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Old 04-22-2005, 03:18 PM   #1
saar
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Impreza GC8 Tire Question for you guys..?

Well...I havnt seen Markus on here in forever ...and i guess this questions not strictly for him ....but i know he had run 215/40's on his 17' Rims ...

and i was just looking for some input on what he thought of the 40 series ....

Because i have been getting mixed feeling about running a 40 sidwall ...people say I will bend my rims ...Your tires will blow up , etc ....

I am looking into getting rubber this week ...and found a tire i would like to try ...but no 215/45/17...only 215/40/17..


so any input from you guys on the subject would be greatly apprectiated...


oh ..and i didnt post this in the 'tire and wheels' section ....becasue for some reason ...frankly i trust you guys more...you seem like real people to me haha... (plus if you give me advice that is detremental to my car, I can track you guys down with ease ) haha
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Old 04-22-2005, 03:52 PM   #2
mengy2
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i just got a set of 215 45 17 on the other day.
i was talking to the guys at mytires about that very issue, they mentioned things like rim damage and speedo variance, with 40's, plus to be honest they look sort of silly on 17's. too ricey for my taste.
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Old 04-22-2005, 05:32 PM   #3
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Well, it really depends on how wide the tire is too, not just 40 or 45. The sidewall on my 245/40/17 is identical to the sidewall on a 225/45/17. Yes, I agree that too short a sidewall is asking for more rim damage, but you need to compare apples to apples.

I just found a web site that calcuates sidewall height (its a Miata site) but I can't seem to find the URL.

[edit] Man I love Google. Try this out http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
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Old 04-22-2005, 05:49 PM   #4
mengy2
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i was specifically refering to 215 40/45 17 as that is what the subject was about.
but yes 40 or 45 is only a ratio of wheel diameter/width. at least that is what i was told.
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Old 04-22-2005, 05:54 PM   #5
Keiho
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What tire is this?

Most tires DO come in a 215/45/17, it just might be harder to find for a particular model you're looking at.

Like the Falken Azenis, they offer 215/45/17 in Japan but I haven't seen anybody advertise that here. I suppose if I really wanted to get them I can just ship it over.

My point is, there are probably other tires that DO come in a 45 series if you're worried about a 40 series bending your wheels (how're you gonna "blow" up your tires just cause you're running 40 series? ) and increased ride harshness amongst other things.
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Old 04-22-2005, 06:17 PM   #6
meatro
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Default Dumb Question

I know this will considered a stupid question, but how do the numbers and ratios work in regards to tire sizes? I know the last number is the rim size, and I'm pretty sure the first number is the width. So what is the middle #?

Thanks

M
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Old 04-22-2005, 06:37 PM   #7
Keiho
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215/45/17

The first number is the width of the tire.

The second number is the "height" of the tire, the sidewall if you will, from the wheel to the top of the tire.

Third number is the size of the wheel the tire goes on.

Something like that anyway in layman's terms. I'm sure there are proper tire jargon that I didn't use and stuff but whatever.
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Old 04-23-2005, 12:39 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keiho
215/45/17

The first number is the width of the tire.

The second number is the "height" of the tire, the sidewall if you will, from the wheel to the top of the tire.

Third number is the size of the wheel the tire goes on.

Something like that anyway in layman's terms. I'm sure there are proper tire jargon that I didn't use and stuff but whatever.

This is correct but you need to add that the profile (second number) changes in relation to the width. So a 225/45/17 will have a slightly larger profile than a 215/45/17.
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Old 04-22-2005, 06:50 PM   #9
mengy2
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I ended up getting Kumho Ecsta 711's. size 215 45 17. they had 40's or 45's.
the 712's had the same option as did some hankook and Avids.
give mytire a drive by, anand was very helpful and did not try to push any sales on me
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Old 04-22-2005, 07:26 PM   #10
WxMan
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I went with 215/45/17's and still bent my rim. This happened last week. That cut in the tire goes all the way through too. Now I'm back on my snows until I get this sorted out. In this heat I swear I can see them melting.

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Old 04-23-2005, 12:09 AM   #11
markus
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saar
Well...I havnt seen Markus on here in forever ...and i guess this questions not strictly for him ....but i know he had run 215/40's on his 17' Rims ...

and i was just looking for some input on what he thought of the 40 series ....

Because i have been getting mixed feeling about running a 40 sidwall ...people say I will bend my rims ...Your tires will blow up , etc ....

I am looking into getting rubber this week ...and found a tire i would like to try ...but no 215/45/17...only 215/40/17..


so any input from you guys on the subject would be greatly apprectiated...


oh ..and i didnt post this in the 'tire and wheels' section ....becasue for some reason ...frankly i trust you guys more...you seem like real people to me haha... (plus if you give me advice that is detremental to my car, I can track you guys down with ease ) haha
A set of 215/40/R17's is VERY close in rolling diameter to a the stock 205/55/R16's for WRX's and my old GC6 (<3% IIRC). I always thought that they looked better on the car than my 215/45's I had on the 17's before. That being said however, they look ridiculously small on my STi (using the same rubber for summer as I bought R-compuinds on Rota's for autocrossing).

As it relates to the comments ...

"I will bend my rims" ==> if you don't watch where your driving, a pot hole will bend a rim with 65's on.

"Your tires will blow up" ==> what moron gave you that piece of advice? Sure, if you put 60psi in them, oh wait, ANY tire will blow up if you put 60psi in it.

Look, everyone here knows I drive my cars hard. Always have. Always will. However, I am fanatic about maintenance. I haven't EVER blown up a tire, but I did bend a set of alloys once (60 series wall) due to my own stupidity when I hit a curb doing 90kph. If I had 40's then, I would have just bent it even more. Had I NOT been driving like such a smuck at the time, I wouldn't have bent them. Hope I'm being clear on this.

