YACT: How do i know what tires will fit my wheels?

[Maximus96]

i bought these G35 rims for my maxima and it still had some tread left. the stock size is 215/55/17 i believe. I checked infiniti's site and found out the rim is 17x7. can i get wider and thinner tires to fit the rims? how do i know which will fit? thanks

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

www.tires.com look up the wheels for the model of car they came off of, use that as a template, thou it is not garaunteed due to being on a different car with different tolerances for wheel well depth and hieght.

 

[Vic]

7" wide rims will fit tires between 185 and 225 IIRC.

If you switch to 225/50/17, your speedo will only be 1 mph off at 60 (you'll actually be doing 59).

235/50/17 would be ideal, but I don't think they will fit on those wheels. You also need to check what will fit under the wheel wells. 26.3" diameter tires is pretty tall for a car btw. Is 215/55/17 really the stock size?

 

[Maximus96]

yea stock is 215/55. my speedo is already off because stock is 15" for the 96 maxima. what benefit does wider tires have over thinner ones, besides looks?

 

[Maximus96]

also, my friend got some no-name, made-in-china 17" tires for his car couple days ago and say they're the same as more expensive, name-brand tires. i know that can't be but what makes a name-brand better than a no-name and does it justify the extra cost?

 

[RagingBITCH]

Originally posted by: zaku
also, my friend got some no-name, made-in-china 17" tires for his car couple days ago and say they're the same as more expensive, name-brand tires. i know that can't be but what makes a name-brand better than a no-name and does it justify the extra cost?

You gotta be kidding me, right? Tread pattern/design, grip on the road, tire wear among other things.

 

[JulesMaximus]

My '03 Maxima has 225/50R17 tires on it. Those are stock.

 

[Zim Hosein]

Originally posted by: zaku
i bought these G35 rims for my maxima and it still had some tread left. the stock size is 215/55/17 i believe. I checked infiniti's site and found out the rim is 17x7. can i get wider and thinner tires to fit the rims? how do i know which will fit? thanks

http://www.tirerack.com

 

[CTrain]

55 is pretty thick for 17" wheels.
45 is about perfect. 40 looks great but you're just asking for trouble with pot holes.
Doesn't take much for 40 tires to get bubbles/bruises.
35, well, forget it.

 

[Maximus96]

tirerack.com doesn't tell me what tires will fit a given size rim, it was the first place i look.

 

[CTrain]

Other people have just told you.

I'd say look for 225/45/17 215/45/17 205/45/17.
Search to see whats inexpensive for you.
40 will givwe you the low profile look but you're asking for trouble.
50 is just a little too thick.

 

[Vic]

:roll:

Don't you people know anything about wheels and tires? Appearance is the last thing you want to care about. You don't pick a profile just to get a certain look. That's just ignorant.
The wheel and tire combo must fit exactly according to overall diameter, rolling circumference, tire-to-wheel width, and tire width inside the wheel well. Don't forget that you need to pick the right tire to fit your car's characteristics and your driving habits and conditions.

First, quick explanation on how tire sizes work. Width in mm/Profile as % of width/Wheel diameter

Okay. According to tires.com and tirerack.com, the OEM tire sizes on a 96 Maxima were either 215/60/15 or 215/55/16. For 17" x 7" wheels, you should get 225/45/17. This is the size you want. Period. Get no other.

As for cheap-o no-name tires, don't do it. Tires are possibly the most important safety feature on your car. It is better to ride cheap wheels and expensive tires, than to be a bling-bling idiot on expensive wheels and cheap tires. That is unless you happen to like high-speed blowouts or sliding off the road in the rain or anything like that....

 

[notfred]

Is 7" a really narrow rim or does is just sound that way to me?

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

Originally posted by: CTrain
Other people have just told you.

I'd say look for 225/45/17 215/45/17 205/45/17.
Search to see whats inexpensive for you.
40 will givwe you the low profile look but you're asking for trouble.
50 is just a little too thick.

Once again you demonstrate how little you know about cars. A 225/45/17 tire will have a taller sidewall than a 205/45/17. You can't make generic statements saying that a certain sidewall percentage looks better than another because it is a PERCENTAGE.

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: notfred
Is 7" a really narrow rim or does is just sound that way to me?

Not really. Depends on the car. For a 2000 Mustang Cobra with an OEM size of 265/40/18 on 9" wheels, then yes. For most cars, no.
As a general rule of thumb, tires should be 1"-1.5" wider than the wheels, but no less than the same width and no more than 2" wider.

 

[spacejamz]

Originally posted by: PowerMac4Ever

Originally posted by: CTrain
Other people have just told you.

I'd say look for 225/45/17 215/45/17 205/45/17.
Search to see whats inexpensive for you.
40 will givwe you the low profile look but you're asking for trouble.
50 is just a little too thick.

Once again you demonstrate how little you know about cars. A 225/45/17 tire will have a taller sidewall than a 205/45/17. You can't make generic statements saying that a certain sidewall percentage looks better than another because it is a PERCENTAGE.

how come most people think think the middle number equates to tire width??? is it because generally speaking, wider tires have lower height to width ratios? (i.e., you probably won't find a 175/40/xx rim??)

the first number is the actual tire width in millimeters...you could alway identify the dumb a$$es who would go around saying that 50's were the wide tires they wanted for their ride and probably had no clue what a 50 was...