I have an 98 SE and Tire rack says you can't put 225/50/16 on only 215/55 or 225/55. I have heard here that the 225/50 work but do they look much different than stock? I don't want the wheel well gap to be bigger but I want a performance tire look. Anyone hav pics of 225/50 with stock suspension setup?

 

225/50's will mess with the circumfrence of the tire which in turn will screw up your gearing and speedometer{odometer too}. Just go with 55 series or get bigger rims.

 

Check http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

It turns out that 225/55's will make your speedometer 1.7% too slow, while 225/50's will make your speedometer 1.7% too fast (i.e. when you're going 98.3 MPH, your speedometer will read 100 MPH, get it?). If you could go 200MPH in your Maxima on 225/50's, your speedo would read ~203. Not much of a difference, huh?

So here's the deal... 225/50's will be a fraction of an inch shorter than the stock 215/55's... and 225/55's will be a fraction of an inch taller than the 215/55's... the difference is so small you won't be able to tell.

BTW I have 225/50/16 Potenza RE730's and I think they're terrific.

Justin

 

of my Potenzas... my car is lowered, but you can see that the 225's do stick out a little more than 215's.