I'm thinking of replacing my stock 14" 205*60's with 16"205*45's. I don't Autocross or anything other than Sun. drives. I love the look of the 16" XXR 522's, but really other than looks, what are the pro's and con's of going bigger wheels?

Thanks guys.


Robb

 

Bigger wheels usually means more unsprung weight, which can have unfavorable consequences when it comes to suspension response.

Your tire size comes in at 1.8% smaller than stock, which means your speedo will be a bit optimistic, but going to 205/50-16s means you'll be over by 1.6%, so you're off either way.

Do you have an SE? If not, make sure XXR 522s are available with a 4x100 bolt pattern.

 

I'm sure you meant 4x110

 

Yes, that's it. Whatever the uber-rare bolt pattern for the 12A cars is. Thanks.

 

It will ride rougher and with smaller sidewalls like that, your rims will be more likely to get damaged by potholes and other such ilk. Anything else I could say would be subjective. Just get the wheels you want and enjoy your car.

 

Thanks guys, I agree no real need to change size. Any suggestions on updated wheels that would look good on an SE? If I go 15" wheels, what tire size works?

Thanks again.

Robb

 

Kosei K1
Konig Helium
Panasports

Most guys I believe go to a 205/55 on a 15 inch wheel size.

 

When I went up to 15" wheels on my SE, The guys at Mazdatrix told me to not go any bigger than 205/55-15 to avoid rubbing issues and speedometer problems. So I'm currently running 205/55-15 Kumho's on American Racing 15x7 rims. And you just can't go slapping any old 15x7 wheel on without making sure it's the correct offset etc. Several Websites such as TireRack can tell you which wheels will fit without any modifications to your car.

 

205-50-15 or 205-40-16. Youll be unhappy with any other size. Think about it, stock 12a size is 13" 70 series, stock SE size is 14" 60 series. So every inch of wheel you gain you have to remove 10 from the sidewall height if you intend on keeping an accurate speedometer.

 

It all depends on offset and the look that you want. Tire sizing is pointless until you figure out the wheels first. A low offset wheel will need a smaller tire to clear the fender without modification etc..

 

This when a 3-piece epsilon become really really handy since you can play with different/size barrel to find a nice fit. To date, im still having a hard time to convert backspace to offset (mainly used for FWD cars AFAIK)

 

I've always used the following site and their chart to convert between offset and backspace: https://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html