so i got some rims for the xa 15x6.5 my friend had some 205/50's on them but they dont look right on the car ...way to much wheel well showing....so what size should i get is 205/65 too big ...any body got pics???

 

You should be looking at a 205/55/15 or perhaps a 195/55/15. Either one should fit and your speedometer should be fairly accurate. Good luck...

 

Uh-huh, what he said... ^ ^



Tomas

 

Won't additional wheel width result in lower mileage due to increased rolling resistance? Is there a happy medium?

 

Increased tread width has a negative effect on mileage, but unless the wheel width is outside the recommended widths for the tire, wheel width has little effect on mileage.

Tomas

 

Thanks for the clarification. In the table above, all tire widths above 185 would then result in decreased mileage?

 

Whew! That's a big bite.

IF everything else is identical between a narrow and wide tire, the wide tire will have more rolling resistance, and therefore deliver less MPG.

HOWEVER, tires are more than just round black things. There is a complex interplay between tread width, tread compound, cord material and construction, body material and construction, operating pressure, etc.

If a sticky, highly compliant narrow tire is compared to a hard compound, stiff sidewall tire of the same width, the hard, stiff tire will get better mileage at the same operating pressure.

A wider, harder, stiffer tire at higher pressure can get better mileage than a narrower, softer, more compliant tire at lower pressure.

The only way I can honestly say that narrow will take you farther on the same gas is if EVERYTHING else stays the same.

As a rule of thumb, though, tires with otherwise identical features will get worse mileage the wider they get.

Tomas

 

I have been thinking about replacing my OEM tires with 205x55x15's . I like the wider look BUT adding 20mm of tread per tire concerns me with regards to gas mileage.
Anyway, we now return to your regularly posted discussion , with Thanks.

 

If there's too much wheelwell showing for your taste, then lowering the car or higher profile tires will be needed.

Also according to numerous threads here and my own observations, our speedos run fast with the stock tires, so you can safely go up slightly in size. Japanese boxes are delivered with with 185/65R15's, for example, which seems to be about right for the speedos...

195/60R15's are a very common and therefore inexpensive size, for example, with 6.5" rims being right in the ballpark for 'em... only slightly larger diameter than stock...

Nifty tire calculator-

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...TireMathNS.jsp

 

This tire calculator recommends staying within 3% of stock tire height. So I wouldn't get tires that are much bigger just to fill up the wheel well.

 

nice informative thread !!!

So, going to a 195-55-16 , with harder tread ... this shoud flow well with the xA- 1.5L set up - and not compromise the mpg's too much ??

 

I have a similar question and rather than start a new topic, I will just ask it here.

OK, so I took my OEM steelies and mounted the snow tires on them. So I have the OEM Badyears in OEM size (185/60-15) that I could put on aftermarket wheels for the summer.

The pros: I re-use the tires so I don't have to buy more. 15" wheels are cheaper than larger ones and generally lighter

The cons: leaves a lot of rubber - it would look better with a lower profile tire (say a 50 series 16"), the OEM tires are not so hot and in that exact size no good summer tread tires are available. I have to pay for local mounting and balancing - if I order a wheel/tire package I do not.

So my questions:

The OEM rims are 6" wide, will the OEM size tires fit on 6.5" rims? On 7" rims (I would think not) ?

If I got with 15" rims and use the OEM tires, when I am ready for a new set can I fit a slightly different size to get more performance choices? For example, 195/55-15 is a little wide, a little lowe, and about 1.2% smaller in circumference. The slight error in the ODO and speedo would not be bad, will these fit OK on the car (no rubbing, etc) and on 6, 6.5, or 7" aftermarket rims?

What about 205/55-15? That is too large by nearly 6% in circumference but has a few more choices for tires.

If i use the OEM tires, I have to pay for mounting and balancing - maybe $15-20 per tire/wheel. If I order new tires from TireRack or Discount they would come mounted and balanced for only the extra shipping charges. So I could get better tires, in a difference size (like 16") mounted and balanced for a bit more money. I might be able to get a few bucks for my OEM tires (say $20-25 each) with just 3,200 miles or so on them they are literally like new. So if I add that to the mounting and balancing savings, then it does not seem as bad.

Choices, choices.

Dennis

 

Dennis,
I'm in the same boat as you are(minus the snow ).

The 195/55- 15" set up will be fine on either a 6 or 6.5 rim.

What I'm leaning towards doing is taking off my factory wheels(will only have about 2-3K miles on them) , and save them in case I go to sell the car in 3-5 years... I'll just go ahead and sell the origional wheels with the car(maybe give the next owner an option of buying the nice set of wheels off me). In replacement, I'm leaning towards a 16" wheel (not toooooo big IMHO) , yet a good 16" tire can be had for very similar money as a good 15" tire. Now, going to a 17" wheel = pretty big /significant price jump not just in the wheel , but in tires $$. Not to mention the rotational weight / outer wheel weight of a 17" , IMO would be too significant to put on this 1.5L engine.

For example(and I really dont like comparing Toyota to Honda), but the Honda Fit does offer a upgraded to a HFP 16" alloy wheel ( for only $900 more... plus you have to give up your factory 15" alloys... .... another case in point why I despise Honda )

 

You are in sunny Cali, so you should not need snows.

"All season" tires are the jack of all trades, masters of none tires. They are worse in dry and wet than good summer tread tires, and worse than snow tires in snow and ice. So I prefer to run summer tread tires all the time, and put snows on for "that time of year" on one car - now the box.

If you were going for some harsh, extreme wheel and tire size then you would want to hang onto the steelies for selling later. But you have to store them and they will dry rot to some degree just sitting for years. So if you get a non-radical looking wheel and a non-radical size, you could try to sell your OEM stuff now and just let the new wheels go when you sell.

I was out in the S yesterday at lunch cruising with the top down and I stopped into Sonic for a bite. There was a red-ish box there with what appeared to be OEM Scion wheels in 15". I say appeared because they had 10 spokes (really 5 wide split spokes) and I had not seen those wheels as OEM before. In 15" with the 60 series OEM Badyears there was a lot of rubber around the wheel - really too much. I think a 16" wheel with a 50 series tire would look a lot better. Nothing too extreme (lower profile normally = better handling and sharper turn in, but more ride harshness and pot holes can easily bend rims).

That is the way I am leaning, but I hate to waste the OEM tires and spend all that extra on larger rims and larger tires. You start looking at $75-90 rims and end up with $800 plus in new rims and tires

Dennis

 

I'm hearing what your saying.

I'd like to go with a 15" (less money on wheels mainly + lighter weight) , but in order to get a decent drop/stance, I'd have to go with a 2" drop.. which cost more for install(camber screws, etc.) + 2" springs seem to suck in terms of ride quality/performance So, at this point thats why I'm leaning towards going with a 16" wheel + 1.5" spring drop. I suppose as long as I get wheels that weight 15lbs or less... and are quality, I'm doing good (trying to stay away from the LOOKS thing, and trying to pay more attention to performance/weight.)

 

So if i decide to go with 16wheels and i dont wanna affect my mpg, i should go with 195/55 tires right?

Any suggestions?
thank you