Well,
How is the comfort of the ride with 18" rims and 215/35/18 tires? Is it totally harsh and unbareable? Any comparison to 17" with 40 series tires. 45 series tires must be much more comfortatble..no?

Nate



Evolution of Cavyboy-->C22t--> C24na--->c24s/c
1995 Cavalier W/2k1 Engine
GM S/C 13.940@99.78pmh w/2.068 60ft

really.....it's not that bad,but alot of people will recommend you run a 225/40/18. right now im running 215/35/18's ,but i have a set of new 215/40/18's in the basement waiting to get put on. and really the 215/40/18 is more closer to stock diameters than the 225/40/18. alot of people like the 225 due to the fact that you get alittle more sidewall. i've been running the 215/35/18's since 02,and havent had any problems (rim damage etc.) it's all about how you drive. but if i was to tell you i say either a 215/40/18 or 225/40/18,but hey its your car go with what you think you will like best

ClassGlass / RkSport / Eibach / Motegi / Ractive / Borla / K&N

Why are you determined to run tires too small for the car? They're only going to cause your mileage to rack up quicker and hurt your gas mileage. And they look funny and increase your fender gap.

^^ haha could have told you that was coming

but I'll stay on topic. The ride with 215 35's is pretty brutal. You can feel almost every little crack or line in the road with them.



Dwn Dak - The Dodge Difference

wild weasel: i know you mean well,but truth is no matter how hard you preach to people, theyre gonna do and buy what they want. the only thing you can do is plant positive seeds,its their choice if they want to water the plant. the only reasonim running that size as of right now is because thats what my package consisted of,but i do have a set of 215/40/18's in the basement. had a chance to get a set of 225/40/18's when i bought the 215's,but thats a pretty tall tire,and i knew that the 215/40/18 was closer to the actual stck diameters than the 225

ClassGlass / RkSport / Eibach / Motegi / Ractive / Borla / K&N

Actually, for your stock tire sizes, joey is right. 215 is closer to stock than 225. (since you guys had stock 16"

Now in my case, 225 is better since my car has stock 15".

But looking at the two sizes, this is the problem I see with the 215s

1. Mileage is higher than it should be, as opposed to lower if you went with the 225
2. They look funny, and increase wheelgap

I never thought about it, but if weasel is right, then add gas mileage to the list.

The gas mileage issue arises because the car is made to cruise at an efficient RPM so when you change the tire size then it has to run at a higher RPM to maintain the same speeds. That will hurt mileage in the long run, though I don't think it's enough to put you in the poor house.

As for the difference between the 215 and 225 widths on the 18's... it's not really big enough to be a real issue. The height difference between the two (0.3") is actually less than the difference between the same tire new and with a couple years wear on it.

With a 215/35/18 though, that's over a full inch difference in height!

How do you guys figure that the 215 is closer to the stock size???? When you up size wheels and tires. You add 10 to the width and subtract 5 from the height for every inch you go bigger if you want your speedo to be exactly right. So in all reality if you go from a stock 16" wheel with 205 55 R16's to a 18" wheel, you should have a 225 45 R18 to be the same. So really the 225 40 is closer. Try using the tire calculator on wild weasels site, its pretty helpful

mm.. don't have much choice either. Their coming with the rim.

But theres that much of a height difference? vs my 215/45/17s?

Nate



Evolution of Cavyboy-->C22t--> C24na--->c24s/c
1995 Cavalier W/2k1 Engine
GM S/C 13.940@99.78pmh w/2.068 60ft

Wild Weasel wrote:

As for the difference between the 215 and 225 widths on the 18's... it's not really big enough to be a real issue. The height difference between the two (0.3") is actually less than the difference between the same tire new and with a couple years wear on it.

With a 215/35/18 though, that's over a full inch difference in height!

k. Its late for me.. and i lost you here WW. You said there not a big height diff between is only 0.3" (or did u mean width). Then say that 215/35/18 is an inch smaller then stock or 225/40/18?

thanks Wild Weasel.

Nate



Evolution of Cavyboy-->C22t--> C24na--->c24s/c
1995 Cavalier W/2k1 Engine
GM S/C 13.940@99.78pmh w/2.068 60ft

^^ There isn't much hieght difference in the 215 45 17 to the 215 35 18 tire.

Overall diameter of the 17 - 24.61 inches
Overall diameter of the 18 - 23.92 inches
daimeter difference of 2.81%

thats not as big as a difference as your stock height to the 18's though



Dwn Dak - The Dodge Difference

Dwn Dak wrote:^^ There isn't much hieght difference in the 215 45 17 to the 215 35 18 tire.

Overall diameter of the 17 - 24.61 inches
Overall diameter of the 18 - 23.92 inches
daimeter difference of 2.81%

thats not as big as a difference as your stock height to the 18's though

Thanks Dwn Dak,
I have no comfort/ wheel well issues with my 17s on now.
But now that i seem to have some good wheel guys attention. Is a 50mm offset not going to work on a cavy?

