I have 16x6.5 wheels the OEM tire size is 215/55/16 I know I can fit 225's on these rims (most, if not all, 225's fit on rims from 6.0-8.0 inches) and get them for just a few more $ per tire. Are there any disadvantages to doing this?

 

Traction in the snow goes down (narrower tires cut through the snow better than wide ones)

That's all I can think of.

 

Interesting....I never knew that. Learn something new on the .org everyday!

 

Also wider tires on not so wide rims tend to feel more "sloppy" as in you can feel the sidewalls flex around quite a bit more.

 

Your speedometer reading from the 225-55-16 will be 1.7% slower...about 1 mph off. Honestly, 16" dia. wheel is sufficient enough, performancewise. Increase in wheel diameter will adversly affect your ride quality, increase in turning radius, decrease in performance with rain & snow conditions, more road noises, less $$$ in your bank account.

The only two areas where you will see some improvements are on dry pavement and perhaps a more sporty looks. IMO, save your money and buy a good lighter weight 16" rims w/good performance tires instead.

 

Thanks guys I knew about the decreased snow traction due to the fact that the weight is distributed over a wider surface area. But, I did not know about the sloppy ride and the increased rolling radius that the extra tire width can cause.

Now that I look I do see a difference in overall diameter, on Falken ZIEX ZE 512's they are...

25.4" with 215/55/16's
25.7" with 225/55/16's
26.1" with 225/50's on 17" rims (which I don't have)

You'd think there's be no difference if wheel and tire height are the same, go figure.

Thanks, the sloppy ride in paticular might keep me from going with the 225's.

 

If you want to try it, I say go ahead. I really doubt that going just one size wider would really make that much difference in handling feel through the steering wheel, which is what it would affect. Ride and cornering grip shouldn't be affected much.

One member is running 225/50 on his 3rd Gen (up from 205) which is at the limit of his wheels, but he is happy with this setup.

 

I had the 225/50's on my 98 SE wheels ...they work fine .... I recently swapped my stock 300ZX wheels on to the Max due to 1" extra width and over 3lbs less weight.... note if your car is not lowered the fender gap looks even larger with the 225/50's

 

I think I'm just going to play it safe and go with the 215's. Thanks for the input I didn't know what I was going to do before posting the question and hearing the feedback. I don't want to get wider tires in the hopes of gaining performance at the risk on it causing problems.