Going with 16x7 wheels. 205/50 vs 205/45 vs 225/45

[IrishST]

I was really, really torn on 16x7 (or 8) and 15x7 (or 8) myself. In the end I went with the TD Pro Race 1.2 in 15x7 because I didn't like the undisclosed wait time on the 15x8 version and I don't desperately need the extra width since I don't do serious track or autox work. The weight though... hard to beat for the money. The only 15x7 I was able to find lighter than the 13.7lbs of the TDs are the OZ Ultraleggeras and they were significantly more expensive and in the end it just wasn't worth the extra money to save 1.7lbs per corner.

TD = $645 shipped
OZ = $854 shipped

Anyway, now I'm torn pretty heavily on what the hell to do for the tire. My stock wheels have become my winter/cold set and these 15s are going to be my pure warm/summer set. I'm really thinking of going with the Sport Comp 2's, but I'm concerned they will be lacking in traction since they aren't a "max" or "extreme" summer tire. If I do go with this tire I'm further torn on size... 195/55/15 or 205/50/15. The 195 matches the stock tire diameter exactly according to tirerack and the 205 is just .2 shorter with the rest of the measurements being close. I'm just concerned the 195 will be "too skinny" and will have too much sidewall flex being a 55 series and I don't want dull turn in or tons of sidewall roll. The 205 is a great option as well, but it's going to be a hair on the wide side for a 7" rim since it is a very wide 205. It should be fine, but still... My other thought is to go with DII Star Spec's, but at ~$30 more per tire I'm not sure it's worth it since I don't currently autox or track the car.

 

[Kip2MyLou]

I was really, really torn on 16x7 (or 8) and 15x7 (or 8) myself. In the end I went with the TD Pro Race 1.2 in 15x7 because I didn't like the undisclosed wait time on the 15x8 version and I don't desperately need the extra width since I don't do serious track or autox work. The weight though... hard to beat for the money. The only 15x7 I was able to find lighter than the 13.7lbs of the TDs are the OZ Ultraleggeras and they were significantly more expensive and in the end it just wasn't worth the extra money to save 1.7lbs per corner.

TD = $645 shipped
OZ = $854 shipped

Anyway, now I'm torn pretty heavily on what the hell to do for the tire. My stock wheels have become my winter/cold set and these 15s are going to be my pure warm/summer set. I'm really thinking of going with the Sport Comp 2's, but I'm concerned they will be lacking in traction since they aren't a "max" or "extreme" summer tire. If I do go with this tire I'm further torn on size... 195/55/15 or 205/50/15. The 195 matches the stock tire diameter exactly according to tirerack and the 205 is just .2 shorter with the rest of the measurements being close. I'm just concerned the 195 will be "too skinny" and will have too much sidewall flex being a 55 series and I don't want dull turn in or tons of sidewall roll. The 205 is a great option as well, but it's going to be a hair on the wide side for a 7" rim since it is a very wide 205. It should be fine, but still... My other thought is to go with DII Star Spec's, but at ~$30 more per tire I'm not sure it's worth it since I don't currently autox or track the car.

I personally wouldn't go 195/55. I had those last summer and they were good but I can only imagine a wider and shorter tires would be better. And I personally don't care too much about being too wide for the wheel hence why I got 225/45 for 16x7s. Haha.

 

[Plainrt]

Irish go with a 205/50. I'm gonna put re71r's on my set like yours.

 

[IrishST]

Yeah, I'm definitely leaning more toward 205/50/15.

EDIT:

I've been looking at so many freaking tires in different sizes the past week and change I seem to have confused some things. The BFG Comp-2's aren't available in 205/50/15, only the 195/55/15. The sizes of the 195/55/15 is 7.9" sect width, 7.7" tread width, and 23.4" diameter (exact match for stock). That was measured on a 6.0" wheel, though, and on my 7" wheels it would probably bring the section width up about 3/4", maybe even a full 1", assuming my understanding of the concept is correct, which should help with the "skinny tire look". As a point of reference, when measured on a 7.5" rim our stock tires have a section width of 8.4 and since they come on 7" rims it'd be about .25" narrower, meaning these "skinny" 195's would end up wider when mounted on a 7" rim. The tread width on the stock tires is 7.6" as well and these 195's have 7.7" so it's technically a bigger contact patch as well. The only real short coming, maybe, is the sidewall height and the potential for rolling.

I was never a tire guy so I'm really just now learning the truth on how it works as opposed to "this wheel needs this xxx/xx/xx size" and I could be completely wrong on the above, but I think I'm on the right track.

 

[Waterfan]

I was really, really torn on 16x7 (or 8) and 15x7 (or 8) myself. In the end I went with the TD Pro Race 1.2 in 15x7 because I didn't like the undisclosed wait time on the 15x8 version and I don't desperately need the extra width since I don't do serious track or autox work. The weight though... hard to beat for the money. The only 15x7 I was able to find lighter than the 13.7lbs of the TDs are the OZ Ultraleggeras and they were significantly more expensive and in the end it just wasn't worth the extra money to save 1.7lbs per corner.

