Okay, so thats the tire demisions of stock that most of us have on our cars. The sucky Potenzas. What I need to know is is the 225/45YR17's will fit fine with no mods needed or will the 225/55YR17's work? If I will need some sort of mod to the rim or something like spacers, how will I get them, and how much do they run?

thanx.

 

You will not need any shims, mods or anything. The 45's will make the ride a bit harder, the 55's a bit softer. You will have to realise that your spedometer will be off. Go to Miata.net and look for the tire size calculator, it will tell you how far off you will be.

 

Yeah I dont think going with those two ratios are good. I mean either way you speedo is going to be off about 3.4% So when you travel 60, you actually might be going 58, or 62 depending on whether you went with the 45series or 55 series repectfully.

3.4% is alot to me. I dont know of a way to get the speedo re-calibrated either.

Dont go with 45series cause then you will have increased WHEEL GAP and no one wants that, especially if you have not lowered the car.

55series would be the best option except that like i said you have to deal with a 3.4% off speedo, and that is UPWARDS, meaning you might be going 65, and you are actually going 68, and those 3mph extra is just enough to get a cop to give you a ticket cause you broke into his "threshold" for speeding.

Dixit

 

as you go down to a lower profile doesn't the performence get better?

 

The ride gets more harsh. Since the profile of the tires are shorter, it takes the impact harder because there is less rubber. More rubber=softer ride, better absorbtion.



Why don't you just keep your stock tire size and just upgrade to a better tire?

 

Well, I am upgrading to a better tire. I know im gonna get some heat from it, but im going with the Potenza S-03 Pole Position with UNI-T AQII. Thats the two closest tire sizes to stock. I originally thought about the pilot sports, but its a definate summer tire, and definately expensive. I wish there were an exact tire match to what our stock is, but unfortunately, once you get away from stock, you aint got much of an option. Unless you decide to upgrade the rims, and im not ready to go that far yet.

Thanks for everyones response so far.

 

Then if you know 65 = 68 then just drive 62 and you will be doing 65, no more problems!

 

Okay, just read something interesting to add to the discussion. I found that Bridgestone says that the 225/55's are for rim sizes of 7.0-8.0. Last time I checked, our rims measured 8.5. Am I correct there? If not say something. Now, the 225/45's say they will fit 7.5-8.5's.

 

Stock 17s are 7" wide, not 8.5"

 

And we've discussed to death why you should not run a tire that's out of spec for your rim width, right?

 

Right.

 

Okay, new question about tires. Say I wanted to get new rims. (I found some nice ones!). The measurements are 17"X7.5" for the 17's or 18"X8.5" for the 18's. Which should I get? And if I do decide to go bigger, what size tire should I go with? I porvided a link below with all the tire sizes offered....

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....+Pole+Position

Thanx!

 

im running the 45's and the ride's still pretty good not that harsh.

 

pirelli has two high performance models in our stock size of 225/50 r 17. i think at least one of them is z rated and i think the other is something like a v rated all season, can't remember too well.
if you wanna stick with the stock width and just change the profile, i'd upsize to the 55. you'll get a bit more sidewall flex, but it'd be worth it to me. i've got on 235/45 which are a little smaller than stock and there's definitely a difference in ride quality. altho it sticks like glue. and no, i don't recommend going beyond the manufacturer's suggested tire width, it's just my decision to do so. (no problems btw )

 

I cant find anything about a Perreli tire that matches our stock tires. Where are you finding them?

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?threadid=56794

 

I just bought some 245/45 WR17 Nitto NT555 Extreme tires. Can't wait to see how those look when i put them on with my Eibachs this weekend

 

how good are they? What did the write up have to say about them?