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I have 17x7 rims and I want to know what my options are for tire sizes. The rims originally came wrapped in 205-40-17's which have worn out. I was wondering how much wider could I go (more than 215?) with my rims... I was also thinking of getting a higher profile, perhaps 45 or 50. My car is on Neuspeed Sports...

Would someone explain the advantages and drawbacks to a wider tire and/or a higher profile (other than cost). It seems like the higher the profile, the less you would feel the bumps in the road (aftermarket shocks being the best alternative). How wide could I go with the width of the rims and what would the downsides be? Any info would be appreciated.

 
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The widest I would go would be 215, a 225 would probably fit but it may be to wide. A 45 side wall would work well with the 17" rim because you will have a more accurate speedometer and odometer reading than if you went with a 50 series. Check out the Tire Calc at the top of the page to see what I mean.

 
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666:

215-45-17 looks good to me... I didn't even check the Tire Calc. It's changed since the first time I saw it. I'm guessing there shouldn't be any problems with rubbing with the 45's either...correct?

 
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Correct, it should be very close to the overall diameter of the stock tires. The width will not be a problem either, I have 215/35-18 and no rubbing here. Remember a 215/35-19 can fit our Civics too and they do not rub (depending on drop).

 
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Well, I purchased Yokohama 215-45-17's and slapped some SPC rear camber kits on my ride to go with the lowering springs. I took the car in to get the alignment done and I ran into a snag. With the 45 profile (vs 40 that I had before) the rear tires do not have room to clear the fender well. Once the top of the rim is pushed out (to correct alignment) there is not enough clearance.

As far as I can tell, I have a few options:

1) Buy a new set of lower profile tires and lose my *** on the brand new set I have.

2) Purchase new springs which are slightly taller.

3) Put the stock springs on and ride on these until tires wear out.

4) Buy some GC Coilovers and set the rear height slightly higher than where the Neuspeeds sit currently.

All of these options seem to suck. The shop is trying to change the angle of the struts to gain some clearance. I am thinking this change in angle will have a negative effect on the shocks and cause them to wear sooner. Coilovers seems like the best option right now, but that's gonna set me back $300 or so plus install. The cheapest alternative would be to throw the stock spings back on and run the tires until they go bad. But then that would give me the crappy wheel gap look that I have spent all this $ to avoid in the first place...

Are there any alternatives that I am overlooking? Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated...

 
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I guess I gotta ask, what is the offset on the rims? My new rims have a lower offset in the whole scheme of things (37) and I want to make sure what kind of room I have before I buy springs.
Just how much clearance are you short?

 
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Where did you buy your tires? If you haven't driven on them much if at all you might be able to get the shop to replace them. If bought from Discount Tire they will trade them, good luck.

 
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I got them from Tire rack.com... I am going to call them, but there return policy states that the tires must be "brand new." I only rode on them to work twice... If I don't have any luck I'll probably post 'em in the Marketplace forum and, if necessary, ebay.