ooze48

Hello everyone. I've been reading this forum and another one for the the past 3-4 days with regards to suspenion/wheels/tires and am finally ready to make my first post. Please excuse me if this first one is a bit long. I'm hoping to talk through my thoughts in case someone notices some errors in my logic.

I will be picking up my 05 TSX MR/Ebony MT w/ Navi sometime this week, maybe Wed if the dealer can have it ready by then. I'm thinking I'll drive it around stock for a week or so just to get a better feel for the car than I did when I test drove it. After that I'll be ready to drop it and then add wheels/tires.

I was initially going to go the Comtech 110-155/Neuspeed Koni route but have now decided on Tein SS instead since the price increase is minimal and I'll have much more control over height and dampening. I'm also going with the Ingalls rear camber kit. I can't remember anyone saying they needed a front camber kit, so I'm not getting one either. There is a local Tein dealer (Jack Williams Tire) that I'm hoping is competent enough to install this stuff correctly since I'm probably incapable of doing it myself.

I mainly want to drop to remove most of the gap and improve the asthetics while attempting to retain a comfort level similar to stock. Improved handling will be a bonus. I understand the Teins will most likely roughen the ride a bit more than stock, but I can live with that especially since I should have some control over stiffness. In the end, I'd like to have a gap in the 1 finger or so range or something very close to AlterZgo's
(IOW, I'm not looking to be slammed).

I think I want 18s and have been considering some 18x8's from Volk, Work, and Motegi. I have seen many dropped 19s that look sweet to me (such as CJam's, but I'm concerned that the lower profile tire might decrease the comfortability below the stock feel even more than the Tein SSs will. So I'm still on the fence between 18/19.

After reading many posts about what works and what doesn't, I'm still a bit confused and am worried about buying something that will end up rubbing and/or pertruding too far from the wheel well. I have read The Tire Selection/Wheel Size Master Guide and that helped, but I'm still not there yet. I'm trying to plug in sizes for 18"/19" wheels with different offsets in the hopes of being able to understand what may cause problems and what won't.

Can anyone shed some light on how to interpret the output from the Tire/Wheel Combination Calculator in order to determine if the wheel width and/or offset will be acceptable or not?

If I do go with 18x8, the Miata Tire Size Calculator seems to indicate a 235/40-18 tire will be 0.2% fast. I can certainly live with that since it seems to be so close to the rolling diameter of the stockie. I'm just hoping the 235/40 will also provide good rim protection and good ride quality.

If I go with something in the 19x8 range, it seems a 235/35-19 will be my best bet since it's almost the exact rolling diameter of the stockie (thanks for pointing that out CJam!).

I appreciate any help.

digitalHorizon

This seems to be THEE question on the TSX boards... everyone has their own setup in mind, I would think from experience that an 18 or 19 X 8 with a +43 or +45 would be ideal.

I currently have 18 X 7.5 +49 on mine with 225/40-18.

ooze48

Yep, I noticed this seems to be a popular question.

I was a bit long winded in my post in the hopes that the extra info would help everyone understand where I'm coming from and where I want to go. However, what I was really trying to ask was whether anyone could share some insight into using the Tire/Wheel Combination Calculator. That way may I could plug in different values and determine for myself if the wheel/tire combo is doable or not.

Also, when people state that there is no rubbing with a particular setup, does that normally mean no rubbing even with passengers in the vehicle?

I understand the number and weight of passengers will have a varying effect on the suspension. I'm mainly just trying to understand the context that is to be assumed when someone states no rubbing occurs.

For instance, if it is assumed that the driver is the only person in the vehicle and that driver is 100-200 lbs, then I may need to be more conservative with the drop if I plan on having at least 1 passenger up front 1-2 in back within that weight range before I can really tell if rubbing will be an issue or not.

Thanks!

JTso

iTrader: (2)

If you want to be on the safe side, stick with wheels with 8" width in the +48 or higher offset. This will allow you to run 235 width tires without any problems even if the car is lowered. You can go slightly lower offset if the wheel width is 7.5".

ooze48

Thanks!

I was kind of excited when I read this from The Tire Selection/Wheel Size Master Guide:

The 8" wide wheels I was considering all came in +42 or higher. Since the 235/40-18 and 235/35-19 were both very close to the stockie rolling diameter, that was another bonus that made it seem like I was on the path of righteousness.

A few of the wheels did have higher offsets in the +45 or +47 range, so judging by your comments, I'd probably be better off striving for the higher offset above +42 if it's available.