TD = $645 shipped
OZ = $854 shipped

Anyway, now I'm torn pretty heavily on what the hell to do for the tire. My stock wheels have become my winter/cold set and these 15s are going to be my pure warm/summer set. I'm really thinking of going with the Sport Comp 2's, but I'm concerned they will be lacking in traction since they aren't a "max" or "extreme" summer tire. If I do go with this tire I'm further torn on size... 195/55/15 or 205/50/15. The 195 matches the stock tire diameter exactly according to tirerack and the 205 is just .2 shorter with the rest of the measurements being close. I'm just concerned the 195 will be "too skinny" and will have too much sidewall flex being a 55 series and I don't want dull turn in or tons of sidewall roll. The 205 is a great option as well, but it's going to be a hair on the wide side for a 7" rim since it is a very wide 205. It should be fine, but still... My other thought is to go with DII Star Spec's, but at ~$30 more per tire I'm not sure it's worth it since I don't currently autox or track the car.

I just got 205/45-16 BFG SC2s. I'm no expert in sticky tires but these are more than suitable for my DD. I can't even use all the grip I have now, need bigger balls. Not at all too wide for my 16x7, perfect fit IMO.

Try 205/50-15 SC2s, I think you will be pleased.

 

[IrishST]

I just got 205/45-16 BFG SC2s. I'm no expert in sticky tires but these are more than suitable for my DD. I can't even use all the grip I have now, need bigger balls. Not at all too wide for my 16x7, perfect fit IMO.

Try 205/50-15 SC2s, I think you will be pleased.

I would but I screwed up in that post, there is no 2015/50/15 Comp-2 . There are plenty of tires in that size, but the only R15 Comp-2 is 195/55/15 and while the measurements say it won't be too skinny because the Comp-2 is a super wide tire for its marked size, I'm concerned about a 55 series sidewall killing turn-in and having a lot of roll (I'm also concerned it will end up too skinny anyway despite what the measurements say, lol).

 

[kjohn09e]

[/IMG]

BFG SC2's in 205/45/16 Sparco Terras, Got them mounted yesterday

 

[SeanBonham]

[/IMG]

BFG SC2's in 205/45/16 Sparco Terras, Got them mounted yesterday

Nice! Can you post a photo directly from the side?

 

[SeanBonham]

Here are some stolen photos from the internet that have given me some ideas.

205/55/15 about 23.9" in dia

205/50/15 I think these are star spec ZII. 23.1 Dia I love the way this looks and the idea of low weight wheel/tire combo. Wish I could see a close up of the wheel gap. Those are the TD 15x7.

I am also still considering 205/50/16. Seems to be a good choice. I just wanna hear from folks on the driving feel of the larger tire.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Aspect ratio, not actual sidewall size, look at the wheel and tire diameter when figuring out how tall the sidewall is, example.

195/55/15 SC2 23.4" diameter, same as stock tire diameter and not to tall, it is a good fit for a 15x7 but even better on a 15x8 as has a 7.7" tread width and 7.9" section width. I am sure there would be little on no issue with sidewall flex to worry about on an 8" wheel and probably not much on a 7" wheel. Also they are very heavy for the size at 21lbs which is another indication of likely having stiffer sidewalls.

Having driven on the SC2 at the Octane Academy where they worked quite well on the stock narrow wheels I tend to believe they have a pretty serious sidewall stiffness designed in to account for being a very wide tire compared to how they are marketed in side wall numbers.

---------------------------

I really like how the 16" setups look on this car as 17's just look to tall and they all ride like a brick with the exception of somebody running really tall tires that might help but hurt everything else. I still wanted 15's for my AS tires but had to go to 16's to fit over my BBK.

 

[IrishST]

Yeah, I took 30 seconds to not be lazy and do the math. The stock tires at 205/40 have about 3.2" of sidewall.

205/40 = 82mm = 3.2"

Going to 195/55 gives about one more inch per side. You could easily tell this by the fact that the rim diameter is 2" less than stock and the tire retains the exact same diameter as stock, but the math takes out the guessing and shows about 4.2" of sidewall.

195/55 = 107.25mm = 4.2"

In the end I don't think one inch of extra sidewall is going to ruin the experience and raam is right, they are a bit heavier which could very well mean they have a more heavily reinforced sidewall.

The point of the rambling is that I've decided I'm going to go with the 195/55/15 Comp-2's. They aren't terribly expensive so if I hate them I won't be at a serious loss, especially if I decide after minimal miles and can sell them and likely recoup at least some of my cost.

 

[SeanBonham]

Aspect ratio, not actual sidewall size, look at the wheel and tire diameter when figuring out how tall the sidewall is, example.

195/55/15 SC2 23.4" diameter, same as stock tire diameter and not to tall, it is a good fit for a 15x7 but even better on a 15x8 as has a 7.7" tread width and 7.9" section width. I am sure there would be little on no issue with sidewall flex to worry about on an 8" wheel and probably not much on a 7" wheel. Also they are very heavy for the size at 21lbs which is another indication of likely having stiffer sidewalls.

