E-Mail Ben at Tire Rack ben@tirerack.com , but for sure Tirerack will take the safe road.

 

I would think a 195/55R16 would be a more friendly tire size for sticky tires.

 

Safety first with tires.

 

a 10mm difference in width will make almost no difference in safety. going to 205 adds 25mm (over an inch) to a small rim. 195 is also a very friendly size for tires, as it's a common one on old civics and other vehicles.

 

damn....all these dudes with 205s on stock Fit Sport wheels, but no pic of the rubber on rim area?

...as for the "your going in the wrong direction" remark.....i'm just interested in seeing the 205 mated to stock rim, and not in debating the issue.

 

Check out my thread, this is how I turned my Fit into a monster.. Oh, I'm running on 16" Apex sport wheels 205/50/16 tires.

Take a look at the ECU re-flash, too.


https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...coilovers.html

 

I'm gonna put some 215 r-comp tires on the fit next ax season.

 

1. better tires than Dunslops
2. wider wheels not less than 45 mm offset
3. change sway bar balance from too much understeer
Thats all it takes.

 

You need to change the offset to match the width.

I would recommend measuring it out and using a calculator to make sure that you have enough clearance.

 

Could you translate? I don't know what you mean here by "needing to change the offset to match the width". I do know I need to make sure whatever tires I get, I need to have basically the same circumference on the new tire as I have on the stock ones.

For example, I a '09 Sport Fit. I'm looking at some 17" rims that are 7"
wide.

Thanks

 

Wheel / tire size calculator / comparer - WHEELSMASTER

 

The offset is not dependent on the wheel width. Offset is the distance from the hub face to the centerline of the wheel. And since 205 tire widths are maximum useful a 6" width is all you need. Fashion never outdoes performance.
The best choice is a 6' wide wheel with a 45 mm offset on a dished wheel that clears the calipers and suspension links. Do not be persuaded by that any of the osets and wheel widths that postrers say they have. we've seen many others than the 6" width x minimum 42 to 45 mm offsets that simply require modifying the wheel arches. Your Fit's value plummets with such.
If you go 17" use 195/40x17 tires on 17x6/42 to 45mm wheels & stock ride height.
If you go 16" use 205/45x16 on 16x6/42-45 offset with stock ride height.
If you go 15" use 195/50x15 tires on 14=5x6/42-45 offset wheels. stock ride height. If you drop the supension always favor the 45mm offset.
Actually most lowering kits don't really help that much because the Fit is so tall with a high center of gravity.
Only 2 brands offer 195/40x17 tires but both are good.
One mistake that many make is using tires that are heavier than stock which results in poorer mpg and acceleration, both of which are counter to the Fit's putpose. 205 width and diameters slightly less than 24" are the largest you will find useful.
You can use TireRacks spec data to chose tires and wheels but DiscountTireDirect usually has better prices. Besides they mount and balance for free when you buy wheel/tire combinations.
You will find some are concerned about tire sizes changing speedo and odo readings but any tire with a diameter within 3/8" of stock won't change them enough to know. When you go with wider (and heavier) tires you do want a little smaller diameter. More weight at less diameter matches less weight at greater diameter.
good luck and cheers.

 

Yes, offset is not dependent on the wheel width, but backspacing is what you need to be concerned about. I will be using 225 width R-Compound tires soon, on much wider wheels. There's no way you can put a 225 width tire on an 8" wheel with a 40mm offset, that translates to a backspacing of 154mm. That won't fit on the fit. And about performance, trust me, there is a performance aspect to a 225 width compared to 205 or even 215.

If you put 8" wheels and tires on any car designed with 6" wheels, you'll need to change the offset.

Even with 6.5" wheels you should change the offset accordingly. 40mm is a good starting point for a stock car.

8" wide wheels, you have to change offset for them to fit, for 225 width tires, on an 8" wide wheel, I'm going to use 20mm offset wheels.


To the person who wanted 17x7 wheels: You'll probably want to maintain the factory backspacing (ie: offset to wheel width.)Offset and backspacing are the two things you need to be concerned about, not someone who tells everyone how bad your car will ride with 40mm offset wheels.

@mahut:
Please stop telling people that "one size fits all" if that were true, everyone would be running the exact same setup. Or that three sizes fit all.

 

Mahut:
Why would you tell someone to change their wheel offset to 42-45mm on a 16x6 wheel?
Honda uses a 55mm offset 16x6 wheel on the sport...

 

Where in the world is the Mugen leather kit. Not in the US.... ;-)

 

Just a thought or two from over 50 years racing:
Take note that if you are mounting 225/45x15 Hoosiers the diameter is 22.8", some .6" smaller than stock and thats why you may get away with it if you use wheels with 45 mm offset and preferrably on 7" rims. 8" has a really good chance of rubbing on struts or links and I'm not real crazy about 7". The backspace is the offset plus half the wheel width. Thinking you will change the offset to make up for the increase in wheel width won't solve the problem of potential interferences. Just because the backspace is OK does not mean the forward rim edge is OK.

we recommend 205 maximum for street tires because thats about as wide as will fit in the fenderwell on tires about 23.25" diameter. I have doubts your 225's are going to fit in the well without rubbing.
Competition applications we've tried says 225 is too wide for a Fit with 109 or 119 hp anyway. eats too much power.. Now when going to less section tires, for winter tires, you can increase diameter slightly provided the tire weight is also less. .
I'd recommend instead 205/50x15 Hoosiers, same listed weight and diameter bot ample 8' tread instead of 8.8" that lose a lot of power to increased rolling resistance. And of course 6'" and 7" rims fit the tire.
One of the biggest errors made in competition is putting too wide a tire for the power available and I think thats what you're doing. There is an optimum pressure for tire adhesuion and when you exceed that the tire loses cornering power unless the tire tread is softened with 'stuff'. But do too much and the tire just 'glues' and hardly can be turned. If you run courses that feature cornering with little acceleration between corners you may be OK if there's no rubbing

One size does fit. Stay with tires of 23.4" max diameter (23" min) with maximum width of 205 mm section on wheels of 45 mm offset and it will will work every time for street applications. Or race either. Outside that 'size' is risky ground.
Where you can really make out is choosing the lightest wheels and tires, especially tires. too bad there isn't a 195/50x15 Hoosier.
In your defense, my one size is based on dimensions, not tire sises. Several tires and wheels fit into that dimensional 'box'.

cheers.

 

Here's the 205/50R16 on a stock sport rim.

 

I'm sure you get more road grip with 205/50R16 , but do you find the trade off is a bit more body sway/roll.

I found I had more sway/body roll going from my narrow 15" stock tires to 205/50R16 wheels and tires, but more road grip.

 

Wouldn't that be expected though? I mean, it's not like Honda just put a bunch of parts together and threw it out there. I would expect that if you put stickier tires on the car, you'd have to compensate with some sort of suspension mod to offset the additional generated sway/body roll. Sway bar perhaps?

 

The road grip makes up for it. The car could feel tippy at times with the old tires but not now.