16" front 17" rear - wheel whores help please :)

MrSix · 7 Oct 2009 at 11:41

I'm eyeing up some Compomotive MO's at the moment for my MR2 and the ones for sale are 16" x 7" front and 17" x 8" rear.

Now can somebody tell me what would be the ideal tyre size to run on these rims? I'm guessing the profile will need to be different to compensate for the different size wheels...

jamoor · 7 Oct 2009 at 11:53

Do cars usually have different diameters from and rear?

Confused · 7 Oct 2009 at 11:55

You can have different sizes front and rear - I'd try to keep the rolling circumferences pretty much identical between the two (but it doesn't matter, really)

MrSix · 7 Oct 2009 at 12:19

Yeah that's what I'm looking to do Confused..just need somebody with more brains than me to work out what profiles that requires

LSPIII · 7 Oct 2009 at 12:33

MrSix said:
Yeah that's what I'm looking to do Confused..just need somebody with more brains than me to work out what profiles that requires

Might be easier to work out if you find what tyres the smaller front wheels use as normal and then use that to find out what the rears should be using a tyre comparison tool.

Joe T · 7 Oct 2009 at 12:34

There's a website with a calculator for this, but I cant remember what it is. Try Google perhaps.

LSPIII · 7 Oct 2009 at 12:45

Not sure if it's any help as I don't know what the recommendation would be on tyre profile, but here's an example:

If you ran 185/50/16 on the front, you could run 205/40/17 on the backs and they would be fairly close. Not sure on the measurements though so don't quote me.

Muffin` · 7 Oct 2009 at 12:51

Joe T said:
There's a website with a calculator for this, but I cant remember what it is. Try Google perhaps.

http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

Confused · 7 Oct 2009 at 12:52

What are your default tyres sizes for the MR2. You'll then find the closest equivelant that matches for each new rim.

MrSix · 7 Oct 2009 at 12:56

195 55 15 and 225 50 15

Here's what the wheels would look like on the car:

IAmATeaf · 7 Oct 2009 at 13:06

You could have 200 50 16 and 220 40 17

this would keep the rolling diameter roughly the same as the 225 50 15 you quoted above but wouldn't some of this depend on the width of the rims?

MrSix · 7 Oct 2009 at 13:12

I would want them wider than that I think especially on the rear.

Clarkey · 7 Oct 2009 at 13:38

205/45/16 and 225/45/17 should do nicely.

IAmATeaf · 7 Oct 2009 at 13:53

If you want them as wide as possible then 225 45 16 and 225 40 17 would do.

Batf1nk · 7 Oct 2009 at 13:59

Clarkey said:
205/45/16 and 225/45/17 should do nicely.

Agreed. What would be the point of having 16 front and 17 rears if your just gonna offset it with the tyres. Might as well get a full set of either 16's or 17's.

Besides it'd look daft having a fat tyre at the front and skinny at the back.

Bear · 7 Oct 2009 at 15:40

MrSix said:
195 55 15 and 225 50 15

Here's what the wheels would look like on the car:

Sorry but that looks utter gash because of the completely lame offsets

Kenai · 7 Oct 2009 at 15:47

Bear said:
Sorry but that looks utter gash because of the completely lame offsets

Alternatively, it might be because it's a photoshop that it looks like that?

spoonz · 7 Oct 2009 at 17:02

Kenai said:
Alternatively, it might be because it's a photoshop that it looks like that?

Maybe he photshopped the lame offsets in

Clarkey · 7 Oct 2009 at 17:08

Batf1nk said:
Agreed. What would be the point of having 16 front and 17 rears if your just gonna offset it with the tyres. Might as well get a full set of either 16's or 17's.

Besides it'd look daft having a fat tyre at the front and skinny at the back.

They come with larger tyres on the rear from standard, that's why my selection are different diameters, I didn't just make it up.

MrSix · 7 Oct 2009 at 17:12

Bear said:
Sorry but that looks utter gash because of the completely lame offsets

It's just a rough 2 minute photoshop dude - it was more to show the wheels on the car rather than the exact fit. I've lowered the car in that photo too so it wouldn't sit that low anyway.

So you don't see a problem with running the same profile front and rear even with the different sized wheels Clarkey?