Nate



Evolution of Cavyboy-->C22t--> C24na--->c24s/c
1995 Cavalier W/2k1 Engine
GM S/C 13.940@99.78pmh w/2.068 60ft

ecotecpower wrote:How do you guys figure that the 215 is closer to the stock size???? When you up size wheels and tires. You add 10 to the width and subtract 5 from the height for every inch you go bigger if you want your speedo to be exactly right. So in all reality if you go from a stock 16" wheel with 205 55 R16's to a 18" wheel, you should have a 225 45 R18 to be the same. So really the 225 40 is closer. Try using the tire calculator on wild weasels site, its pretty helpful

While that can be an ok rule of thumb, it's not all that accurate. Read my HowTo to understand what the numbers mean so you can see why that doesn't really work. A 225/45/18 tire would be over an inch taller than a 205/55/16 tire.

C24NA wrote:k. Its late for me.. and i lost you here WW. You said there not a big height diff between is only 0.3" (or did u mean width). Then say that 215/35/18 is an inch smaller then stock or 225/40/18?

The 215/35/18 would be an inch shorter than the stock 205/55/16.

Dwn Dak wrote:^^ There isn't much hieght difference in the 215 45 17 to the 215 35 18 tire.

Overall diameter of the 17 - 24.61 inches
Overall diameter of the 18 - 23.92 inches
daimeter difference of 2.81%

thats not as big as a difference as your stock height to the 18's though

I'm not quite sure what you're saying here. 2.8% is well out of what I'd consider an acceptable difference.

C24NA wrote:But now that i seem to have some good wheel guys attention. Is a 50mm offset not going to work on a cavy?

Nate

50 mm would be ideal for me but may not work for most people here. It's nothing that can't be fixed with some small spacers and new lugs though.

ok


it depends on what you r lookin for most as to which tire size u should get in my opinion,


if you are lookin for better ride then obviously bigger tires
but if u want a cool look then def 215/35 would look 100% better, my opinion, cause it makes the wheels look bigger
now also it depends on your suspension too cause if u have air ride then wheel gap wont be a big deal , if u dont have air ride then you may want to go with a bigger trie size to fill the gap, so with all this bein said,

air ride: 215/35
no air: bigger size

theres my opinion yo


pic coming soon

"Live Life To The Fullest" "Customize Everything"

Wild Weasel wrote:

Dwn Dak wrote:^^ There isn't much hieght difference in the 215 45 17 to the 215 35 18 tire.

Overall diameter of the 17 - 24.61 inches
Overall diameter of the 18 - 23.92 inches
daimeter difference of 2.81%

thats not as big as a difference as your stock height to the 18's though

I'm not quite sure what you're saying here. 2.8% is well out of what I'd consider an acceptable difference.

I dunno if that qoute will work.. but anyways...
3% either up or down is IN FACT industry standards... anything within 3% difference of OD from whats on the palcard of the vechile, is know by TIA to be the recommendations of limitations when changing sizes, as long as the speed rating and load index rating is the same or higher then the palcard of the car... its fine. 3% is acceptable... HOWEVER once the suspension is lowered or raised, or in fact altered in any way other than factory, that 3% no longer applys. Therefore tire size is personal preference to the owner of that car. So if someone wants to go with a 215... I'm sure they don't give a flying F what you are tryin to sit there and preach about tire sizes for the j-body and whats correct and whats not because once the car is lowered.. technically there IS NO PROPER size....

have a good day



Dwn Dak - The Dodge Difference

225/45/17 is a proper size

Cool.

I have GC and will get an alignment once i get them on and trade my 17 vx1s for them.

WW,
K. 215/35/18 is ~ 1 inch shorten then stock. Cool. But how do my 215/45/17s compare to stock (z24 tire)?

And you say 50mm offset is idea. Whys that? And i have not been able to find a place for that sales wheel spacers. Do u know of one?

Thanks!!
Nate



Evolution of Cavyboy-->C22t--> C24na--->c24s/c
1995 Cavalier W/2k1 Engine
GM S/C 13.940@99.78pmh w/2.068 60ft

215/45/17 is 0.3" shorter than stock which is perfectly fine.

50 mm offset is a bit high for most people here. Those wheels are meant for the Suburu crowds, who use a higher offset. That's why you may need spacers.

I'm not sure where to get them though. There's another thread here on the topic explaining why you need longer lugs and what not as well.

I was amazed how my 225/35/19 rode.... Nitto Tires!
Almost like stock -



www.teamexoticimage.com / myspace.com/02on19s

Yea don't get the 35 series (unless you can get a killer deal), they are too small.......like weasel stated they will make fender gap more pronounced. Just lower it with more with coil-overs/spring if that is what you want.

As for the question you asked, the 35 series will ride a little rougher than the 40 or 45--as everyone knows....how much, i don't know--i've never ridden in a car that had too small of tire for an 18" rim. So it's probably like ridding 19's. But it really depends on the tire/psi you run.




______________________________________________________________________
Jason---"White Knight"
Camaro Z28-SLP Cold Air, Air Foil, SLP Ceramic Coated Headers, B&B Tri-Flow Exhuast, Magnacore 8.5mm Wires, Power Slot Rotors, SLP Subframe Connectors, Manual Fan Switch, Nitto DR's, 3.73's, 3200stall, 1.6RR's NX two stage Nitrous MAF system. 1st stage 50hp 2nd stage 100.


1997 Cavalier ---- 2.2L (Daily Driver)
Custom Silver/Black painted interior, Sparco 4-pt, 4-pt roll bar