Min & Max tyre sizes
Min & Max tyre sizes
Author
Discussion

rickprice

Original Poster:

498 posts

254 months

Saturday 31st December 2022
quotequote all
Folks,

I have a MY2000 4.5 and need to replace tyres. Currently the back has 225/50/R16 on them. It has standard R15 front and R16 rear Estorils.

A couple of questions:

Reducing the 50 to, say, 45 will just reduce a bit of ride height and compliance? No reason for concern as long as they are equal L-R?

Is 225 the only width that can go on the wheels?

Cheers and happy new year.

Richard



bobfather

11,194 posts

271 months

Saturday 31st December 2022
quotequote all
Your speedo will read high too. Why would you want this, just for street cred? You'll bottom out easily too, there's hardly any clearance as is

rickprice

Original Poster:

498 posts

254 months

Saturday 31st December 2022
quotequote all
It’s not about street cred, it’s just that the 45’s are more readily available in a marching tyre so I don’t have to change all 4.


bobfather

11,194 posts

271 months

Saturday 31st December 2022
quotequote all
rickprice said:
It’s not about street cred, it’s just that the 45’s are more readily available in a marching tyre so I don’t have to change all 4.
235 45 16 would give you your ride height back, they should fit the rim but may touch the wheel arch

sixor8

7,060 posts

284 months

Sunday 1st January 2023
quotequote all
Between 2013 and 2017, I had a Chimaera with 245 / 45 x 16" on the rear. Most advice is that 245 is too wide for a 7.5" wide wheel but I never had issues, and no rubbing, although not all cars are the same! It was common to use these when the supply of 225 / 50 x 16" Z rated tyres became scarce.

The early Chimaeras had 225 / 55 x 16 on the rear so diameter is not really a major problem. smile

TJC46

2,184 posts

222 months

Sunday 1st January 2023
quotequote all
bobfather said:
235 45 16 would give you your ride height back, they should fit the rim but may touch the wheel arch
Going wider on the tyre would not affect the height.

225/45/16 and 235/45/16 are both still the same height, 45 being the sidewall height of the tyre and 16 being the size of the wheel.

The 235 is the width. i.e just 10mm wider.

I think thats right.?....... anyone correct this please if not.

Classic Chim

12,424 posts

165 months

Sunday 1st January 2023
quotequote all
TJC46 said:
Going wider on the tyre would not affect the height.

225/45/16 and 235/45/16 are both still the same height, 45 being the sidewall height of the tyre and 16 being the size of the wheel.

The 235 is the width. i.e just 10mm wider.

I think thats right.?....... anyone correct this please if not.
I seem to recall it’s an aspect ratio of the width of the tyre.
235/45/16 is about 9 mm bigger Diameter than a 225/45/16 which equates to about 4.5 mm ride height gain and the same for wheel arch loss.


Use Will it fit.com to compare sizes.


Edited by Classic Chim on Sunday 1st January 12:29

bobfather

11,194 posts

271 months

Sunday 1st January 2023
quotequote all
TJC46 said:
bobfather said:
235 45 16 would give you your ride height back, they should fit the rim but may touch the wheel arch
Going wider on the tyre would not affect the height.

225/45/16 and 235/45/16 are both still the same height, 45 being the sidewall height of the tyre and 16 being the size of the wheel.

The 235 is the width. i.e just 10mm wider.

I think thats right.?....... anyone correct this please if not.
Yes it does, that's the point. The middle number (profile) is the percentage of wall height to tread width. If you increase the tread width you must decrease the profile to retain the same rolling diameter

Use this site to work out what profile change is needed to retain rolling diameter when changing tyre width

https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/

Edited by bobfather on Sunday 1st January 14:11

TJC46

2,184 posts

222 months

Monday 2nd January 2023
quotequote all
bobfather said:
Yes it does, that's the point. The middle number (profile) is the percentage of wall height to tread width. If you increase the tread width you must decrease the profile to retain the same rolling diameter

Use this site to work out what profile change is needed to retain rolling diameter when changing tyre width

https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/

Edited by bobfather on Sunday 1st January 14:11
Thanks for that, you learn something new every day. I had no idea the width of the tyre had an impact on the height, but looking at your link it makes ...a bit.....more sense.