If you like the tire and they're 40's. Buy them.

Enjoy.
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Old 04-29-2005, 12:09 AM   #12
soccer_freak_m@hotma
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Quote:
Originally Posted by markus
"Your tires will blow up" ==> what moron gave you that piece of advice? Sure, if you put 60psi in them, oh wait, ANY tire will blow up if you put 60psi in it.
EXCEPT the spare tire which in fact does require 60PSi, but of course you knew that.

How do I know this? cuz I got 8 nails in a tire just tonight
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Old 04-29-2005, 03:33 PM   #13
markus
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Quote:
Originally Posted by soccer_freak_m@hotma
EXCEPT the spare tire which in fact does require 60PSi, but of course you knew that.
Of course, the bead is designed to do that, and who here wants to keep the speed below 80kph for a VERY limited distance?
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Old 04-29-2005, 03:35 PM   #14
markus
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The RS is Lookin' Good Daniel!!!
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Old 04-23-2005, 09:43 AM   #15
saar
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yeah...I always understood reading tire size.... The second # is a percent ....45 percent of 215 ...will obvisouly be smaller that 45 percent of 225.... but thanks for all the replies guys...oh ...and mark..

do you have any pics of your wheels with the 215/40's? on or off the car..

thanks
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Old 04-23-2005, 10:19 AM   #16
Flexx999
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215's???..........what the hell you want those skinny things on there for............go with 235's...............

And as stated above for sizing, that is correct. 215 is the width of the tire the 45 is the side wall height in percent of the width (45% of 215) and the last is the rim size. I went with a little more sidewall 235/45/17 instead of a 40 as I wanted a little more rubber between my wheel and the road. Its a tiny bit bigger in circumference than stock....but I wanted larger not smaller circumference so my speedo would read lower then higher.
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Old 04-23-2005, 01:15 PM   #17
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Yeah, I ran 235/45's for the last three summers, and always thought my slightly slower acceleration was due to the higher inertia of the bigger wheels/tires, but was likely a combination of that and the slightly worse "gearing"
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Old 04-24-2005, 12:28 PM   #18
markus
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flexx999
215's???..........what the hell you want those skinny things on there for............go with 235's...............

And as stated above for sizing, that is correct. 215 is the width of the tire the 45 is the side wall height in percent of the width (45% of 215) and the last is the rim size. I went with a little more sidewall 235/45/17 instead of a 40 as I wanted a little more rubber between my wheel and the road. Its a tiny bit bigger in circumference than stock....but I wanted larger not smaller circumference so my speedo would read lower then higher.
The ONLY GC/GM that was able to fit 235's was the 22B.

The only reason I was able to fit 215's on my GC was due to the fact that I had the inside fender lip trimmed by Showcase. The only way 225's or larger will fit on the old Imprezas is through fender flaring (a la 22B). The newer WRX sedans already have flared fenders that so 235's aren't a problem. Try doing that on a Wagon however ..
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Old 04-24-2005, 12:25 PM   #19
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saar,

PM me your e-mail address. I have pics of the wheels when they were off the car. Not sure if I have ones when they were on the car, but I will check in the mean time.

MB
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Old 04-23-2005, 07:50 PM   #20
saar
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bear in mind without 'fender rolling..my GC will not so easly accomodate 235's....defnatly not with my drop .... ... i wish...
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Old 04-23-2005, 08:16 PM   #21
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I know you're talking about 215's, but...
I had 205/40/17 on the GC TS, and it just doesn't look right, because the rim isn't large enough.
A 18" rim looks fine -- not the look I want, but fine nonetheless -- with that sidewall height. The 17" rim did not look right with a 205/40.
The 205/55 on the GC RS right now looks a bit thick, so I feel that a 45 on either 205 or 215 is just perfect.
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Old 04-24-2005, 12:38 PM   #22
mengy2
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yeah, thats the exact reason i went with 215 45 17. any wider and my 98 wagon will have clearance issues. even with these 215's i have heard an odd noise from the rear when i go over a moderate bump at 40km plus
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Old 04-24-2005, 01:41 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by saar
Because i have been getting mixed feeling about running a 40 sidwall ...people say I will bend my rims ...Your tires will blow up , etc ....
FWIW, I run 215/35/18s and haven't bent a rim yet.

maybe i'm just lucky?
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Old 04-24-2005, 08:17 PM   #24
Titanium Samurai
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saar:

I just slapped the summer tires/wheels on. I was mistaken earlier; these are 215/40/17. Of course, what I neglected to remember to mention was 1) the fenders have been modified (trimmed on the inside, as Mark said), and 2) the wheels have the wrong offset (45, methinks) and therefore are visibly further out. Not enough rubber. PM me if you want to see how they look. In fact, cuz I'm soooo smart today, I'll see if I can post for you...






Last edited by TiTaNiuM sAMuRai; 04-28-2005 at 07:29 PM.
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Old 04-25-2005, 03:36 PM   #25
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saar: i'm running 215/45/17. Like markus said, u do have to watch when ur driving to avoid the potholes and other obstacles. U've seen how low my car is and also what rims i'm running, if not i can post pics. I don't have any trouble, however since my car is so low, i did have to get the fenders modified/shaved to avoid rubbing issues. Ryan in calgary from the calgary sports car club is at stock height and is able to run 225 width rubber w/ no difficulty.

Right now i'm running the Falken GR Beta's 451's in 215/45/17. Car looks good, and the rolling diameter is v. close to the stock. I think my speedo is off by like 0.2% or less.

cw
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