Quote:
Originally Posted by jim@tirerack
Take a look at the 15" Fit OE tires. They have a higher load capacity from Honda. We go with the Honda recommended load capacity. They must have raised the load for a reason with the 15" and 16". I am not really sure what the problem is anyway. If you want to run the smaller size with lower capacity go ahead. We warn you and you buy the tire.
As far as the wheels go some members want to push the envelope. You don't get to decide what is right for everybody. Just like we don't. There are some fitments that need some work and some guys are willing to do that. Not everyone, but there are people who want the most aggressive look. I don't see that as a crisis. I have sold even more aggressive applications for the car. We did look at the 38mm offset and did take them off the application. They were hitting on a screw in the rear fender well.
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So you are saying the max load capacity has something to do with the rim diamter then? That really doesn't make sense to me to be honest. I have an open mind if you have a theory as to why it would be a factor.
I hit that same screw in the rear fender with a +42 offset 17" rim with a 205/40 tire... bad enough that even the tire shop I bought it from gave up after they shaved it down and it couldn't be corrected. They even cut up the inside of my fender trying to make it work. After about 3 weeks they took the rim back and as a lessons learned they don't sell +42 rims to Fit owners anymore without test fitting them first. This has been adopted at most tire shops around here, they don't sell rims with less than +45 to Fit customers.
Now, this isn't just me. Other members locally & on FitFreak have all expereinced similar issues with +42 rims (both 16" & 17") when using 205 tires on a stock Fit. Like I have been saying all along, you can make +42 work if you use certain brands of tires. But ideally for a stock Fit you should be reccomending +45 and attaching a warning to reccomendations less than that.
With +38 you are talking another 4mm out, that is way past pushing the envelope without modification. You might be able to make it work with 195/40's (we won't get into that again), but with a 205 of any brand I am 99% sure you are going to send a set of rims to somebody that will rub and they won't be happy. I am very glad you guys took it off the application program, that is a big step forward.
Keep in mind, the HFP 16" rims come in a +55 configuration. It would be nice to see rims with that kind of offset showing up in the application program. For example, there are some 15" SSR Type-F's that come in a +48 configuaration; is a fantastic option for somebody who wants to run lightweight wheels on the Fit and not have to worry about rubbing.