Tire sizes

[RacerX]

Question about tires sizes:

My ZX2 is basic and rolls on 185/65/14. I want to do a plus 2 or plus 3. Discount Tire and the Tire Rack show possible plus 2 sizes to be:

185/55/16 195/50/16 205/45/16 205/50/16 215/45/16

and plus 3 sizes to be:

195/45/17 205/40/17 215/40/17

Most aftermarket wheels shown for our cars are 7 inches wide. I know a 225/45 will fit a 7 inch wide wheel because I put a 235/45 and a 225/45 on my 2007 Civic Si's stock 17x7 wheel.

Will a 225/45/16 fit without scrubbing anything?

The car is currently stock, but I will eventually add all the Energy Suspension bushings (including steering rack), lowering springs (any recommendations?), new struts (recommendations for lowered car?), 19mm RSB, and rear disc conversion. It is my daily driver and I just want it to handle better (has the ghost steering). Also my wife drives the car so I don't want anything too twitchy. 17s seem a bit big (and more expensive for wheels and tires) for a daily driver. I live in SoCal so I do have to worry about rain occasionally.

[zxtwou2]

stickied in this very section: http://teamzx2.com/threads/27472-whe...t-quot-threads

it all comes down to having enough offset for your backspace needs.

[5Speed]

I could see 225 rubbng the rear strut with the standard 45-40mm offset most wheels offer.

[mzix]

Here is my setup
I have 15x7 Rota RB wheels with a +35 offset
My tires are 205-55-15
I have H&r lowering springs (lowers the car about an inch) and Ford S/R struts (these struts are discontinued and VERY hard to find now)
I have adjustable camber bolts on the rear
When I'm cornering hard and hit a big pothole, the rear tire will scrub the INNER fender slightly--nothing serious
It has to be a BIG pothole too !
Tire sizes that are very similar 205-55-15 215-45-16 215 -40-17
I wouldn't try anything bigger than that
If your rim is +40 offset or more, you may need a small wheel spacer to keep from rubbing the strut
+35 OR +38 is a pretty good offset
+32 or +30 and you'll probably scrub your tender alot
+42 or +45 and you'll have problems clearing the strut
These offsets are assuming a 7 inch wide wheel

[5Speed]

Here is my setup
I have 15x7 Rota RB wheels with a +35 offset
My tires are 205-55-15
I have H&r lowering springs (lowers the car about an inch) and Ford S/R struts (these struts are discontinued and VERY hard to find now)
I have adjustable camber bolts on the rear
When I'm cornering hard and hit a big pothole, the rear tire will scrub the INNER fender slightly--nothing serious
It has to be a BIG pothole too !
Tire sizes that are very similar 205-55-15 215-45-16 215 -40-17
I wouldn't try anything bigger than that
If your rim is +40 offset or more, you may need a small wheel spacer to keep from rubbing the strut
+35 OR +38 is a pretty good offset
+32 or +30 and you'll probably scrub your tender alot
+42 or +45 and you'll have problems clearing the strut
These offsets are assuming a 7 inch wide wheel

You can roll the rear fender to keep from scrubbing. There are some well priced tools at value line tool outlets like Harbor freight.

I run some 13x8" boggarts with 4.5" B.S plus 1/2" spacers and it clears fine on a 23x8" drag slick. Now the rear would be a totally different thing. In my sig you can see just how much these stick out.

[iceracer]

I had the same sizes on my SR.
why do you have camber bolts in the rear?
How does the tire rub the inner fender when the strut gets in the way ?
My Hoosiers, which are quite wide would rub the strut hard. a 5mm spacer fixed it.

[mzix]

When I say "inner fender", I am referring to the "second fender" so to speak
It's part of the unibody
On the outside is the fender---which everyone sees
Welded to the fender lip is what I call the "inner fender"---it goes from the fender to the top of the strut mount
It takes a "harsher" angle than the visible fender
If you reach into the wheelwell and try to touch the inside part of your fender, you can't---the inner fender gets in the way
The inner fender is made of steel and undercoated
It is part of the structural integrity of the car
You can "roll" the fender lip, but not the inner fender
Wouldn't wanna roll the fender lip anyway
As soon as you do, it becomes a water collector and rust creator
Does everyone see what I'm talking about now ?
I have camber bolts cuz I originally had a different set of rims and some new tires rubbed the struts
I needed either spacers or camber bolts VERY QUICKLY and the camber bolts were easier to come by than the 5 mm spacers
If you had half inch spacers, I sure hope you had longer wheel studs !

[zxtwou2]

inner fender is the big sheet metal part you can see when the wheel is off. it's behind the strut when looking from the side of the car. then there's the outer fender, which has a lip. are you "scrubbing" (which is a term for losing speed via the drivetrain in a corner btw) or rubbing that fender lip? if so, roll it up out of the way.

also, 1/2" spacers might work without longer studs on our cars...i'd have to check...and it depends on how thick the wheels are where the lug nuts seat. you don't need as many threads as you probably think you do:

[iceracer]

5mm- less than 1/4" max for stock studs.

[iceracer]

The old saying that you learn something every day.
Of all of the Escorts and 10 yrs with my SR I never noticed that there was a double panel on the rear fender.