Opinions on 15x7 on 195/50/15

[FLFIT239]

thanks mang maybe ill wait up till we have the FL meet and bring the tires with me

[nxtfit_08]

i have mounted just about eveybodys wheels up here but like i said you wont se that much of a difference but with trthfully i want to get 195/45r15 but the are tooooo expensive they are like 121 at my cost

[GTornado]

Originally Posted by JDMchris.com

just get 205, especially if ur gonna track it. World of difference in the handling.

I know how a 205 tire handles, it is definitely great, but it may take a lot of performance if you're only running with 80 HP. With my current set of 205/40/17's, acceleration is really bad and the last time I used the German "Autobahn" I almost lost 15 kph topspeed!

Originally Posted by mimpi

dont waste your money for a TE with a shit offset.

15x7 +35 or +32 sits nice on the jazz. i'd go with 195/50/15, if you chunky look tyres then go for 205/50 lol

I even think that a 195/50/15 looks a bit chunky. Are there any problems with such offset? Do you have any pictures how it sits? You're right, it's a lot of money, therefore everything has to be perfect.

Thanks again for your help!

[mahout]

Originally Posted by nxtfit_08

^^^ thats stupid bro just get the tires and one day you dont have crap to do come up to o-town and ill mount them on for you thats bullshit! btw the only thing that changes on tire size the 195/50r15 on a 15x7 rim will strech a little bit but not enough to notice the difference on a 205/50r15 will just be a little wider and will handle about the same but will rub depending how low you are! trust bro this is what i do for a living i work for goodyear! right now im running 195/50r15 on a 15x7 +40 offset and i rubb but thats cause im on coils

btw go lower trancedsailor!lol

The 205/50x15's don't rub if your wheel is 45 mm offset.

[mahout]

Originally Posted by GTornado

I know how a 205 tire handles, it is definitely great, but it may take a lot of performance if you're only running with 80 HP. With my current set of 205/40/17's, acceleration is really bad and the last time I used the German "Autobahn" I almost lost 15 kph topspeed!

!

I'm guessing you have a 1300cc model with smaller tires standard?
A good rule in installing wider tires is to reduce the diameter in order to make up for the added weight.
If your stock tire is 175/65x14 it has a nominal diameter of 583.4 mm. The 205/40x17 is nominally 595.6 mm and the 205 tire weighs at least half a kg more, mostly at the tread. Putting that extra weight further from the wheel center makes the engine work a lot harder to turn the wheel so losing 15 kpm is not unexpected..
195/40x17's would be better but 195/50x15's would be much better and 185/50x15's a whole lot better (if such exists). Good luck.

[GTornado]

Originally Posted by mahout

I'm guessing you have a 1300cc model with smaller tires standard?
A good rule in installing wider tires is to reduce the diameter in order to make up for the added weight.
If your stock tire is 175/65x14 it has a nominal diameter of 583.4 mm. The 205/40x17 is nominally 595.6 mm and the 205 tire weighs at least half a kg more, mostly at the tread. Putting that extra weight further from the wheel center makes the engine work a lot harder to turn the wheel so losing 15 kpm is not unexpected..
195/40x17's would be better but 195/50x15's would be much better and 185/50x15's a whole lot better (if such exists). Good luck.

Yes, we have the JDM 1.3 engine with 80 HP and 185/55/15 stock tires. Stock diameter is approx. 585 mm. I read a lot of posts in forums and asked some mechanics, everybody told me that there will only be a small loss in acceleration and topspeed. I am one of only few people running 17's in Germany and maybe even Europe, so there's definitely a lack of experience and I still have to learn a lot.

[nxtfit_08]

Originally Posted by mahout

The 205/50x15's don't rub if your wheel is 45 mm offset.

alos depends how low you are cause my front pinch weld is 2 3/4 in, off the ground

[mahout]

Originally Posted by GTornado

Yes, we have the JDM 1.3 engine with 80 HP and 185/55/15 stock tires. Stock diameter is approx. 585 mm. I read a lot of posts in forums and asked some mechanics, everybody told me that there will only be a small loss in acceleration and topspeed. I am one of only few people running 17's in Germany and maybe even Europe, so there's definitely a lack of experience and I still have to learn a lot.

I didn't check availability but 185/50x15's sounds like the right choice. Good width for cornering and only 565 mm diameter for equal acceleration and kmpl.
195/40x17 (Yoko S drives) are what we have and their diameter is 587 mm pretty close and may not make much difference in the top speed, accel, or kmpl for you as I suspect the tread weight is close to your 185/55x15's..
And they work well at speed as you can see on you tube's "Fit leading a lap at VIR' Top speed isn't different from stock with 195/55x15's and perhaps a mph or 2 faster. So you may still keep your 17's.
The trick to altering sizes is to keep the tread weight closer to the center of the wheel as you widen tread. More weight needs to have less radius to turn in order to keep from working the engine harder which results in less speed, acceleration, and kmpl. The changes only have to be slight so speedomoter and odometer aren't really affected, maybe 20 to 30 km per 1000 km.
PS don't be fooled by Fit leading ...; read the description. under yellow anything can lead. The Fit was a little faster thru the uphill esses and the downhill roller coaster but otherwise pretty much holding up traffic. Traffic was yellow-flagging, the Fit giving it all it had. And in our case though we have 119 hp, we have a few extra kg to haul as well. Fit handling is the best of the bitty cars but its not even close to a CRX either. (have an SiR so I know the comparison's accurate.)
cheers.

