Widest Tyre?

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rossnunn
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Widest Tyre?

Post by rossnunn »

What is the widest tyre & on what size rim can you get away with on a ZX, without moding the car in anyway & no scrubbing?
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8304
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Post by 8304 »

ive got 195/50/15's on mine

the biggest restriction is the back as the arch covers part of the wheel. my 195's fill the arch so i think that is the biggest. Im not sure if you could have a bigger diameter wheel but again 15inch seems to fill the back arch.

i did infact have to pull the body work where it drops down over the back wheels away slightly say 4-5mm and i also rolled the lip at the bottom of the wheel cover up to accomodate the wheels. - but you cant notice this looking at the car and its the same on both sides.

didnt have any problems whatsoever on the front. The car is lowered 20mm and can still have 5 adults and trailer without rubbing so all is well i think.......
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srx600
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Post by srx600 »

I'm also running 195/50 X 15 on my estate. The rear arches are tight (I can just put my fingers between arch and tyre) but I didnt have to modify them. Something rubs when hitting bumps fully laden (trailer tent, kids and loads of junk in the back) but I havent identified what yet.
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Post by KP »

why not simply get 195/45's then as they wouldnt be as tall you wouldnt need to worry about them as much :)
97.5mm
87.75mm

The top one is the wall hieght in 195/50 trim
and the lower is the hieght in 195/45 trim :)

Its only 1cm near enough of rubber but it would hopefully be enough for you all :)
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Post by srx600 »

"why not simply get 195/45's then as they wouldnt be as tall you wouldnt need to worry about them as much :)"

I bought the wheels with a good set of 195/55's fitted, I plan to fit a lower profile when they are due for replacement.
8304
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Post by 8304 »

my 195/50/15 dont rub at all in the respect to the height of the tyre. the reason i had to slightly move the piece of bodywork reaching down over the wheel was because of the width of the tyre (195)

this is down to the ofset of the wheel ( the measurement from the hub flange to the outer edge of the rim)

mine is lowered and stiffened and with the bigger tyres sticks to the road wickedly.... its a lot of fun. But one thing i did find is that the car has less grip in the wet - think this is because the extra area of the tyres spreads the weight of the car over a bigger foot print on the road meaning less pressure is applied to squash the water out from underneath the treads... just and observation. well worth it.
Zxtd Aura converted from 1.8i Petrol - Lowered, 20psi boost extra fuel - weeeeeee!

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Post by srx600 »

Makes sense. Sounds like the wheels we have used have different offsets, mine are off a Peugeot 306.
Out of interest is it just a case of fitting shorter springs to the front, or do the struts have to be modified.
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Post by Homer »

KP wrote:why not simply get 195/45's then as they wouldnt be as tall you wouldnt need to worry about them as much :)
97.5mm
87.75mm

The top one is the wall hieght in 195/50 trim
and the lower is the hieght in 195/45 trim :)

Its only 1cm near enough of rubber but it would hopefully be enough for you all :)
More importantly it's 6cm of circumference, or just over 2mph on your speedo at 60mph. The 195/50 tyres will read a lower speed than the 195/45 ones (so you could be speeding and not know). Not sure what the stock size is but you can compare them here.
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Post by KP »

8304 what tyres are you running then if your having problems in the wet?
Is it anything good like a goodyear eagle f1 gsd2/gsd3 tyre at all as i never have problems with them in the wet unless they are very abdly worn...
8304
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Post by 8304 »

i am running pirelli (spelling?) somthing or others... they are pretty decent and havnt been on there long and have a lot of meat on them....

maybe im being too ambitious with my cornering?? :twisted:

the car obviously weighs the same but the pressure on the ground to squash the water out from under the treads is less as it is spread over a larger area with wider tyres........ thats the only reason i can see....

it sticks like sh!t to a blanket in the dry though lowering and bigger wheels made a massive improvement it feels much more stable. :D
Zxtd Aura converted from 1.8i Petrol - Lowered, 20psi boost extra fuel - weeeeeee!

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Post by rossnunn »

I've just fitted 205/40/R17's all round and its ok up front at the back I can't get my fingers between the wheel & the rear arch. I've had a look at my bro's 306 & the inner arches are smooth on that where as the ZX is ribbed. I think it'll need 2~5mm(max) spacers at the back. I have no worries with the lip as we have flaired it to stick outwards for the 16v arches to fit properly. Its lowered unknown at the back (35mm I think) & has Spax shocks front & rear (fronts not fitted yet :roll: )
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