Having driven on the SC2 at the Octane Academy where they worked quite well on the stock narrow wheels I tend to believe they have a pretty serious sidewall stiffness designed in to account for being a very wide tire compared to how they are marketed in side wall numbers.

---------------------------

I really like how the 16" setups look on this car as 17's just look to tall and they all ride like a brick with the exception of somebody running really tall tires that might help but hurt everything else. I still wanted 15's for my AS tires but had to go to 16's to fit over my BBK.

I think I remember you mentioning your AS tires were taller than stock. Is that the case? If so, have you noticed any negatives due to the tire being taller?

 

[kjohn09e]

 

[Siestarider]

I disagree with RAAM (first time ever) on 205/45/16 BFG SC2. I have run a set for 18 months of DD, 9 track days, have one more track day in them. I am running OZ 16x7 wheels, theory aside, they are great tires for the $ and fit the wheels. There is a hair better turn in on OEM 17's. Everything else is better with the 16's.

I recommend this combination of SC2 on 16" wheels for anyone who wants a durable summer street tire that is competent on track. Good in rain too.

Update 2/14: No, they did not have one more track day in them, the tires made it through the day but lateral grip was not there. When my set hit the wear bars, they were done. More learning the hard way. No PB for me today.

 

[RAAMaudio]

I am cool with your position of course as I have not ran them in that size and you have and been happy with them

I have a great deal of experience but not possible to test everything ever made though I have tested a great many over the years, feedback from somebody that does far more than just cruise around helps us all out, thanks

------------

Sorry IrishST, it would seem you should be able to use that sort of math but it does not work as manufacturers do not use it, it is far to arbitrary to be of real use if you want to get the right info.

205/40 = 82mm = 3.2" = rough estimate that can be pretty far off
195/55 = 107.25mm = 4.2" + as above

The correct way to find the real sidewall height is to use tire diameter per each indvidual tire size as measured and posted on tirerack.com or other sources.

Use this simple formula to get the actual sidewall height.

Specific diameter - wheel diameter divided by 2 = correct sidewall height.

-------------------

The Mich PS3 AS, 205/45/17 were 24.1" in diameter on 17x7, +40mm wheels and rubbed on the fender to bumper cover mount even a bit after trimming off the third bolt position on my car which is lowered on coilovers but not considerably low as I like to keep the best geometry I can, to low is not fast no matter how it looks.

Even in a 45 series they rode like a brick compared to my 15's, race and street tire setups, on my daughters much heavier Mazda 3 S 5 door they ride great but our car is to light, mine is 2575 lbs or so.

 

[IrishST]

For the stock tire and the Comp-2 it comes out to 3.2" and 4.2" when using either method.

23.4" - 17" = 6.4"/2 = 3.2" (stock)
23.4" - 15" = 8.4"/2 = 4.2" (195/55/15 Comp-2)

Using the DII Star Spec in 205/50/15 you get:

23.1" - 15" = 8.1"/2 = 4.05"

Advan Neova:

23" - 15" = 8"/2 = 4" even

The Rival S is also 23.1" so it matches the DII Star Specs. Same for the Potenza RE-71.

Or the traditional formula:

205 x 0.50 = 102.5mm = 4.0354331" rounded up to 4.04"

In the end with such relatively small tires you're looking at less than 1/10th of an inch difference between the traditional formula and using the exact diameter and wheel diameter method. I'm not discounting what you're saying at all and I wouldn't have picked up what I have if not for you, and sure, there could be the oddball tire that is way over its printed size in diameter, but in my findings in this class of tire it's pretty accurate, at least enough to get an idea what you're looking at. Though when all is said and done, if you have the proper wheel diameter in inches it's just easier because there is no MM to IN conversion.

That all said, the biggest take away from this specific grouping of tires size is that the 195/55/15 Comp-2 is barely taller than its 205/50/15 competition. While it is quite a bit thicker in sidewall than our stock tire, it's only ~1.5/10ths of an inch bigger than the popular tires in 205/50/15 and considering it has a super wide stance for a 195 it shouldn't be immediately discounted in favor of a 205/50/15.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Glad you did this, thanks

I should of looked into it a bit more, the major differences are in the section and tread width as you have shown the diameter is not that far off, best to focus and the numbers that are most important then, SW and TW and weight

Rick

 

[MPA]

sticky icky. Now if the temps would just start to warm up, and if we could get past the snow warnings - I miss summer tires and my normal tune

Anyone know what those 16x7 slipstreams weigh?

 

[IrishST]

sticky icky. Now if the temps would just start to warm up, and if we could get past the snow warnings - I miss summer tires and my normal tune

Anyone know what those 16x7 slipstreams weigh?

View attachment 8765

Slipstreams in 16x7 should be about 13.9lbs if the info I found was correct.

RAAM - no problem, happy to contribute where I can.

 

[MPA]

I found 14.3 lbs for 16x7 - but either way, they're about 4 lbs lighter that the SE-17s then. About $150 difference in the set. I may have to get used to black wheels as the setup would be about 3.5 lbs less than stock