distance between wheel and wheel well

**mbeige** · September 20th, 2006 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by blink21me

I don't know what the heck you talking about... use standard english terms if not tagalog, please...

I think he meant to maintain the aspect ratio so that the overall diameter of the wheel will remain the same. He only said bigger rims, not tires. I also understood that as maintaining aspect ratio so the entire wheel doesn't get bigger so it still fits the car's proportions well.

Let's get back on topic now...

**blink21me** · September 20th, 2006 03:50 PM

Originally Posted by lightninmcqueen

so how much does it cost

there are so many out there so I guess just look around... and buy from someone who knows what he's selling...

**blink21me** · September 20th, 2006 03:52 PM

Originally Posted by mbeige

I think he meant to maintain the aspect ratio so that the overall diameter of the wheel will remain the same. He only said bigger rims, not tires. I also understood that as maintaining aspect ratio so the entire wheel doesn't get bigger so it still fits the car's proportions well.

Let's get back on topic now...

yeah my mistake for thinking he also meant bigger tires since he suggested bigger rims to decrease the gap between the fender and the tire, and there's no way you could do that with same overall wheel diameter...

**orly_andico** · September 20th, 2006 04:25 PM

but what if you really want the bigger rim (looks better) but at the same time you're not willing to sacrifice ride comfort or tire durability by going with a 45-series tire?

for example, if your stock tire is 195/60R15, that means the overall tire diameter is 24.2 inches. If you "upgrade" to 225/60R17, the overall tire diameter becomes 27.6 inches, an increase of 3.4 inches (or, reduce the fender gap by ~ 1.7 inches). Actually that seems a bit excessive. Still, a 1.7" increase in ground clearance isn't bad. Speedometer aside, are there any disadvantages? I don't buy the body roll issue, yes there will be more, because the sidewall is taller, but the tire is also wider.

**blink21me** · September 20th, 2006 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by orly_andico

but what if you really want the bigger rim (looks better) but at the same time you're not willing to sacrifice ride comfort or tire durability by going with a 45-series tire?

for example, if your stock tire is 195/60R15, that means the overall tire diameter is 24.2 inches. If you "upgrade" to 225/60R17, the overall tire diameter becomes 27.6 inches, an increase of 3.4 inches (or, reduce the fender gap by ~ 1.7 inches). Actually that seems a bit excessive. Still, a 1.7" increase in ground clearance isn't bad. Speedometer aside, are there any disadvantages? I don't buy the body roll issue, yes there will be more, because the sidewall is taller, but the tire is also wider.

well whether you upgrade to that size is your own call, it does reduce the fender gap by increasing the overall diameter or wheel/tire, but why are these guys so concern about reducing the fender gap instead of just lowering the height? Tell me... You also risk of rubbing when you increase the overall diameter that much... IMO any increase in ground clearance looks bad, and pointless, as there are better options out there...

Forget about the body roll, it's a completely different story that's even worth mentioning in this thread, yes sidewall hright does contrube but there's so much more than that...

**GreenThumb** · September 20th, 2006 04:53 PM

OT but here's a tire calculator

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

**GreenThumb** · September 20th, 2006 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by blink21me

You can just get lowering springs with low spring rates, somewhere close or just up to 50lbs higher than stock... It's been done countless times and no the shocks won't blow, as long as you don't drive it like you stole it...

are you sayin that when you lower a car, you don't change the camber and tow allignment of the suspension..? if not, then, given the location/road conditions of the original poster. i think he's goin to need to match the springs w/ the struts..

**niky** · September 20th, 2006 07:03 PM

If you get bigger tires for the sole purpose of filling out the wheel-well, it'll ride badly. There'll be much more weight and a bigger wheel bouncing up and down on the shock/strut, causing lots of rubbing and wear.

Same case if you put a larger wheel and relatively more rubber... expect inaccurate speedometer readings, a bouncy ride and lots of rubbing.

See, larger wheel + thin tire = stiff ride... larger wheel + non-low-profile tire = bouncy ride, decreased suspension travel and increased ride height... which ain't good on stock springs.

A +1 upgrade (from 14" to 15" or 15" to 16") is usually okay, and try to match the overall size of the stock wheel... the Miata.net calculator greenthumb posted is perfect for this. Try not to get a tire that's too wide... most old FWD cars will experience rubbing of the tire against the fender if you go over 205mm in width. And, trust me, you're never going to be driving hard or fast enough to need a tire wider than that.

If you get sports springs, opt for a slightly less stiff brand, like Merwede. Of course, for the Corolla in particular, you might want to ask on a Toyota board to find out what other owners are using.

**blink21me** · September 20th, 2006 11:51 PM

Originally Posted by GreenThumb

are you sayin that when you lower a car, you don't change the camber and tow allignment of the suspension..? if not, then, given the location/road conditions of the original poster. i think he's goin to need to match the springs w/ the struts..

There are the springs that are considered to be OE replacements... If you didn't know, you can lower a car by swapping springs and not need any of those other things done... I'd go with springs first, if anythine else needed, then get to that, but it's more likely not to happen...

**blink21me** · September 20th, 2006 11:54 PM

Originally Posted by GreenThumb

OT but here's a tire calculator

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

what's a more easier and more genral tire calculator (much simple and a food for the brain);

- Use 195/55/15 as an example. The first number represents the width of the tire in millimeters; 195mm (or about 7.7") for our example.

- The second number represents the aspect ratio of the sidewall compared to the width of the tire. For our example, it is 55, meaning that the sidewall height is 55% of the tire width, 195mm. So we end up with 195mm * .55 which equals 107.25mm for the sidewall height.

- The third number you should already recognize as the rim diameter measured in inches. We can now calculate the total diameter of the tire/wheel combo. First take the sidewall height and multiply it by 2 to account for the sidewall on either side of the rim (2 * 107.25 = 214.5) and then convert to inches (214.5 / 25.4 = 8.444). Add this to the rim diameter and you'll have the total diameter (15 + 8.444 = 23.444").