[supercivic18]

hi guys,
I have 97 civic lowered 1.75 back and 1.50 front with 17x7 wheels. I am using 205/40/17 right now. Do you think it will be a good choice if i change the tires to 215/40/17?
thank you

 

[40_Below]

Yeah my car is lower than that and I have 215/40/17's.
It may rub a little around corners if you have people in the back.. If it does remove the rubber strip on the inside fender edge, it should be fine.

 

[supercivic18]

How about the performance of the tires? Is it better or worse?

 

[40_Below]

This is kind of funny. At first I had 215/40/17s. The time came to buy new tires, and they had 205/40/17s on sale. So I got the 205s. I didn't notice that much of a difference. Well actually I didn't notice any difference at all. My friends and I have a little "track" out in the middle of nowhere with a lot of nice corners and such, personally I thought they handled the same. The 215's have a greater area that touches the road, so I guess this could mean better grip. I couldn't notice though.

 

[supercivic18]

Evo, thanx for the info.

 

[VTEC_DeSTiNY]

I have 205/40/17 w/ no problem. (2" drop F/R)

 

[civic type r]

so what u guys are doing is just swapping the tires from 205 and 215, vice versa? are u talking about the same rim too? this is just cause i never knew the track of the tire could be changed on the rim from 205 and 215...thanks though

 

[iLLeFFeKt CiViC]

here is the difference between a 205 and 215 tire.

Sidewall Radius Diameter Circumference Revs/Mile Difference
3.2in 11.7in 23.5in 73.7in 860 0.0% 3.4in 11.9in 23.8in 74.7in 848 1.3%

 

[supercivic18]

guys,
tirerack and tires.com told me that 215/40 will rub my civic.

 

[-=one sick EK=-]

guys,
tirerack and tires.com told me that 215/40 will rub my civic.

unless your rim has an offset of around 44 or 45 you will rub with a 215/40/17 tire. its all about the offset!!!!!

if you really want to put that width tire on your car then i would consider rolling the fenders.

~little mikey

 

[supercivic18]

Little mikey,
my wheel offset is 40s. Do you think is should be fine?

 

[bertg16]

i was told i would run with 215's, so i went with 205's. i've always gone with that size, so i couldn't tell ya about the 215's from personal experience, just what i've been told.

 

[-=one sick EK=-]

Little mikey,
my wheel offset is 40s. Do you think is should be fine?

well, seeing as how i have no real personal experience with 215 tire on a rim with a 40 offset i can't be 100% sure, but i would say you are going to have some slight rubbing problems. but you should be able to fix by:

1) remove the fender well lining
2) roll the fenders

and that about all you can do. i just ordered a set of 18x7.5 rims (44 offset) with 215/35/18 tires. i shouldn't have any problems with rubbing except for maybe a little on the inside of the tire and the wheel well when my wheels are at full lock. i cannot stress enough how important it is to get the proper offset when buying a rim/tire combo.

optimal offset for a civic with 17x7 is 42 offset. i had 17x7 with 205/40/17 tires on my hatch for 9 months and i was dropped 2.25" at all four corners and i didn't have any rubbing at all, even with full load of passengers.

with a 40 offset your wheel is going to stick out from the hub a little bit more and with the wider tire you may experience some rubbing. i hoped this helped a little.

~little mikey