15" tires vs. 16" tires....

[NOVA79]

Hey all,

I’m looking at potentially purchasing a Fit in a few weeks and have a question regarding tire size….

I know the sport comes with 15” tires. I was reading that you can pay extra (think its $1500 Canadian) to upgrade to 16”. My question to you all is this; is it worth the extra money to upgrade to a bigger size? Is there a true benefit to the bigger size? Is it better for the winter?

Another question I have is this: is it possible to use 15” tires during the nice months and put 16” tires on during the winter???? Or does something special have to be done with the car to put a bigger size on….?

Sorry for the basic questions; I’m fairly new to this….

Thanks guys!

[Nerv2g]

Just get the sport with the 15" wheels and if you want you could use the extra $ and get some great rims for less then $1500. If you want to keep you 15's for the winter and use 16's in the summer that is fine that is what alot of people do. Hope that helps

[Arisenfury]

There is no special things done to the car to put 16" wheels on, so you could switch during the different seasons.

If you've got the money to spend and you want bigger OEM wheels then I guess go for them, otherwise I'd save my money and get aftermarket ones later as they can be had for less and also a lot lighter. The HFP 16" wheels weigh quite a bit and that is something you could notice compared to the stock 15".

Also $1500 seems a bit high, you can usually find some used sets going around here for half that and even less.

[sam21]

$1500 oem wheels FTL

you can almost get Volks for that kind of money

[Sugarphreak]

I agree, becides you are going to need some rims for snow tires where you live... just use your stock 15s for that and spend the 1500$ on a nice rim and summer tire package. Lots of tire shops will give you some store credit for your brand new 15" stock rubber as well which is nice.

[jazz_do_it]

15" is gooD..but perhaps 16" will look better.
No modification needed.
but it'll will look nicer w/ a lowering spring though., coz the fender gap is gonna be removeD.

[storm88000]

In general, for FWD cars, the larger the rim and fatter the tire the worse it will perform in snow & ice. The best snow tires are 13-14" and skinny.

[rodpaine]

I drove an '08 w/automatic and dealer installed 16" with Bridgestone 45 profile tires, then an '08 5-speed Sport with 15" 55 profile tires over the same roads and the 15" 55 profile tires were much less harsh on poor road sections and quieter on the smooth sections. I bought the 5-speed sport as it will be used for rural and long distance trips and the 15" 55 profile tires are a much better package for this type of use, IMO.
FWIW,
-Rod

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2008 5-speed Sport purchased 3/8/08
Rod's Autos Website