little for a certain rim width.



-Ted

breesej

grab the 225's. I have 225 Toyo T1-S on a 17x7.5" rim up front and it looks good. i couldn't image a 205 on a 7.5" rim.

Joe

Ryde _Or_Die

I never bought any aftermarket rims or tires or upgraded at all but I always thought that the first number is how wide the tire is and the second one is how large the sidewall is. So thats not correct? Thanks alot.

Erik

i'd recommend the 215/45...thast what i have all around...still allowing me to rotate. you could go with 225's, but with the stock +40mm offset they will be VERY VERY close to rubbing up front (if not rubbing)...you can try a different offset (+38mm or lower) to make the have more room.

i was always told that the 215 represents the width of the tire...and the 45 is the percent of 215 that the sidewall consists of...so for instance, if i had 205/45...and 215/45...the 215 sidewall would be bigger since 45% of 215 is more than 45% of 205...hope that helps...

and lets say you have 275/40 and 214/45...the 275 sidewall will be bigger under the same % principle...even thouh it has just a 40...

Tjive999

I would recommend going to tirerack.com. You can pretty much find any tire there. When you do print off the quote on cost and take it to sears. they will match that price but they may have to ship them in. Only takes a week and is cost efficient.

Samps

you are correct sir. alot of people have theories on this but the explaination above, is how it works.

Mazdarules

the first number is always in millimeters

RETed

The first number is nominal sidewall width (in millimeters).&nbsp Remember, this is NOT tread width - it's the widest part of the tire cross-section when properly inflated.

The second number is your "aspect ratio".&nbsp This is the tire profile (rim edge to tire outside diameter) which is a PERCENTAGE of the nominal widewall width.

The third number is the rim diameter (in inches).

215/40/17...
215mm sidewall width
40% aspect ratio, or 215mm X 40% = sidewall "height"
17" rim




-Ted