Need help on tire size, going for old school look

[dmj]

I am about to sell my 18x 7.5 42 mm offset wheels and go with 16x8 38mm offset rims . I have narrowed my tire choice to 225/50/16 or 245/45/16 I am leaning towards the 245 profile but I need some pro and con opinions about each size to help make a final decision.

 

I'd go 45. 50 is really too much side wall. The roads where you live are in pretty good shape so a lower profile would work for you old man /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[alansupra94]

50 is way too much. That is what I have on my car. Also not sure but 225 looks a bit too wide to me. I have the 225/50/16 combo and I am going to shrink it down to something smaller profile wise and width wise.

 

[2of9]

225 45 16 would look nice i believe. 225 50 16 would look like it'd have bigger sidewalls...which might be what you may be looking for. I'm planning to get 215 45 16s /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Whoodoo]

If you've got 8 inches of rim, go with 245's. I have 17x8 245/45/17's and they look meaty - in a good way, of course. I like big and meaty. no homo

 

[RedTwo]

I'd prefer 250s on my wheels /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif

 

[dmj]

I searched around a little and it seems only tire rack has a 245/45/16 tire offering . Fuzion brand for the street.Price is great but I was hoping for a few more choices as I am partial to Kumhos.Discount tire don't even carry this size.

 

[Brianawd]

Go look at my members page. I have 16x7s with 225/50/16. I like the look because a 16in wheel is small and putting a low pro tire on makes the wheels wells look big. With the 225/50/16 it makes the wheels wells look filled.

 

[dmj]

Brian I actually looked at your car first before considering going to a 16 in wheel. After looking at the specs on both a Fuzion 245/45/16 tire with a 24.6 in rolling diameter and a 225/50/16 @24.7 to 24.9 in . The 245/45/16 profile is just 1-2 tenths smaller than a 50 series tire.The downside is I have 1 choice with the 245 45/16 but if I go with 225/50/16 I have over 70 choices.

 

Dexter,
The Goodyear Fuzion rubbers are extremely noisy if that helps with your decision. I had them on the BMW & thought there was something else wrong with the car. I was told it was the tires & didn't believe it until I changed them. I really liked the tread pattern & style of the tire which is why I didn't want to change them. Come to think of it, with a 16" wheel a 50 series tires may fill out the wheelwell better as stated earlier.

 

I have a set of 16x7 with 225/50-16s. I think they give the car a rally look with the 16s and meaty tires. I have pics in my members page.

 

[fuel]

I think 245s on a 8" wide rim is going to look terrible to be honest, the rim bead is going to be far smaller than the width of the tyre bead so you'll get a bit of bulge and 'reverse stretch' going on - it is just about as bad as 'stretch' as your tyre isn't going to make 100% tread contact onto the road and the sidewalls are going to flex all over the show - either step up to 9" wide rims with those tyres or drop down to 215 or 225 on an 8" rim. I have 205's on my 8" rim and they sit fairly flat with minimal stretch and looks good.

 

[SouthCaliVR4]

I have to disagree, I have 225/45/17's on 7 inch wheels & the sidewalls are perfectly vertical. in fact a seven was right in the middle of what the tire manufacturers rim width chart recommended.

Same for a 245 on an 8" wheel, my chosen upgrade down the road.

conversely 205 would be at the rim width limit on an 8" plus the low profile will leave you open to rim damage from potholes.

I had 205/50's on my prelude with 16 x 7" wheels, they where perfect on such a small light car but would be way undersized on the bigger heavy galant IMOHO.

 

Guys,
Keep in mind that even though different manufacturers list the same sizes, some are actually taller & wider than others. Hence everyone could be correct in their responses about the width & height.

 

[JSchleim18]

I have 225/50/16's on my 16x8 wheel. They are Dunlop Star Specs and these are as wide as I'd like to go with this exact tire.

 

[dmj]

Sorry Jeremy I can't open the photo link.I would really like to see the 225/50/16 on a 8 in wide rim as I am now leaning towards that size tire. Rims should be here tommorrow.

 

[JSchleim18]

Wheels are Volk TE37's. These specific tires run a little wide as they also have the "wheel protector lip"

 

[Struc]

I can take some more pictures if you want. Hopefully this helps. I believe my rims are 7.5" wide, however.
The tires are Bridgestone Potenza RE01R, 225/50/16 on Rota Slipstream wheels.
Ignore the wheel well gap. I have H&R springs with GR-2's on it now.

 

[dmj]

Thanks guys for all the info and pics now I am 100% sure that I am going with the 225/50/16 .

 

[speedyvr4]

Quoting Brianawd:
Go look at my members page. I have 16x7s with 225/50/16. I like the look because a 16in wheel is small and putting a low pro tire on makes the wheels wells look big. With the 225/50/16 it makes the wheels wells look filled.



ditto.