Tyre size dilemma.....

[superleggera]

Hi all- I've got a White MkII Golf 1.6 GTD but the wheels look lame so I bought some nice used alloys on eBay- Dark Grey O.Z. F1's complete with Michelin Pilots, originally off a Renault Clio Williams.

I worked out the sizes and thought I'd be okay but they rub the inside of the front arches just slightly preventing full lock and the rears foul the wheel arch liner when they compress fully or I corner hard.

Stock size for my car was 185/60/14 (578mm diameter) and the alloys/wheels I bought were 205/50/16 (310mm diameter). Does anyone know if I'd get away with 205/45/16 tyres (not much bigger at total diameter of 590mm) or would I have to get 205/40/16 (570mm diameter) because of the wider rim/tyre etc? I'd rather not get the smaller diameter if I can help it because of the ride quality and gearing issue (the gearing is far too short as it is- acceleration is fine and  I don't want to lose any more top speed). I don't have access to a stock of tyres that I can try out etc.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[hustonr123]

I went with 205 45 16s  they don't rub anywhere  and look good on my rims.   Big thanks to rabbit on roids for the info.   I searched around for tires and found kumo all seasons for $ 55 each.

[Henchman]

There is more to consider, have you checked the offset of the rim?  The rims you picked up may sit farther into the well, causing touching during turns and hard corners.  If so, you might need a spacer.

Ian

[Rabbit on Roids]

i have 205/40/r17s on my jetta. and they clear just fine on the front, but they rub on the rear. its lowered too much back there. if it were sittin stock height in the rear they would be just fine.

another thing, the difference of a 40 and 45 series sidewall is almost nothing. its when you move up 2 or 3 sizes that things start to not fit.

[Dirtrag2]

how about 195/50/16... the "50" in the tire size is the % of sidewall vs width. sooo if you reduce the width and keep the same sidewall ratio it till be smaller dia.  not to mention the skinier tire might help with clearance issues.

[theman53]

this will show you the actual size compared to what you have...then you will have to see what will work on your car. For off road guys there is a tool that bolts to your hub that you can extend the width and height of the plastic arms then spin the hub and see if it rubs. I don't know how small they go though. I always used the blue wrench to make my off road stuff fit. Summit sells the tools.
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc

[superleggera]

Hi- thanks for the replies.

I ended up getting some 195/45-16 tyres (diameter 582mm), found them at a part worn tyre dealer. He took two of my old tyres in part exchange so I ended up getting 2 x Continental SportContact (I put them on the front) and 2 x Avon ZV3 (I put them on the rear, will change round in summer, Avons take longer to warm up apparently) and all it cost me was £50 (about $70) including fitting and balancing. Each tyre has 5mm of tread and no repairs. They didn't have a 4 matching tyres but still pretty good eh?

Thanks to theman53 for that calculator, I have been doing the maths on my iPhone (the scientific calculator function finally turned out to be useful) and your tyre calculator confirmed what I had worked out this afternoon at the tyre dealer- 195/50-16 is a little too tall. The 195/45-16 is virtually the same as stock, only 0.7% difference in circumference.

Although the 205 size looks great, it's hard work on my car when parking etc, I haven't got anything that's powered in the car, windows or steering so the car is nice and light, only 985kg so it doesn't really need a fat tyre- the 195 is probably over tyred and I'm sure a 175 would be good and give sharper steering and more progressive sliding.

When the summer arrives and I get around to changing the slightly weeping head gasket for a metal one from the AAZ engine I'm going to perk things up a little and I'll post the results on this forum and maybe write a list of cheap essential mods for a GTD.    

[8v-of-fury]

I have 185/60/14's and love them.

195/45/16's will be pretty awesome as well! Anything over 195 on these cars looks just too big tbh..

good luck with it