tyre discussion

[drsmith1979]

As some of you know (and some dont! lol)...im in the USA at the mo with work. its cool but i miss my car! haha

im looking to do a few things to my car upon my return and i have already sourced a number of parts and cant wait to get them all fitted up! anyway, im looking into getting a brand new set of tyres for my pro 1.2's (if i dont sell them) and wanted to know peoples opinions:

they came with 205/45/16's which were simply too wide, they caught on the arches due to the width not the aspect ratio. i have since removed them and sold the tyres to help fund a new set. i really want Yoko paradas as friends of mine have them and swear they are legend! im not a big fan of the toyo's although having been in the 'nana' with them fitted they performed extremely well! physic defyinh grip at one point around a roundabout! haha im sure gaz will give testament to my 'door handle grabbing' incident haha

i love the look of 16's they fill the arches well and set the car off perfectly imo. i know the pros and cons of 15's /16's etc.. but i want peoples opinions on the ratio.

195/45/16's
195/40/16's

and also the speed rating, is V rated (149mph) enough or would you say go for the Z,W or Y super rating (168mph)?

im tempted to throw on some R888's but they only do them in the 195/50/16's which im affraid would catch and scrub, it would be an expensive way of finding out! haha

so any opinions? i know the 40's would look uber cool but reduce ride quality and possibly increase the damage to the wheels, but anyone got any input? 40' 45's 50's?

heres a pic of the car with the 205's which were too wide:

[bass_direct]

194/45/16's are the most common size to go for.

[Martin]

Why did you buy 16s in the first place?

[Imperial_16v]

Interesting! I was looking at getting 215/40/16's when I finally get my money together. Didn't think there'd be a problem with them being so low. I thought it would offset the wide-ness. If you know what I mean.

Actually, would it affect you more because of the Williams having a wider setup than a Valver?

Anyway, to answer your question, just stick with 195/45's.

[drsmith1979]

@ martin - i went with 16's as i dont think the car looks right with 15's, almost like shopping trolly wheels! lol besides, i would've gone for some if i could have found some good williams wheels at a reasonable price! but we all know as soon as some come up Gaz and co snap'em up like hot cakes! haha also, ive come from a BMW 5 series rolling on 20's and a mitsubishi Evo rolling on 18's so i like the look of big wheels!

@imperial - yeah the 215's may be a problem, the 205's just caught on the outer edge of the innner arch, rears were fine though. if you went 215 and were as low as mine they would prob be hitting the arch/wing lip! but you may get away with it being a valver

i know 195/45/16's are the most common to go for, but im wondering if the 40's are going to pose more problems than solutions with potential wheel damage etc... anyone running 40's profile 16's?

[MAXIBOY]

no but i,m running 35 profile 18,s and love the way it feels.

[drsmith1979]

so the handling isnt affected adversely? personally i have always preferred the lowest profile possible from a looks point of view and have always thought it gives better handling due to the smaller sidewall. i think i may have to go for the 40's! haha

what width are your 18's maxi? obviously the aspect ratio is a % of the width so could be similar to a 195/40

ps.- you sorted your scuttle panel air filter relocation yet?

[MAXIBOY]

my 18,s are 235/3518,s mate. run the ledas a little softer but handles really well.

have not started the air filter relocation yet as i,ve been making brake lines and unseizing torsion bars this weekend but soon.