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Evening folks, can anyone give me a quick rundown on how to shop for correct-fit 16-inch wheels on the 2012 Sport that I have?
I'm plenty familiar with shopping for TIRES that fit WHEELS, but not vice versa. I have winter tires I've used several seasons, that I want to mount on wheels, and wondering what information I need to confirm when I go on Craigslist to look for some cheap 2nd rims for the tires. Definitely don't want to get my hands on rims that don't fit the tires.
Getting tires swapped at Costco just getting to be a pain for me. Efficient but can take all day. No longer outweighs not having TPMS in the winter.
And if you have a recommendation for a lightweight rim of course throw that at me as well, love it.
Those are the basic dimensions that you want to watch for. Check the manufacturer's Site to see what width wheel is recommended for the snow tires you want to run.
Here's a good Site to use as a reference. Plug in your stock set up to compare with what you're considering...
If the current offset is 53mm why would I look for a 40-50MM range? Will the lower positive offset make the wheels stick out a tiny bit further than before (good!).
And .. how do tires accommodate a 1inch range in size? Will tires for my 6 in wheel really fit on a 7 in? Would they go smaller?
Less positive offset will push the wheels further out.
Have to check your tire manufacture's Site for specs, but most have a wheel width recommendation that spans 1.5 - 2" so it's likely that your tires can go on a wider wheel.
That being said, wider is not better for snow tires.
If I were in your shoes (pun intended), I would either...
take the economical route and try to find a second set of OEM wheels for the snow tires. This would have you on OEM spec wheels year round
or
go for the better looking performance option, and buy a set of 16x7 45ish offset wheels for the summer. You could then move to a 205/50-16 tire for those wheels.
I'm suggesting these options because the factory wheel is narrower than normal at 6" wide. That is good for your snow tires, but not so great for performance. I would not want to have snow tires on a 7" wide wheel and your summers on a 6" wheel.
Awesome, thank you. I am hoping to find used wheels for the winter. Whether they are Fit wheels or not, I'm pretty indifferent. I would imagine I can find some older Civic 16" wheels that'll work, and they'll be cheaper than the Fit. Could be wrong though.
Your suggestion is good ... if I hadn't already got all my tires, without considering this back when I did that. So I have got new all-seasons and half-used winters, and looking for wheels for the latter. I don't expect to ever replace the winters; they'll either last the life of the car or I will just use the all seasons year round (if we get another family car).
