standard size for 97-99 SEs is 215/55-16

 

That sounds right. Don't know where I got 245 from.

 

i havent driven the max in about 3 wks so i couldnt confirm if i wanted to

 

That can be solved during a trans rebuild by swapping the striking rod in from a 4th gen.

Neal's right (of course) all of the parts between the engine and axles have identical ratio between a stock 4th gen or stock 5th gen. Something else is off or modified.

 

2800@70 4th gen 205/65 15

 

tire size doesn't make a difference when talking about speedo reading vs rpm. your speedo will still read the same MPH @ whatever RPM because the differential is spinning the same speed (and that's what your speedometer is reading - it doesn't care how fast the car is actually moving).

if you had a GPS speedometer, it would make a difference, but the speedo is just reading the RPMs of the diff and doing a simple bit of multiplication to arrive at your speed. that's why your speedo still works if you were to take both of your axles out and not have them connected to the wheels.

that's also why speedometers are "off" by a certain % when you change tire size. it will say you are going 70mph @ XXX rpm but since your outside diameter of your tire is smaller or bigger, you are actually going whatever % slower or faster. it doesn't measure car speed, it measures diff RPM and just assumes you are running whatever size tire it was originally calibrated for.

 

the standard size for a 4th gen is either 205 or 215

 

True. I'm out of ideas then.