Tire guys help me please!

[dsmcrzy]

Hey everyone,

So 2 weekends ago me and my dad went to the swap meet at the race track in my home town. I got a sweet deal on a set of rims and tires and the tires are like brand new! Here is the problem the tires are too small for my dsm. The wheels are 17x7s and currently there are 205-40-r17s on them and the car is lowered 1.3" with Tein S-tech springs. The stock tires were 14s and had
195-70-r14 on them. What I am looking for is the 17s to have same clearance the 14s had between the fender and the tire.

Right now these wheels look stupid small on the car and it just looks funny with so little rubber on them. I got these for $150 with the tires on them so it was a good deal since I can sell the tires after I get new ones. I'm just not sure what I can run for the width of the tire and aspect ratio (side wall).

Any help or pics of your 17s with tire size would he a great help! Here are the pics before with the 14s and after with the 17s. where the top of the tire is on the 14s is where I want the top of the tire to be on the 17s, or around there somewhere. PLEASE HELP ME MAKE THESE NOT LOOK STUPID ON MY CAR!

Thanks guys!!!

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[zcoh2gdsm]

i have a pair of 17's on mine i run 225/45/r17's with no clearance issues.

 

[dsmcrzy]

I just dont feel like 45s would fix my problem I was thinking maybe 215- 50s or 215- 55s.

 

[spooln4fun]

I run 225/45 on my 2g and had the toxico shock/spring set up.

 

[zcoh2gdsm]

im failing to understand what the actual problem here is. are you asking whats the correct size tire to keep your speedo the same?

if you get a wider tire (first number) the second number is tire wall height in percentage to wheel width.

in that case to keep the speedo correct, a 225/45/r17 is the same size as your stock wheel your just fitting a larger rim in the tire and shortening the sidewalls.

 

[dsmcrzy]

I am looking to have less tire to fender gap like you see in the last pic. I want the gap to be smaller like in the pic with the stockers.

 

[FIBA M - EC17PSE]

Best way would be to lower the car. Other would be to run larger walled tires but then you face speedo issues.

 

[BK85]

The 195/70/14 tires are 630mm tall the 225/45/17s measure 634mm tall. So they would sit only 4mm taller than your stock setup. According to the site I use a stock sitting Eclipse can handle at least 655mm. My current setup measures 664mm with no issues at all.

Here is the site I use, Custom rims, wheel tire packages for your ride - RIMSnTIRES.com

BK85

 

[zcoh2gdsm]

you dont want to have to compensate wheel gap with tire size. the only options you really have is get a larger wheel or lower the car a bit more. running a larger wheel might cause clearance issues though so make sure you do your research before you just buy a nice set of bigger wheels.

 

[Blue Talon Boy]

A 225/45/17 should fix your size issue without a issue for clearence.

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[dsmcrzy]

I can't go lower the roads around here suck too much. BK85 thanks alot for that link that really helps out. I think the 225/45 will solve my problem.

I knew what the numbers meant for tire size but never really knew how they all worked together. Thanks everyone for the help!!

 

[Silver99OZ]

I also run 225/45/17 tires on my wheels. My wheels are 7.5" wide and the tires fit nicely.

 

[jtmcinder]

225/45 is rather a tough fit on 17x7. It'll fit and the speedo will be as correct as a DSM speedo ever is, but it's not optimal by any means.

 

[Pipnorcali]

225-45-17

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[bmoha7321]

Don't run a 50 sidewall. That's ridiculous on a 17" wheel. The whole point of going to 17s for me is handling. I have run a 225/45/17 tire on a 17x7 with no problem.
The same size tire from different manufacturers will not all measure out the same. My Goodyear eagle GTs in a 225/45/17 size are wider & taller than my Falken azenis 512s in a 235/45/17 size.

On a 205 a 40 has a pretty short side wall. The sidewall will be taller on a 225/40/17 than those 205/40/17s. It will be taller yet on a 245/45/17. It will fill up some of that wheel gap.

