tire sizes

[Ninefourfour83]

I currently have 215/60/15's on my NA (fuchs) on the front and back. Does this sound right? I've heard the "recommended" size is 245/45/15. What is the difference and will it effect anything? Thanks.

[divezic]

215-width of the tire tread in mm.
60-ratio of side wall height to tread width.
15-required wheel diameter in inches.

215/60/15 was probably the stock tire size, meaning that is the tire size that suspension is set up for. 245 is 30mm wider than the stock 215 and may or may not fit in the wheel wells. They will also look goofy on the 7" rims: they'll bulge off of the rims. Also the 45 profile will have a real stiff sidewall. It'll give you a real stiff ride on the street. If you want a wider tire then a 225/55/15 might be good or go to a 16" rim and use 225/50/16 tires.

[d_roedel]

on a 7 inch rim go up to a 225 if you need new tires, will fit fine and you will notice a difference in handling..

derek

[UconnTim97]

I have 225s on the rear of my car on 16x7 Fuchs. They fit and look fine. That was the stock size from the factory on the 16 Fuchs on my car.

[auh]

I run 215 60 15's and they're fine

[CJFusco]

keep in mind, every pound of unsprung weight is equal to 10 pounds sprung

[dangerous]

I've run 225/45 R 17 (front) and 255/40 R 17 (rear) on a C2 type rim. They are much heavier than my 215/60 R 15 on stock phone dials and eat some HP to turn them but they are pretty solid with good rubber. They look nice too. My engine had been aching a bit lately and I put the 15's back on to give her a break until I started some engine maint. The 17's will prob come back this spring. I'm going to experiment with a 245/40 rear tire. I'm a little concerned about less sidewall though, the roads around here look like the freak'n moon. Gotta warn ya though, I've already bent at least three rims so the lower profile may look nice, may improve cornering a little, but there's a price...paid in HP, replacement tire costs, and high potential for rim damage (and it dosn't take that much....but my 17's are not Factory rims and may very well be a weaker material).

[Rmills944]

I have just plain old cookie cutters on mine and run 225/50 15 and it's the correct height for a 15 inch rim (just a bit smaller than a 215/60). You don't want to go any wider on a 7" wide wheel. The 245 would be correct maybe for a 7.5" or 8" wide wheel.

Judging form the sidewall buldge on yours, you don't want to go wider than a 225 right now.

[DannoXYZ]

The correct 25" diameter tyres would be:

225/55-15 and 245/50-15 which are non-existent.

These sizes were made at one point back in the '80s, but were very rare even then. Most people use 225/50-15, which is about 1" smaller in diameter than stock. But it has the nice effect of lowering your car 0.5" and gives you slightly quicker acceleration.

[Ninefourfour83]

Thanks for the info guys! When I get new tires i will probably go with what DannoXYZ recomended.