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There are a few things to consider when buying new wheels and tires for your sport compact or any vehicle for that matter.
The first thing you need to do is ask yourself a few questions.
1. What do you expect to do with the tires.
2. What is the weather like where you live.
3. How long do you want the tires to last.
There are alot less selections of quality street tires than that of cool wheels!!
The question often asked is what are the best tires.. There really isnt a single answer to this question. The tires you choose should be based on what type of driving you want to do. Usually,you get what you pay for. But if you buy expensive tires expecting that they will be good for both street and occasional track use,you will be disappointed. Tires come in different compounds. In general a softer compound will offer better handling,but will wear out sooner than a harder tire. A raceing tire may handle well on dy pavement,but it will suffer in the rain, and vise versa.
The first thing you need to do before you choose a street tire is to decide what type of driving you are going to do. If you don't plan on doing any racing, then a harder compound will do nicely. Traction in the rain and snow will not be compromised as long as you stick with good name brands. If you care more about handling than tire wear,select a softer compound tire. But be carefull when useing a softer compound on a daily driver. Dry performance will be superior but under any other condition, you could be putting yourself at risk. SOOO in other words if you live in Arizona, go for it. But if you live in a place where snow and rain are a common thing to deal with you would be better off with a more conservative tire.
Tire sizes.
Tire sizes can be confusing. For example, both a 225/50/15 and a 205/50/15 will fit your 15x7 wheel. Your first impression may be to go for the 50 series tire,since you think it has a smaller overall dia. That however would be wrong!
These two tires have the same dia! The first number in the tire size is the width in mm. The second # "50" is a percentage of the width vs. the height of the side wall.(distance that the tire extends above the rim). In other words, a given "series" indicator (which is a percentage) is not a constant.
In this case, the height of the 225/50/15 is the first # (225 mm wide) multiplied by the series #. (50%) equals 112.5 mm in height. For the narrower tire, the 205/50/15, the height is 205 mm x 50%= 102.5 mm tall. Therefore, the 225/50/15 has a side wall that is 10mm taller than that of the 205/50/15.
In order to calculate the overall Dia. of your wheel and tire combo, you need to convert inches (wheel size) to mm. One inch equals 25.4 mm, buit don't get out the calculator yet. Lets say you and your freind have identical neons.
He has 15 inch wheels mounted with a set of 205/50/15's. But you want to go more radical than him and get a 17 inch wheel.
Lets do the math. The distance from the center of the 15 inch wheel to the outer edge of the rim (radius) is only 7.5 inches. The wheels you want to get are two inches larger than his, but only one inch will stick up into your fender well (8.5 vs. 7.5 inches above the center of the wheel). The other inch will be lifting your car off the ground 8.5 vs. 7.5 inches below the center of the wheel).
In order to retain the same look you will need a 17 inch tire with the same overall Dia., so what tire size do you need? The average 205/50/15 has an overall Dia. of 23.2 inches, while the 205/50/17 is nearly the same size at 23.5 inches. Some tires sit lower int he wheel than others. (like Michelin Pilots). Also remember, if you buy a wider wheel, the tire will usually seat lower than with a narrower rim. Tires wider than 225 mm will not fit under a Neon without mods to the fenderwells.
This is my first post within this thread, there is much more that I have to jot down for tires and wheels, but I am short on time today! Bear with me here fellas.There is more to come.
The first thing you need to do is ask yourself a few questions.
1. What do you expect to do with the tires.
2. What is the weather like where you live.
3. How long do you want the tires to last.
There are alot less selections of quality street tires than that of cool wheels!!
The question often asked is what are the best tires.. There really isnt a single answer to this question. The tires you choose should be based on what type of driving you want to do. Usually,you get what you pay for. But if you buy expensive tires expecting that they will be good for both street and occasional track use,you will be disappointed. Tires come in different compounds. In general a softer compound will offer better handling,but will wear out sooner than a harder tire. A raceing tire may handle well on dy pavement,but it will suffer in the rain, and vise versa.
The first thing you need to do before you choose a street tire is to decide what type of driving you are going to do. If you don't plan on doing any racing, then a harder compound will do nicely. Traction in the rain and snow will not be compromised as long as you stick with good name brands. If you care more about handling than tire wear,select a softer compound tire. But be carefull when useing a softer compound on a daily driver. Dry performance will be superior but under any other condition, you could be putting yourself at risk. SOOO in other words if you live in Arizona, go for it. But if you live in a place where snow and rain are a common thing to deal with you would be better off with a more conservative tire.
Tire sizes.
Tire sizes can be confusing. For example, both a 225/50/15 and a 205/50/15 will fit your 15x7 wheel. Your first impression may be to go for the 50 series tire,since you think it has a smaller overall dia. That however would be wrong!
These two tires have the same dia! The first number in the tire size is the width in mm. The second # "50" is a percentage of the width vs. the height of the side wall.(distance that the tire extends above the rim). In other words, a given "series" indicator (which is a percentage) is not a constant.
In this case, the height of the 225/50/15 is the first # (225 mm wide) multiplied by the series #. (50%) equals 112.5 mm in height. For the narrower tire, the 205/50/15, the height is 205 mm x 50%= 102.5 mm tall. Therefore, the 225/50/15 has a side wall that is 10mm taller than that of the 205/50/15.
In order to calculate the overall Dia. of your wheel and tire combo, you need to convert inches (wheel size) to mm. One inch equals 25.4 mm, buit don't get out the calculator yet. Lets say you and your freind have identical neons.
He has 15 inch wheels mounted with a set of 205/50/15's. But you want to go more radical than him and get a 17 inch wheel.
Lets do the math. The distance from the center of the 15 inch wheel to the outer edge of the rim (radius) is only 7.5 inches. The wheels you want to get are two inches larger than his, but only one inch will stick up into your fender well (8.5 vs. 7.5 inches above the center of the wheel). The other inch will be lifting your car off the ground 8.5 vs. 7.5 inches below the center of the wheel).
In order to retain the same look you will need a 17 inch tire with the same overall Dia., so what tire size do you need? The average 205/50/15 has an overall Dia. of 23.2 inches, while the 205/50/17 is nearly the same size at 23.5 inches. Some tires sit lower int he wheel than others. (like Michelin Pilots). Also remember, if you buy a wider wheel, the tire will usually seat lower than with a narrower rim. Tires wider than 225 mm will not fit under a Neon without mods to the fenderwells.
This is my first post within this thread, there is much more that I have to jot down for tires and wheels, but I am short on time today! Bear with me here fellas.There is more to come.
