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Ive got tenzo R passion 5's 17". And I was wondering if a tire size of 205/40/R17 be ok on road conditions in here in So cal? As you can see my ride I had those 15 spoke rims with 205/40's but those rims were heavy and they weighed about 40 lbs each with tires. I got 215/45's on the Tenzo's and I dont like the way they look cuz the side wall of the tire is too high. So would 205/40 be too skinny and damage the rim?

 
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You have to be very careful. How are the roads where you are. I have the same size tires on my velox vx8's and on my rim there is a huge lip. There are a lo of pot holes on the highways and most likely the next tires I get will be 215/45/17. Also getting such lower profile tires made more gap space in the wheel well, maybe I can drop my car even a little more now.

 
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There are quite a few members that are running 205/40-17's, but it does affect the following:

>Your speedometer is pretty close right now - if you change, the error is going to be over 3% (it will read 60MPH but the car will only be traveling ~58MPH)

>Bigger gap between tire & fenderwell

>Just like the title said - there is more potential for rim damage due to the thinner sidewall.

HEY Try this size out, it might be good for you: 215/40-17
You will still have the wider tread plus the sidewall thickness will fall between what you have now and the 205/40. How's that?

 
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I would get 215/40 or 205/45 since these are closest to the stock tire diameter.

 
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Yeah I have an EX and I am running 215/45/17 and its thick but the ride is awesome yeah I would say 205/45 or 215/40 definately 205/40 doesn't appeal a whole lot to me.

Nick

 
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ya i went with 215/45/17, i love it.
roads around my house. SUCKS. so i had to go with 215/45/17

 
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Keep it real, CTR specs! 205 45 17" is the way to go!

 
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205-40-17 is the worse tire size you could go with but I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of people who own 17s on this site are running this size. I go against it because it will **** up your rim if you hit a pothole big enough with the profile @ 40, and the tire isn't wide enough as a 205. However, the reason why people go with 205 is because the rear tires are prone to rubbing against the fender lip if the width was any wider. It'll also ruin your speedometer in the long run. On the plus side, some people do live in areas where their roads are almost smooth as glass from what it seems.

205-45-17 is okay providing you can find a good tire that size because the selection of tires that size is very limited compared to 205-40-17 and 215-45-17. Overall, it can't out perform or perform any less than a 205-40 because of width.

215-40-17 leans closer to performance - however, like 205-45, tire selections are limited.

215-45-17 is going to be as good as it's gonna get. With this size, you can actually find a sense of comfort, and the tire size selection is as good as the 205-40-17. People could argue that the tire is too fat but it would outperform a 205 and it really doesn't look that bad.

There are some people who argue that 17s look small on this site when a 205-40-17's diameter from the sideview is smaller than a stock EX wheel with a 185-65-15. Go figure.

 
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215/45/17 is THE way to go for 7th gen's. unless you are running a dx, which comes with stock 14's. then the proper size would be 205/40/17.

whichever way you want to look at it the thinner the sidewall the more likely you will damage your rim when hitting potholes. it's just common sense.

i'm running 17's wrapped in 215/45/17 on my 7th gen and the ride quality is really good compared to 205/40 although i admit the tires make the rims appear smaller but i'll take that over a damaged rim anyday.

btw: i have a '99 sir rolling on 18's with 215/35/18 and believe me, there is not much sidewall to protect the rims. 18's are mostly for show, i wouldn't even think about using them everyday, at least not at the profile i'm using. i could imagine what would happen if i hit a medium pothole on the highway at 120 mph, the tire might blow and rip right off the rim.

 
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Kool! Thanks for the info. I think stickin with 215/45 is the way

 
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That's what I originally thought before I made my suggestion of a 215/40-17, but apparently that size has gotten popular because there are at least 25 different tires being produced by most of the manufacturers.

dru106, I also chose 215/45-17 to go on my rims, but if you want to be daring the 215/40-17 is still an option because there ARE a lot of choices out there