I asked this late in a previous post but was never answered. I can tell everyone seems to know this except me. I have (2) for you:

1). Can someone tell me how the hell to read tires? Sounds like there is somewhat a decision and I dont want to find out later its preety vital i get the right ones. On wheelrack, they recommended for our car "215 /45-18", is that right? In the site ive been looking at the packages do not consist of these tires at all.

2). Also, cluelss on offset. In addition the car is not yet droped. I figured it would be easier to find springs to match the rims, oposed to matching rims and tires to springs. One more thing, I have one heavy ass system in the back [ (2) 15" Alpine Type-R's ] . If I took a picture of just the back you would swear it was droped like 3 inches. Does that mean I will need to buy coilovers?

Thanks a lot
Dave

 

Let me add this for stupid question 3: What is the defference in life span in size of tire compared to stock?

Dave

 

Not sure what you mean about "read tires" but here goes nuthin...
215/45-18

215 Width of tire measured in millimeters
45 Ratio of sidewall height to width
18 Wheel diameter

The "right size tire" is all dependent on the wheel size. Keep in mind that Tire Rack's recommendations have always been very conservative. Proof to the matter is others here are running much wider tires than they recommend. My personal choice for 18" would be 225/40-18...not the closest rolling diameter to stock but many manufacturers to choose from. Closer to stock would be 225/45-18 but pickins' are slim.

Whether you car is on stock springs, dropped or slammed, rolling on the correct offset wheels will yield no rubbing. Keep in mind that the stock offset on our wheels is +55. The closer to the stock spec the better.

 

What exactly kind of ratio? If its 45, does that mean the rim is 45/50 to the tire size? Meaning the total diameter is 20in, with a 2in side wall? higher number=thinner sidewall? I dont understand the concept behind the width of tires, I thought ehen the rim is 18x8.0 or whatever, that means the tire is 8.0in wide? They can bow out tires to be wider than the rim? Also these tires seem preety expensive, just curious how long they will last.

Dave

 

take the tl-s tires, 215/50/17 93V.
215 is the tire width, measured in millimeters
50 is the "height" of the sidewall, this percentage of the tire width
17 is the rim diameter, measured in inches
93 is the load rating of the tire
V is the speed rating of the tire

offset is the distance between the hub and the wheel's centerline. offset is noted as a positive (hub is to the outside relative to the centerline), negative (hub is to the inside) and zero (hub is in the plane of the centerline) values. the higher the number, the farther the hub is from the centerline. offset is relative to the rim width...the rule on our cars, wider the rim...higher the offset (for the least amount of rubbing).

 

on a 215/45-18 93 V tire

215-width of tire in mm

45- is the height of the sidewall of the tire measured as a percentage of the width. In this case the sidewall is 45% of 215 mm = 96.75mm

18 is the diameter of the rim the tire fits on in inches. This tire will only fit an 18 inch rim

93 is the load rating for the tire. HIgher the number, the higher load/weight it can handle

V is the speed rating. the ratings for speed from lowest to highest are N. P Q, R, S, T, U, H. V, Z, W, Y. The TL-S can't even hit speeds higher than what a V rated tired couldnt handle. Even the stock tires can handle the 147 mph op speed in short bursts. On a sidenote the reason why the alphabet doesnt go up in order is because years ago they didnt think they need tires for speeds higher than what a Z rated tire could handle, but with newer cars sports cars and supercars that could hit speeds of over 150mph easy, the W, and then Y tires were produced.

 

Heres a good site to look at.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...l/sidewall.htm

 

The width of the tire would matter on the width of the wheel. If they recommend a 215 tire, then the wheel is probably a 6.5" (same as stock TLS wheels). If you get a 7" wheel, you could use 225 size tires, and so on... You do want to maintain the same overall tire height as stock. That's when you have to take into account the sidewall height. That's what Lawaia was getting at: "My personal choice for 18" would be 225/40-18...not the closest rolling diameter to stock but many manufacturers to choose from. Closer to stock would be 225/45-18 but pickins' are slim."
Hope all this helps. Tell us the wheels/tires you are looking at, and we'll let you know more.

 

Tire Rack recommends the 215/45-18 because that is the closest diameter to stock. I recently purchased 225/40-18 but now wish I'ld spent more and gone with a 45 series to lesson the wheel gap.

Here's a tire size calculator for you to compare sizes.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

Thanks so much guys, I think in totally understand tires. I am still really confused how to pick an offset. Im looking at the packages on wheelmax. Some of you might have already looked at those posts.

http://www.wheelmax.com/Wheels/Color/chrome.htm

Thats what ive been looking at. The ones I really like are those ADR Akunins. If you dont feel like going to that link I will paste the info:

ADR Akunin
(4) 17x7 Chrome
(4) 205/40/17
$1175
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(4) 18x7.5 Chrome
(4) 225/40/18
$1499

So, what do you think? Fit/no fit rub/no rub? Ugly/not?
I really like the Katana Destinys, but they seem like a big price jump. Also are those brand of tires good? How long will they last? (miles)

Dave

 

Go for the 18's. The ADR Akunins look REAL nice. Check the tires, though. You may want to go with 225/45/18's, instead of the 225/40/18's tehy recommend. Neither is dead on with the stock tire diameter, so if you want a little taller go with the 45 series (cheaper, not as stiff, and odometer won't show as many miles as you've really gone because your speedpmeter will be a tad low ), or go shorter with the 40 series (better performance). If... IF you get the 17's that are 7" wide, get a 215 wide tire, or even a 225. The 205's the recommend are made for a 6" wheel.

 

Just try to get as close to +55 as possible.

A 7 inch width gives more room for variance. You could go as low as +42

7.5 inch narrows the gap to a +45 minimum.

8 inch shouldn't be below +50.

 

should it be ok if I use:
18x7.5, 225/40/18, 45 offset? Little Rub? Maximum drop?

Dave

 

You should be fine with that setup.. maybe get a little rubbing..
just trim the bumper tab, and you should be A-OK..

as long as you don't drop it too much... the HR OE would be perfect!!