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Alloy wheel size discussion - 15" vs 16" vs 17"


ammarbm
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15's for the winter for chunkier tyres. 15's also for track, seems to be the most popular choice for 90's hondas. For street i had 16's but replaced them with 17's and i think it looks awesome. Ride isn't as good but probably stretched tyres have something to do with it as well :-D. But the 17's fit the arches really well, don't look too big on the deck and look great when the car is lowered. And are the rarer choice. I'm probably gonna go back to 16's at some point, but only to slam the deck even lower! With 17's you can't really slam it. 

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bloody expensive trial and error, when doing it with decent quality tyres...

 

Sorry, been on holiday hence late reply here.

 

I waited until the tyres were fecked before changing them. That way I didn't waste money. I learn from my mistakes/preferences as my car has evolved from being a road going 'to and from work car' to 'fast road' then to 'pure track' and now to 'track/fast road' setup.

 

I'm a very fussy sod and unfortunately have to pay (monetary terms) for my fussiness :)

 

I've always felt a 40 profile tyre on a 16" or 17" wheel is too small/harsh for the bumpy roads.

 

Agreed. 45 profile is better for harsh roads and also better for track than 50 profile.

 

45 profile is a compromise between the two, especially for what I use the car for.

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Agreed. 45 profile is better for harsh roads and also better for track than 50 profile.

 

How is it better for track? I've got 195/50's for track but need new tyres soon so maybe i'll go for a smaller profile...

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How is it better for track? I've got 195/50's for track but need new tyres soon so maybe i'll go for a smaller profile...

 

I've not had it on the track yet mate. Just had gearbox and clutch and new sump bought..so skint!

 

Would it be enough less flex in the sidewall to affect the behavior in the corners?

 

I would imagine that the 45 profile WOULD be better than a 50 as there would be less flexing, giving more 'feel' through the corners.

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I've not had it on the track yet mate. Just had gearbox and clutch and new sump bought..so skint!

 

 

I would imagine that the 45 profile WOULD be better than a 50 as there would be less flexing, giving more 'feel' through the corners.

 

Yes makes sense, but if it's like that then wouldn't 40 be even better? I don't have any scientific theory behind this but the reason i chose 195/50 was after studying my collection of Honda Tuning magazines and reading the specs on the serious tracks builds most people had chosen 195/50... but on the other hand i am tempted to give the 45's a shot, since i do get quite a lot of flex during hard cornering. Hmm... :-|

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Yes makes sense, but if it's like that then wouldn't 40 be even better? I don't have any scientific theory behind this but the reason i chose 195/50 was after studying my collection of Honda Tuning magazines and reading the specs on the serious tracks builds most people had chosen 195/50... but on the other hand i am tempted to give the 45's a shot, since i do get quite a lot of flex during hard cornering. Hmm... :-|

 

40's in my opinion WOULD be better, but for an all round profile, 45 fits the bill for better comfort on bumps and less flex than 50 in hard cornering.

 

Bit of compromise really. My 50 profile did flex slightly on the track but still handled very well. I have to still find out how 45's will be on the track once my car is ready :)

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A mate of mine is selling me his old 16" Teg wheels cheap, and after some rough maths, i think it was 205/40/16 will give about the same rolling diamiter as my 15" fanblades so ill report back once its done (hopefuly next month)

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  • 4 weeks later...

I wouldn't put 195 45 15s on if I were you unless you've got adjustable suspension

It throws the rolling radius out by around 12mm compared to 195 50 so will make arch gap look ridiculous.

With that being said there's very little in terms of flex whilst cornering so in that respect it's not too bad, 195 50 15 tyres would be my choice all day long, You can get Pilot Sport 3 tyres from places from Camskill for around 200 quid delivered as well so they're very well priced

If you don't want sidewall flex then stay away from Rainsport 3s generally, great tyres, very grippy but very very soft so they flex a lot

If you want to work out rolling radius diameter etc check out TyreTraders.Com and use theirs ;-)

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