I usually get a wheel one size smaller in diameter for winter wheels, but I just spoke to Discount Tire, who recommended 14" wheels for my 09 Fit Sport with 185/65R14 rather than 15" wheels with 175/65R15. I've never gotten wheels 2" smaller than stock. Any thoughts?

 

Well the entry level base model in japan (G) comes standard with 14-inch wheels and 175/65r14 tires, so I don't see why something similar wouldn't work on yours. But, I also don't see why Discount Tire is recommending 14s when they're usually so cautious about keeping things as close to stock as possible. Maybe someone there mistakenly looked up solutions for an '08 base model instead?

 

Saw this thread the other week and meant to respond to it. Going down two sizes sounds like a lot, but I've seen similar listings elsewhere. Did you check the Tire Rack's listings? They're not infallible, but they tend to be pretty cautious about selling you the right thing.

Second, we went down an inch for winters on my bride's VW; mounted on takeoff steel wheels. We would now like to move the (second set, virtually new) winters over to the better looking OEM alloys (the steel ones look their age), and we cannot.

Third, there are inexpensive but serviceable alloys out there for less than a $100 @. 'Till you spring for steel wheels and hubcaps, barring a really great deal, you may not be much further ahead. Now, that said, my bride has a habit of clobbering potholes, and she bent one of the steel wheels. We had trouble getting a replacement with the same offset, and matching a bent/broken alloy also could be a problem. Of course, not everybody keeps cars as long as we do.
My Fit has 185/55 16" Blizzaks, on dedicated alloys, and I'm very pleased.
Moon

 

You should use the tire size calculator for this one, there are plenty out there but the one I like most (most informative) is here:

http://www.rims-n-tires.com/info_specs.jsp

Based on the measurements you gave and considering that stock is 185/55/16, then even at 2 sizes down you're not losing that much diameter...it'll only affect your speed by the speedometer reading higher than it should be by 2.3%. The biggest thing you should be concerned about with going down 2 sizes is if the rims will fit properly (size and offset). Otherwise you should be fine even with that size.

 

correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think that 14" rims will clear the brake calipers on the 09 Fit sport.

 

I guess 14" wheels would work, based on this member that has 14" civic wheels on his 09 Fit, but it looks really tight.

 

I'm pretty uncomfortable with going minus-2 on the winter wheels, so I decided to go minus-1 with cheap alloys from Tirerack.com. The whole reason this came up is because Tirerack didn't carry steel wheels for the Fit Sport. But to go minus-2 with steelies with Blizzaks at Discount Tire ended up being only about $25 cheaper than going with 15" alloys with X-Ice Xi2 at Tirerack, even with shipping. If I used Discount Tire, I would have saved on shipping, but would have had to pay tax and installation ($15 per tire!), as well about $25 more per tire. Plus, shipping from Reno to Salt Lake City is only about $80.

So thanks for all your input. This is a great resource for Fit owners.

One other question. I chose not to spend an additional $140 on TPMS for my winter tires. I'm assuming the only consequence to this is the tire pressure idiot light being on always (and of course, having to check the tire pressure manually)?

 

Which alloys did you get? (Just the cheapest ones?)

From reading the manual, the only consequence aside from the light is that if you have a car with VSA (i.e. a Fit with navi), you won't be able to disable the VSA.

Good luck, and I'd like to know what you think of the wheel/tire combo -- if I buy I'll probably get the same tires and wheels .

 

Since they're winter wheels and minus-1 size, I just got the cheapest 15" ones:

Sport Edition F2 Silver Painted

As for the VSA, I didn't know that, thanks for telling me. I do have a (rare?) 5-speed manual Fit Sport with Navi (the only way I could get TC and VSA, which was a serious annoyance, since Navi is rarely necessary in Salt Lake City with it's grid street). And I do often turn it off. But in winter, with minus -1 wheels, I don't think I'll need to turn it off too often, unless I want to play rally driver.

 

Now that's interesting. Why can't you disable the traction/stability control, since all four wheels are the same diameter?

Yes, TPMS light will stay on.
Moon

 

VSA requires signal from the TPMS sensors to work properly. if the TPMS Sensors fail or are not detected, VSA automatically turns on and cannot be disabled. it's a safety feature.

~SB

 

Actually, that is an important piece of information when buying wintertreads. If you end up ditched and have to try to rock yourself out, not being able to spin the tires a little is a BIG thing. It's more than not being able to do lurid four wheel drifts in parking lots... I'll have to make a mental note to get the TPMS sensors for the winter tires/rims on our next car. I didn't bother with the ones for the Fit or our daughter's Caliber.
Moon

 

To Clarify... That's on the Honda Fit... My altima had Traction control but no VSA and the ones that Did have VSA didn't seem to have the issue when running no TPMS sensors. (never read about it on the forum but never really had a reason to check either) They did the same Black Electrical Tape modification to cover up the light.

Haven't looked into it on the Ridgeline either but we never change wheels. She's stock with just the tow Package, roof Rack and Harmon Kardon Drive+Play.

~SB

 

With regards to the wheel diameter there is no real issue with going "-2" in size as long as the tire size chosen is within 3% of the diameter of the original tires. It's pretty easy to shop around and find a tire that will fit, even more so with the smaller diameters. I don't see any issue with going from 16" to 14" as long as you get a size that will fall within 3% of the OEM tire diameter.

 

It's at least a thing worth checking on; our most likely new car will be a Honda product- Honda/Acura- and I'll ask some questions before buying winter tires/rims. Now, that said, the sensor packages have gotten cheap enough that there probably isn't a really good reason not to get them.
Moon

 

Well, another reason against getting them is that you need either the dealer to reprogram the TPMS to recognize the sensors each time you switch the wheels (see post: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...tml#post742325), or you need to buy a tool to program the TPMS yourself (such as ATEQ TPMS Quickset Tool). Kind of makes it seem more trouble than it's worth .

Honda could hopefully change the system in the future to make it easier for consumers to switch wheels... but I think you might have to do this for all current Honda models

 

So the real question is, does running w/o sensors keep you from disabling the stability control on vehicles so equipped? Non-issue for our Fit.
Arghhhh. Hate it when technology/gummit regs bite you in the butt.
Moon

 

Yep the Genesis is that way. Super annoying, thankfully nothing happening with the Fit that way. I was going to swap out the rear drums, but i think i'll swap front breaks first.

I don't know if those bigger breaks will work with 14" rims though.
Can you should us some pics with the new 15" rims?

 

Well if you really want to know the bad news, the behavior seems similar on all Honda models I looked up.
CR-V: Honda CR-V Owners Club Forums - View Single Post - 2008 crv winter tires
Accord: TPMS question - Drive Accord Honda Forums
Element: TPMS in winter wheels - Honda Element Owners Club Forum

Buuuuut... I suppose if you really had to disable VSA, you could just pull the VSA fuse. Of course, I don't know what else shares the VSA circuit, so maybe it's not such a good idea...

 

I was talking with my gf's bro about choosing snow tires & rims for their 09 sport awhile back.

I recommended them to get some 15" rims from good-win-racing. There are some really decent 4x100 15" rims choices there. And then pickup a set of Michelin or Bridgestone snow tires from tirerack. I recommended them to get 15x6.5 or 15x7 around +42mm to +45mm offset with 195/60R15 tires. Looks good & easy to sell in the future. 14" do fit on both GD & GE but that's a personal preference. They might look a little small on the GE.

I run a set of bmw e30 rims on my GD with 185/65R14 x-ice2. No issue at all & looks really flush!