 

[keithcfisher29]

i agree with bmoha7321 and some cheep springs(ebay) dont lower the car as much as they claim

 

[zcoh2gdsm]

i agree with bmoha7321 and some cheep springs(ebay) dont lower the car as much as they claim

OP said he has Tein S tech springs on.

 

[Boostit]

Car needs coilovers, needs to be lower for 17's. Also, 225/40/17 would look good if you can bring it down another quater to half inch. Also, the offset on the wheels is always going to cause an issue on the rear wheel gap. Should look at getting something around 17x8-8.5 with a +25 to +35MM offset.

 

[knochgoon24]

For here in the NE US, a 1.3" drop is about all you can do before the snow starts to be a problem in the winter. I wouldn't drop it any more.

OP, run a 215/50/17 or a 225/45/17. It will put you back at/near an OEM size.

 

[Boostit]

True enough.. I'm used to no snow winters. I just watch for deer, rabbits and pot holes. A 225/45 would look slightly better in this case, agreed.

 

[2slow4now]

The 195/70/14 tires are 630mm tall the 225/45/17s measure 634mm tall. So they would sit only 4mm taller than your stock setup. According to the site I use a stock sitting Eclipse can handle at least 655mm. My current setup measures 664mm with no issues at all.

Here is the site I use, Custom rims, wheel tire packages for your ride - RIMSnTIRES.com

BK85

I've used that link and I like this one too. Sunny SN3800 Non Run-Flat Tire Review - BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum - E90Post.com

I run 235 45 r17 on evo 17 x 8 rims with coil overs with no issues.

I still haven't dropped mine any. Too scared because 2 years ago a raccoon destroyed my fogs, fmic, and radiator. It was just the right height to scoop him right into my 95's smiley face.

 

[knochgoon24]

Oddly enough, lowering my car may have saved me a lot of damage earlier this week. I hit a deer, and instead of it hitting my front bumper, I clipped its legs, it fell onto the hood, (making a nice big dent) then skipped up over the windshield before rolling off the car. Only major damage was to the hood.

 

[2slow4now]

Oddly enough, lowering my car may have saved me a lot of damage earlier this week. I hit a deer, and instead of it hitting my front bumper, I clipped its legs, it fell onto the hood, (making a nice big dent) then skipped up over the windshield before rolling off the car. Only major damage was to the hood.

Sounds like a write up is in order. One for you "how to avoid body damage by lowering your car" and one for me "how to avoid body damage by raising ride height"


Whatever you decide to run if you keep the overall tire diameter the same as stock for the speedo then your gap will remain the same. I would just match up your size close to stock and lower it until it makes you happy. Either lowered to the ground to scoop and fling critters or raised to ride over.

 

[dsmcrzy]

Yea I really can't go any lower for where I am and I do have Tien springs not an ebay knock off. I really dont need coilovers because it would just be rediculous to have on a car I enjoy in the summer. There really aren't any tracks around here for autocross etc which really sucks.

I didn't wanna go with a 50 because the reason I got the wheels was for better handling, performance etc. I just know alot of people on here have way more experiance with tires than I do. I guess I'll look into the 225/45s and see what I come up with. I also thought about selling them and then looking in the spring for others because I know I could sell them for more than I bought them for.

knochgoon24- That sucks about your car! It could have been worse but thats still a HUGE bummer!!

 

[knochgoon24]

You'll notice a big difference going from a 195/70/14 to a 215/50/17. That middle number is just a percent of the first number. So the sidewall on:

a 215/50 is 215*.50 = 107.5mm.
a 225/45 is 225*.45 = 101.25mm
a 245/40 is 245*.4 = 98mm

So if you want a smaller sidewall (like that of a 245/40/17) on a 215 you'll need 98/215 = .455 or a 215/45/17. In a 225/45 is the way to go.