[GTornado]

185/50/15 is definitely too small for a new wheel due to the diameter. To me, 185's don't have enough grip, either. I think I'll stick with 195/50/15 but I'm still not sure about the offset. Is there a visual difference between +38 and +42 offset? Another member told me that there are rubbing issues with + 38.

[GTornado]

Small update for you guys and a summary of my research:

I think I'll stick with running 15x7 due to weight and the idea of a semi slick in future - maybe. I focused on 195/50/15 but 205/45/15 looks okay to me as well. The width is similar to the current set, however the diameter of the overal tire is significantly smaller than stock. What is more, grip seems to be better. So, overall can anyone guess how my performance will be affected? Will my car accelerate as fast as with stock 15's (185/55/15) or similar to that? Please remember I only got 83 HP.

I am still thinking about the wheel gap. Some programme on the internet said that the car will be approx. 1 cm lower than with stock 15's. That would be quite low. kelsodeez is also running TEIN (The basic set up, I think that also lowers approx. 40mm - similar to s.tech springs ) and he doesn't have any wheel gap and does not seem to be very low, either. Any ideas?

Well, there are two rims now that would be my dream: Volk CE28N and RE30. Still thinking about them, it's difficult since only few people are running the CE28N on a yellow car, same with the RE30.

Thanks in advance for helping me out. I'm going nuts, buying rims can be very difficult..

[Texas Coyote]

You will have better acceleration if the wheel and tire weight is the same or lighter than the stock tire size. Your overall gearing will be numerically lower so if your present gearing is over driven at top speed you could gain a little increase there as well. Your speedometer will read faster than your actual speed.

[kenchan]

not sure if i posted already but if not, that's the exact wheel and tire sizes i use on my GD.

[GTornado]

Originally Posted by Texas Coyote

You will have better acceleration if the wheel and tire weight is the same or lighter than the stock tire size. Your overall gearing will be numerically lower so if your present gearing is over driven at top speed you could gain a little increase there as well. Your speedometer will read faster than your actual speed.

Thanks for your explanation. The wheel should be lighter due to light weight rims and smaller tires. Another guy from a Honda shop told me the same, so the idea for better performance shouldn't be completely wrong.

Originally Posted by kenchan

not sure if i posted already but if not, that's the exact wheel and tire sizes i use on my GD.

Very interesting, do you have any pictures with a side view of your rims and car? That would be pretty helpful!

So, I am currently thinking about another issue. Only Toyo offers my prefered tire size (205/45/15) here but the tire does only have load index 81 (462 kg load). Honda recommends 82 over here. Do you think this will be a problem? The car weighs 1,111 kg (max 1,510 kg) and load per axle is 800 kg and 730 kg, respectively. In terms of figures, that shouldn't be a problem, I think?!

[Texas Coyote]

When you do most anything to improve performance there are compromises involved but the load rating should not be a problem.... I know that you run your car on a track. I am concerned about the compromise in performance you will suffer by using such a large cross section tire on a car that has only 80 HP.... I was into VW Rabbits (Golfs) in the 1980s and at one time went from the stock size 165-70-13 tires and wheels to 205-60-13s on a diesel pick up truck because it looked cool and lost a great deal of performance and fuel mileage. It's power to weight ratio was only 1.3 lbs less than your car but it had monster torque. I went back to the original tire size on the wider rims when those tires wore out and was amazed at the difference.... I realize that there is a much less drastic difference in the change that you are speaking of but if it is optimal performance that you want you need to trim down the rotating mass and rolling resistance on a car that is producing around 1 HP per 30 Lbs of weight.... My Fit is super charged and I am using 195-55-15 Conti Pro Contact performance touring tires on 7" 9 1/2 Lb wheels.... I learned many years ago that sometimes less is more.

[GTornado]

Yeah, I am still quite concerned about the width, but I like the grip and I hope the smaller diameter will make up for it. Anyway, 15x7's are really versatile concerning tire sizes for a Fit, so there is always an option to change.

Thanks for all your help, FitFreak is definitely an awesome community with great guys. My Honda shop is still figuring out how to order flat black RE30'S (special color) but other than that, the waiting has begun. I can't wait to see these rims on the car.

[usmc0341]

I think as long as you upgrade to coilovers, something like my setup (which I haven't even installed!) will work beautifully with your needs.



Volk Racing RE30's. 4x100 with +43 offset wrapped in Falken Azenis RT615 - 205/50R15 89W

[Texas Coyote]

[quote=usmc0341;698407]I think as long as you upgrade to coilovers, something like my setup (which I haven't even installed!) will work beautifully with your needs.



Those are Nice!
What do the tires weigh?
..... Semper Fi.....

[usmc0341]

Originally Posted by Texas Coyote

Those are Nice!
What do the tires weigh?
..... Semper Fi.....

21.2 lbs each...

[GTornado]

Originally Posted by usmc0341

I think as long as you upgrade to coilovers, something like my setup (which I haven't even installed!) will work beautifully with your needs.
Volk Racing RE30's. 4x100 with +43 offset wrapped in Falken Azenis RT615 - 205/50R15 89W

This is an awesome setup. Thanks for sharing this. I will upgrade to coilovers but not this year, I think. Modding a car can be really expensive.

Where did you get your rims and how is your color called?

[usmc0341]

Originally Posted by GTornado

This is an awesome setup. Thanks for sharing this. I will upgrade to coilovers but not this year, I think. Modding a car can be really expensive.

Where did you get your rims and how is your color called?

These rims are usually special order. As for color, it's plain ol' black.