What width tyre

Berger · 26 Aug 2010 at 19:00

Is there an easy way to know what width tyre will fit on what rim?

I want to run 195/45/16 or 205/45/16 on a 7J rim, the originals are 195/55/15.

I did have 17 inch wheels on the car, but felt that they were impacting on the handling, so swapped to a smaller rim. I didn't go for 15's as I will be fitting larger brakes which won't fit behind them.

There is more choice in 205 width, but they are more expensive, Eagle F1s are £65ish in 195 and decent tyres are knocking on for £100 in 205 width.

Clarkey · 26 Aug 2010 at 19:11

Either will be fine. I'd probably go for the 195, a little stretch will reduce sidewall movement, and it will also avoid lengthening the gearing and slowing the acceleration by fitting a larger tyre.

pepp77 · 26 Aug 2010 at 19:14

I use this site when I need to check whether a different tyre/wheel size will work with my car

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

MikeHiow · 26 Aug 2010 at 19:30

Go for whatever matches the OEM rolling circumference.

Berger · 26 Aug 2010 at 19:42

Perhaps I didnt word my OP well enough, its not the rolling radius that bothers me. 205/45 is closer to oe than 195/45, I am worried about stretching the tyre looking like a scene clown and potentially damaging the tyre.

I assume 7j means the rim is 7 inches wide?

Clarkey · 26 Aug 2010 at 19:48

Means the bead width is 7" 195 on a 7 is a small stretch, certainly wont damage the tyre.

neblemak · 27 Aug 2010 at 03:24

Also if it's a bit wider than the rim, kerbing is less of an issue :-)

Plus more grip, will make the steering a tad heavier though, but at the end of the day it's 1cm.

Eagle F1's are a good shout, you'll run rings round everybody in the wet. Be warned though, they are absolutely useless in snow/ice - V shaped tread fills up instantly and you are left with ZERO grip!

233 · 27 Aug 2010 at 07:31

go for the 205 otherwise everyone will think your a secrew vw owner

Berger · 27 Aug 2010 at 09:05

neblemak said:
Also if it's a bit wider than the rim, kerbing is less of an issue

Plus more grip, will make the steering a tad heavier though, but at the end of the day it's 1cm.

Eagle F1's are a good shout, you'll run rings round everybody in the wet. Be warned though, they are absolutely useless in snow/ice - V shaped tread fills up instantly and you are left with ZERO grip!

The snow/ice doesn't bother me because im not a tool.

I simply will park the car up and walk to the shops for a pint of milk if it is that bad.