I was looking at my stock 15 tires and notice that there is not a whole lot of room between them and the frame on the back wheels. So that being said, in order to go to a wider tire it looks as though I would have to change the rims, is this correct? I would like to go to 205's, but if they are going to rub on the stock rims then I won't do it until I upgrade the rims.
Thanks,

Utnorris

 

Those are the lightweight SSR competition. 16in 205/40/16 tires... i have skunk 2 springs and when i have 4 people in the car the front scapes slightly.

 

What about 205/50/16?? is it still fit with the fenders??

 

No, you should not move tires from one side of the car to the other. In the days of bias ply tires, the rotation pattern included cross-overs, but radial tires should only be swapped front to back. This means that for cars that have different size tires, front and rear, any rotation is not recommended.

AFAIK, radial tires take a set to the rotation direction once their put on your car. Reversing that rotation can lead to premature failure. Check the information from your tire manufacturer to be sure.

Eric

 

That used correct, but with the tires manufactered today that is not the case. Today's tires should be rotated "X to the drive wheels". Thats also what the Honda Fit's owners manual says. It says with "nondirectional" tires (such as the factory installed tires) you should move the front tires directly to the rear, and cross the rear tires to the oposite front side. This is also what Goodyear says Goodyear Tires | Support | FAQs | Rotating Tires .

 

I stand corrected. I'm just an old dog, but I'm willing to learn new tricks. Thanks for the info, spreadhead.

Eric

 

I keep tire pressure at the recommended 32psi, and rotate tires (& change oil) at 3000 miles.

 

for me, 28-30PSI during winter (depends on snow) and 32-35PSI in summer (depends on where i'm going) I do a tire rotation Every oil change (7000km with OE Honda filter with Mobil1 5w20 Syn)

 

I keep my pressure up closer to 40 for better MPG and less cornering wear. I've done this on all my FWD cars for 20 years. I rotate once at 20,000, so then at 40k, I've only swapped them once and they've each been on the front for half the time. I might rotate back and forth for a while until I get 50-60k for that first set. Rotation is important, but I think it's often done too often. Just get good wear on that front set, and then swap the good rear ones up front for an equal time.

 

with all this, this is considering that you have 0 camber? cause i'm pretty sure you can fit those type of offsets with some negative camber. on rsx's people run +35 and sit flush. but with my car, i added -2 to -3 camber and was able to push +20 offset. =]

i'm pretty sure you can run +32, just add some camber. it'll look sicker too =p

 

Ive just changed my tires to Good Year Eagle F1s V rated on 185/55 15s and they are great, soooo much better than the Bridgestone Potenzas just wondered what other people thought of them or if they had used them?

 

JDMChris: Are those red and black wheels you got on there 15s? If so, i might change my mind from the 16s to 15s haha. Looks very nice.

And thanks for the help with the offset.. that was my concern too.

 

I'm running 15x6.5 +35 on with 205's and it rubbed all the plastic away and still rubbs the fender it's self on those "canyon cruses" I would suggest getting some really stiff suspension like Chris is running.

+35 sits flush:

 

Wrote this in the TireRack forum, but seems I should put it here too. I had a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s 16" on my RSX-S. They replaced the stock Michelin Pilots. I chose them because they had the best wet grip of any tire appropriate for the 16" stock alloys. They were absolutely amazing. My first impression was how much quieter the car was. For the first time, the engine was louder than the tire noise when driving. The tires felt ever so slightly "squishier" than the all-season Pilots, but they were not at all squirmy when cornering, and they tracked perfectly straight. In dry conditions, they had acceptable grip and let the full handling abilities of the RSX Type S shine, but there were probably other streetable choices that would have provided superior traction. However, these tires really stand out in wet conditions. For ordinary driving, there really is no difference in feel between wet and dry driving - not only do they refuse to hydroplane, they stick through water uncannily. I never had to slow down for corners more than I normally would just because the roads were wet, and they ran at 75mph through a hard pouring rain with standing water on the road without any difficulty at all. Unfortunately, my RSX was wrecked by a stupid intoxicated driver teeing into it, but I liked these tires so much that as soon as I pick a set of 16" rims for my Fit, I'm putting GS-D3s on 'em. One note, though - they are terrible when cold. At 45 F, they are little better than an ordinary tire. Below freezing, they are sleds. You will absolutely need to change for winter conditions.

 

I didnt know where to put it, thats why its in two places..

Where i live never gets that old, so reckon they might just be ok. A touch of frost is about it, no snow etc so getting below freezing tends to only happen very rarely. Know what you mean about the rain though, its been pouring for days here and they do seem to stick like glue. I do think they are a bit noiser but that could be down to being a softer compound than the last ones i used. But so far so good.

 

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 is a great performance tire for summer use.

Switch to winter tires when needed and you'll be fine.

It's strongest on performance but does give up a little on comfort for street use.

If you have an upgraded suspension you can appreciate how well the GS-D3 performs.

Solid in the wet or dry. On special at tirerack.com right now.

 

17x7 rim and 225/45-17 are a good match. Perfect would be 17x7.5.

The width of the mounted tire as specified is based on the 7.5" rim. When using a narrower rim you can subtract about 0.25" from the tire width.

It's probably better to mount a tire on a slightly narrow rim than on an overly wide rim.

I doubt that you could tell that much difference between a 17x7 and 17x7.5" rim using the 225/45-17 tire.

Were you planning on using the 225/45-17 tire for the Fit? or some other car. The outer tire diameter is 25" usually which is quite tall for the Fit.

For 17" rims usually 205/40-17 or 205/45-17 tires are used.

17x9" rim is the widest that can fit the 225/45-17 tire but 9" is probably too wide for the Fit's wheel well depending on wheel offset. If you have modified fenders then that would add clearance and then you can use minimal offset for a front wheel drive car like +30-35mm offset. It's best to check on that with Jim@tirerack.com.

When the 225/45-17 tire is mounted on a wider than 7.5" rim then the tire width will be larger and it may get tight in the fender. 17x8 is still fine depending on the offset of the wheel.

Wider rims are also heavier and usually more costly than a narrow rim of the same diameter.

 

wow.... this post is like 2 years old. haha

 

Though my reply is late the question is still a valid one and Fits are still pretty new so I figure the question will be asked again.

Might as well have a reply for new owners to read about and get oriented about use of tire size in relation to wheel width and offset.

Given that the Fit has a large offset if you buy wheels that are wider than stock then you need to decrease the offset by about half of the increase in width you are adding. This will keep the wheel about centered in relationship to the stock wheel and keep your outer tire edge from rubbing the inner upper fender lining.

Clearance in the rear wheel area is tighter than in the front usually.

 

Ok so here is my situation. I don't know a lot about cars. I have a new Honda Fit LX in Canada (base model for US), anyways so the one thing that got pointed out to me is that I could really increase handling by putting wider/bigger tires on it. Now I do not particularly care how it looks or whether my rims are one pound lighter, I just want a safe and responsive car (if I can make it look good for an extra 100 bucks I would consider it but dont care too much). So should I invest in new alloy rims from somewhere like Canadian Tire and put better tires on them and if so what size should I step up to? Would I be better to just buy wider tires for the 14inch steel rims? I was thinking that what I would do was buy alloy rims in the spring of next year and put winter tires on my stock 14inch steel rims and just use the crappy little tires that came with the car for the time being. Any input would be greatly appreciated. I also want to keep my warranty as complete as possible, I was thinking one good idea would be to buy a set of stock 15in alloys from a sport model off of someone who has put custom rims on. Thanks.