Help with tyre size thing :)

[clio_extreme_16v]

Am looking to buy these wheels for my clio:

http://shop.street-racers.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=1_33_8714&products_id=1011417

am just goin to buy them off that site but i dont understand the tyre choice bit. which would be the best tyre 2 get? the 215x40x17 or the 215x45x17? lol

and it says there just budget performance tyres so what kind of tyre should i expect to come with the wheels?

dan

 

[Djw John]

You really need 205/40/17 tbh mate

 

[clio_extreme_16v]

right cool. whats the difference anyway?

 

[White16valver]

xxx/xx/xx = width of tyre / height of tyre sidewall expressed as a percentage of the width / wheel rim diameter.

So 205/40s are narrower and have smaller sidewalls than 215/45s (which will probably rub lol)

If you can upgrade from budget tyres then you should consider doing so - they're the only thing holding you on the road so don't get cheap as they're cheap for a reason!

Find out what your options are and post up here and people will advise.

 

[Oggy997]

I have 205/45/17 on my clio (Mk2 Ph1) and yes they rub like hell. Would wheen spacers sort this?

 

[White16valver]

Depends where they're rubbing! lol

If they're rubbing on the arches then no, they would just move further out and rub more.

If they're rubbing on the struts then you'd need to determine how much extra clearance you need as to what spacers to get.

 

[Oggy997]

Apparently they guy who fitted the wheels bored the arches(???) I cany actually see the damage its doing, my brother (Bryan - former member) says I wanted ET42 not ET 45 tyres if that helps.

 

[White16valver]

You mean ET42 wheels? The tyres just sit on the wheels lol :rasp:

ET42 will move them out 3mm compared to the ET45s, so you could get 3mm spacers to mimic ET42 wheels as I understand it

 

[Oggy997]

Yeah, lol thats what I meant, knew it was the wheels, just cus we were talking tyr sizes, DOH!

ET42 will move them out 3mm compared to the ET45s, so you could get 3mm spacers to mimic ET42 wheels as I understand it

Thats how I was thinking, can anyone clarify? Are there any side effects?

 

[GordonD]

right cool. whats the difference anyway?

When you buy replacement tyres that have to fit the wheel diameter, and be neither too wide or too narrow for the wheel width, and be not much smaller or larger in diameter than the original tyres, and not be too wide to fit under the guards without rubbing, including when the suspension was compressed by a load of passengers or by going over a bump. The Clio is a car that doesn't have a lot of room for much bigger tyres than the 205s that Renault put on the 182s standard.

And you have to remember that even if they fit, if you go to a lot bigger and wider wheel and a wider tyres, that the wheel+tyre combination will be alot heavier than the standard wheel+tyre, so while you might get better grip on a dead-smooth road you totally bugger up the ride on rougher surfaces. So if you go to a bigger diameter or width wheel than the standard 16x7 on the 182s it may look good, but it won't actually work any better. In fact in a lot of circumstances it'll be worse.

A 17" diameter wheel isn't a problem by itself. A 215 width tyre isn't a problem by itself. They're both about the maximums that you can practically fit in a Clio. But a 215/45x17 would be way bigger in diameter than a standard Clio tyre. That's a wheel+tyre combo that's really only suitable for a bigger car that has bigger diameter tyres standard. Put it on on a Clio and it'd rub at both front and rear, it'd jack the car up higher off the ground, it'd stuff up up the gearing, and it'd stuff up the ride. Even a 215/40x17 is significantly bigger in diameter than the standard Clio tyre. The ideal would be a 215/35x17, if such a size exists. It would be the right diameter. It would fit providing you made sure you got wheel with exactly the right offset so they sides of the tyre would clear the strut at the front and the guards at the rear.