I know nothing about wheels and tires and am trying to sort through the information and figure out what I need to say to a junk yard to see if they have wheels that will fit my 09 Fit Sport. I'm looking to get winter tires mounted on wheels, but have been quoted an outrageous $1,400 for everything. So I was going to call up a junk yard and see if I can find some used wheels, but I don't even know what to say. I know my current tires are 185/55/16 and I think that is the stock size. So...

What information do I need in order to look for rims that will fit my car at a junk yard?
What different models have the rim sizes that I'm looking for?
What spectrum of tires sizes should I realistically run for winter?

 

1) finding used wheels is a bit complicated for the Fit, i myself have an 09 sport and every steel wheel i have tried on had hub centre that was too small. Try calling your local honda dealer to find out more. 2)16'' tires are more expensive than 15'' so if you want to save money you could go with smaller rims. I haven't found 14'' wheels that will fit over my front callipers. if you run 15'' wheels and tires i think the size is 195/55/15. 3) the best way to find rims is to look online (kijiji if your in canada like me or craigslist if your in the US). You will need rims that are 4x100 that go on newer honda's, i know for a fact that mazda protege rims hub center is too small.
Good luck pm me if you are in the maritimes, i can get you a good deal on tires.

 

Go to tirerack,com A winter package they recommend for you comes to $439 + shipping. This setup includes Dunlop Winter Maxx (Studless Ice & Snow) Size: 185/70-14 (4), and New Steel Wheels (Black Painted), Size: 14X6 (4) Bolt Pattern: 4-100. These wheels are smaller in diameter than your current 16's, but the tires have a higher profile, so your odometer should not be affected much. They come mounted and balanced so it's very easy to change wheels and tires yourself and save a lot of expense. Don't bother buying the tire pressure monitoring sensors. (TPMS). Just live with the warning light during the Winter season. Good luck. You'll get a lot of good advice on this forum.

 

is your location "BEND" as in southbend? then you got tirerack right in your area.

i bought a set of 15" cheep wheelset with WS60's mounted for like $650 shipped. you can probably still get steelies (black steel wheels) for sub $600, i think.

 

if your area is plowed decently, i recommend getting the continental DWS. they are near snow tire performance to about 3" snow and you can use the tires all year round.

that's wat i run now in the winter vs getting snow tires. snow tires are significantly better performing than the DWS in deep snow though, if you are in a rural area. but they perform lousy on dry roads..and are ugly looking.

 

If you go the junkyard route, there are LOTS of wheels that have the same bolt circle as the Fit (4 x 100mm). The hub bore will be the deciding factor on whether or not they'll fit. I'd recommend looking for 15x6 steel wheels from an early-2000s Civic; double-check that bolt circle 'cause I think later-model Civics use a larger one. At any rate, 15x6 is a good rim size 'cause the base-model Fit runs 15-inch steel wheels. Going to a smaller diameter means running the risk of interference with the suspension bits.

I run 185-60x15 winter tires on 15x6 early-2000s Civic rims. That size is virtually identical in diameter to your stock summer tires, so there's no significant speedometer error to worry about.

 

And if you go with 15" wheels use 185/65/15, 185/60/15, 195/60/15. The "Unique" brand steel wheels sold at America's/Discount tire/Discount Tire Direct, Amazon have a large center bore, so you won't need to worry about that.

I am not sure what the center bore is on those steel wheels on Tire Rack but i'm assuming Rampo has used them and they're ok for Fit. It doesn't say what it is on the site but it needs to be at least 56.1mm.

 

when i bought the tirerack steelies, long time ago, they were 56mm to match the honda center bore.

 

Craigslist worked for me for alloy wheels. look for 15" acura Integra or (pre-2006) Honda Civic wheels and they will bolt right up with no issues. I spent $50 on 15" Integra Mesh Alloy wheels (I did trade a strut tower brace for a civic as well) and $320 on Tires running the General Alitmax Arctic mounted and balanced at Sears (they were cheaper there after mounting/balancing than buying online at Tirerack or DiscountTireDirect including shipping and having them mounted/balanced somewhere)

Depending on your area, craigslist might take a little bit of time to find what you are looking for but I found the right deal after about 3 weeks of occasionally checking. Check your local tire shops to see if they'll pricematch tire rack or discount tire. Some will here. For me it was dumb luck that Sears came up in a search and was the lowest price. Online is usually, but not always, cheaper since you'll have to have the tires mounted/balanced on the new wheels - and shipping can be a killer.

~SB

 

The way to cure the small hub bore is installing 1/4" spacers, cost about $35 for 4 wheels and also widens the track by 1/2". We have not had problems with getting used Honda wheels or Mazda as well but they are gettiung scarcer. Cost runs $10-15 each.
The main to worry about is clearance around the calipers, not often but has occurred.

 

That package Rampo mentioned above is a pretty good price for mounted/balanced. I work for a tire wholesaler and I probably couldn't make myself a package for much less than that.

I ran 14" steelies from a mid-90s Saturn and 185/70/14 Goodyear snows last season. Front caliper clearance was VERY tight but I didn't have any issues in ~7k of driving.

 

I have 14 inch Integra rims for my 2007 Honda Fit. I believe they are 40mm offset. I don't know about the general altimax tires, I can't say I've tried them but IMO when buying a winter tire, you want the absolute best. I would recommend Michelin Xice, Goodyear Blizzaks or Nokian Hakkapelitas.

I don't recommend getting studded tires since they usually perform less well on snow (but they do perform better on ice). If you do get studded tires, I strongly recommend factory studded tires and not having studs installed afterwards.

I got my set of Michelin Xice 2 tires at a close out price 66$ a tire on tirerack.com. In town the same tire costs over 160$ a tire + tax! Don't skimp on a winter tyre, you need the best performance possible since you'll be slip sliding everywhere in snow anyway!