I'm thinking of trying a 40 wide on the rear, at least. There's not much room left in the fenderwell's, anyone tried it?

Might look badass if you could fit a 35/40 in the rear and keep the 45's up front.

 

if they fit that would make my day! I found 245/40/18 in Pirelli P Zero Nero M+S for $150 at tirerack. But our 245/45/18 elsewhere for like $286! even the Mich Pilot A/S are $2 cheaper on tirerack in that size. 40 wide seems more widely available.

 

Has anyone here upgraded the spare tire to a full size rim and tire? Will it fit into the wheel well? I didn't want to spend the extra $$$ for a full size spare at the stealership. Eventually I plan on getting a full size. Just wondering if an 18" wheel fits in there? I looked the other day and it seems as though the wheel well isn't deep enough.

 

I haven't tried the 245/40/18, but I am running 245/40/20 and they look sweet!!!

 

A full size spare w/ matching 18" rim is available for the 04. It was standard equipment here in Canada. It does indeed fit in the well.

CM.

 

Hey Newbie, before you make any more posts about tires you need to know something about tires. The number "40" refers to the "aspect ratio". In other words, the height of the tire in relationship to the wheel diameter. The number "245" is the width of the tire in millimeters. A tire with a 40 aspect ratio is LOWER than a tire with a 45 aspect ratio.

So a "35/40" tire would certainly fit on a stock wheel, but it would not look "badass". It would just look dumb because you would be putting a lower profile tire on the back of the car.

 

True! But I think he's thinking about going wider & using a 40 to keep the tire height the same? I hope! Or maybe he's trying to even out his fender.gap

 

i tuck a 255 tire and its fine in the rear, but upfront the stock size of 245 is as wide as u wanna go, cause the 255 up front rub when the wheel is cut all the way

 

Not to mention you'll end up messing up the speedometer reading for sure. Check your desired tire size with the calculator at http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Anything more than 2-3% difference IMHO is too much.

CM.

 

I Put Yoko's Db S2 255-45-18 All Around On My Car And No Rubbing And The Tire Is Excellent.

 

Well thanks for the lesson. I was shopping for tires this week and figured this out by making myself look the fool at a Discount tire. Thanks for the 2nd humiliation. Looks like the 255 series will achieve the "fatness" I'm looking for?

 

Be careful with extra-wide tires on the rear. Even though they don't rub driving around the tire dealer's lot, make sure the tires will clear the inside of the rear fender when either a heavy load (like several adults sitting in the rear) or torsional twist (one front tire elevated by something like turning into a steep driveway at an angle causes the opposite rear tire to be way up in the wheel well).

If you think tires are expensive, try gettting good bodywork done cheaply.

Those opting for different size tires on either the front or rear either must end up with the same height tire, or have the headlights adjusted; especially if they are HID.

Keep us informed as to what worked well and what didn't.

 

And if you live in an area where it snows - don't forget that snow sticks to the rear wheel well fuzzy lining...just a thought.

 

Hey kito, sorry if my post sounded harsh. Humiliation was not my intent. My point is, if you don't want to look silly, do some research on whatever subject you are interested in pursuing. The internet is a huge resource for information on every facet of the automobile you can think of.

For a ton of good info on tires and wheels, try this website:

http://www.1010tires.com/

Click on Tire Tech. Have fun!

 

Well humiliation may have been a little harsh, sometimes I open mouth and ask questions before I get my facts straight. Like when I ask my wife where my socks are before I've looked for them.

Thanks for the link, I'm still up in the air about tires...

Andymax- that's a sweet setup for rims and tires.