Suggestions on max tire size 4 stock 15s

djbjammin814 · Post by **djbjammin814** » Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:39 pm

I went up a size to 195/60/15s last year and want to go back to stock size or smaller to shorten up the gears on my 05 SXT. I would guess 195/55s would be close, but im not sure how wide you can go on stock rims. I want to put more rubber on the road, thats why i went to 195s. The extra bit of tire took a little bit away from the car that i want back...

OB · Post by OB » Tue Feb 24, 2009 9:51 pm

I run 205/55/15's with great results. I've heard of as high as a 225mm wide tire fitting on the stock 6" wheel without issues. Your final drive is affected by overall height, so a lower aspect ratio is needed for a wider tire. My tires are almost the exact same height as stock, while yours are around 12mm taller overall. That's close to 1/2", which is responsible for the change in final drive ratio.

The closest plus tire sizes to stock for a 15" wheel are as follows:

205/55/15 = 606.5mm

215/50/15 = 596mm

225/50/15 = 606mm

All will fit and are very close to the stock 603mm overall height.

See this thread in the FAQ section for other sizes and details on how tire sizing works:

viewtopic.php?p=480424#480424

djbjammin814 · Post by **djbjammin814** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:02 pm

Thanks OB. You have been answering all my questions.

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:16 pm

Stock rims and year round/winter rubber I run 195/60/15's, dont' think they're that bad at all. My summer/track wheels are 205/50/15's. Could probably cram 215's of some sort in there yet, still some clearance with stock struts and 205's.

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:28 pm

i like my 185/60/15's

buying good tires can make up for wider tires

djbjammin814 · Post by **djbjammin814** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 1:55 pm

"buying good tires can make up for wider tires" Good statement...Several years ago I decided to pick up a set of tires from a friend of mine that works at warren tire center. He had a crap-a-ear, and said they looked like shit on his car, so he offered them to me for a hundred bucks. They were Yoko's 165/50/13s if i remembere right. I have a 86 omni that ran 13 inchers, so i did it. That car changed from a weight shifting, got no power, turd-muffin, to what felt like a race car. I would wrapped the speedometer all the way around to 20mph, screaming in 3ed gear (ATX), just about whenever i wanted. (speed was off 5mph for every 25mph) The cornering ability was super sticky. Please keep in mind this car looked crazy stupid, but it gave me a smile every time i heard someone in the other seat say "Okay, my god, this F'n P-O-S is going kill us both if ya go any faster".

Post by **racer12306** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 2:09 pm

I LOVE Yokohama's. I've got 50,000 miles of use on my current set or AVID TRZ's. The tread could last another 25,000 or so, but there is some cracking in the sidewall that has me iffy on them. So I'll be replacing them with another set of TRZ's or a set of AVID Touring-S's.

The TRZ is amazing, imo, for an all season tire. Great in the snow, wet and dry.

I've gotta get my current set to the track before I change them out so i don't burn up my new set.

ragek23 · Post by **ragek23** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 4:49 pm

hmm maybe I should get some 14s for autox

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 5:50 pm

Get good AND wide tires, then see how much better things are.

OB · Post by OB » Wed Feb 25, 2009 7:56 pm

fixitmattman wrote:Get good AND wide tires, then see how much better things are.

QFT

Wider is ALWAYS better, all things equal. Handling wise, of course.

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Wed Feb 25, 2009 10:11 pm

Well, there is a bit of a limit. Start getting too wide on the fronts and you can really start affecting the scrub radius. Steering feel and effort will change.

OB · Post by OB » Wed Feb 25, 2009 11:45 pm

Since true scrub radius would be measured from the centerline of the wheel and not the edge of the tire, as far as loading is concerned the sweep wouldn't change. Also, a wider tire only adds it's width halved evenly to each side of the wheel. The increase in lateral contact patch is increased the full width of each tire. But in terms of sweep, from the center of the wheel to the outer edge of the tire, only half of the width of the new tire is added. I highly doubt a raise to 225 is going to have adverse effects on scrub to the point that it would affects steering feel and effort. Wheel offset has a much larger effect on scrub radius and people run +/- 10mm and even more without adverse effects.

hybrid-Srt2001 · Post by **hybrid-Srt2001** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 1:57 am

wide tires will not have a large affect until after 225 i know many srt guys that run 145-155 tires and they still handle well. Offset and over lowering will make a much larger difference, and even those things can be fixed.

fixitmattman · Post by **fixitmattman** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:19 pm

You're right, a raise to 225 on a neon isn't going to have a large effect. Going from a 185 to a 225 you may notice a slightly heavier steering feel depending on the treadwear of the tire. Pretty much anything you can cram in the stock wheel well you'll be fine with.

Just trying to point out eventually you reach a limit. It's not ALWAYS better to be as wide as you can be in the front.

djbjammin814 · Post by **djbjammin814** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:56 pm

I think im going to go with a set of 205/55/15 or 205/50/15. Im looking at Dunlop Direzza DZ101. They look like agood tire , big diffrence on the price. 55's are 71.00 ea. 50's are 59.00 ea. They are a cheaper trie, that makes me wonder how good they are. Anyone ever run through a set?

Post by **racer12306** » Thu Feb 26, 2009 2:57 pm

Mox loves the Direzza's. He has the Spec Star or something like that though.

OB · Post by OB » Fri Feb 27, 2009 12:07 pm

fixitmattman wrote:You're right, a raise to 225 on a neon isn't going to have a large effect. Going from a 185 to a 225 you may notice a slightly heavier steering feel depending on the treadwear of the tire. Pretty much anything you can cram in the stock wheel well you'll be fine with.

Just trying to point out eventually you reach a limit. It's not ALWAYS better to be as wide as you can be in the front.

The heavier feel is more likely from the added traction from the increased contact patch. Like you said, it depends on the tire compound. The way I see it, the point where scrub radius would come into effect is far beyond almost any car's physical limitations for tire fitment anyway. We can't go beyond a 225mm tire w/o modification of the car and/or changing wheel offsets. Even with a slightly lower wheel offset (say +35mm) you still aren't going to be able to stuff much more tire in there. I'd be more worried about the safety of using a 6" wheel with a 8-9" tire than anything else!

2005.Neon.SXT · Post by **2005.Neon.SXT** » Thu Jun 24, 2010 3:46 pm

Well, thank goodness for the search function. Just ordered some 205/55/15's. Nitto 450. Read reviews and it seems that all the tire reviews that I've read are all the same. 50% say "oh these are horrible they suck don't get them they're pieces of shit" and the other group is like "the ones complaining probably got wrong sizes or don't know how to drive. these are good tires, they're great!"..... rofl. So yea.

/random.