Oppo: Convince Me About Wheel Sizes

by "Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
Published 04/19/2017 at 12:49

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My Fiesta ST currently has the stock tires and rims on (205/40R17, 17x7", 22.5lbs) and needs new tires. To get the OEM tires will be about 250CAD, so about 1000CAD plus taxes.

If I go down to

Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 16x7" 16.2lbs and 205/45R16 (-0.9%) Direzza DZ-102

it’s 265CAD a rim and 125ish a tire for a total of 1600ish CAD.

BUT if I go all the way down to

Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2 15x7" 15.1lbs and 205/50R15 ( -1.7% +1.69%) Direzza DZ-102 EDIT : 205/55R15 is apparently the recommended size and will give the -1.76% speeding safety net.

it’s 225CAD a rim and 105 125 90ish a tire, for 1315 1420 1260ish CAD all in(minus mounting), and minus 7lbs a corner of unsprung weight. My heart says yes, and my brain also says yes this will be cheaper long run, especially if I can sell the stock rims.

I am also looking into pricing and availability of 15x8' 15.5lbs rims, they are I think 245 but I’m not 100% sure. EDIT: this wheel seems to be a favourite after some forum diving, paired with 205/50R15's for an estimated cost of 1500 1340. Slightly less of a deal.

FYI 15' rims do fit, it’s what the current full-size spare is.

so oppo, school me as to why (or why not) this isn’t something I should do?

Replies (30)

"McMike" (mcmike)
04/19/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 0

I would use the 16"

Sweet spot right inbetwen.

"duurtlang" (duurtlang)
04/19/2017 at 12:56, STARS: 1

Your handling could become worse due to the extra sidewall, the looks will probably be worse. On the upside your comfort will improve and, as you already figured out, tires will be cheaper.

"PartyPooper2012" (PartyPooper2012)
04/19/2017 at 13:00, STARS: 0

if you keep going down, soon, you’ll hit the ground

"mattgta" (mattgta)
04/19/2017 at 13:01, STARS: 2

I have a FiST as well and live in Ontario. My suggestion is to keep 17s for summer, and get a set of 15s for winter. I got a nice set of Sparco Trofeo 4s down in the States from tirerack and paid around 85 USD a rim for 15s. You can buy your tires from pmctire which are pretty much the cheapest in Canada, or use tire rack and pick them up down in the States (even with our dollar you still come out way ahead, for example stock Potenza’s last time I looked were 140 USD each there compared to 260 here CAD)

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/19/2017 at 13:12, STARS: 0

If you’re looking at a not-super-racy summer tire like the DZ102 then you might as well look for similar options in the stock size. Yokohama S.Drive is available in that size and I doubt it is $250 CAD.

"LongbowMkII" (longbowmkii)
04/19/2017 at 13:14, STARS: 0

dont forget the tire weights. It’s likely not -32lbs after all things considered

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
04/19/2017 at 13:16, STARS: 0

Going to a 15" tire is going to ruin the handling of the car. Compared to my 16s my 15s noticeably reduce the responsiveness of my car’s handling and generally makes everything squishier and less communicative. Its a night and day difference.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 13:21, STARS: 0

Isn’t the handling offset by the massive weight loss?

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 13:22, STARS: 0

mostly looking at that because it’s difficult to get tires in smaller than 17".

also tire rack rates the s drive at basically identical levels to the DZ-102.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 13:27, STARS: 0

Did you go significantly lower weight though?

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 13:27, STARS: 0

This is probably the right answer...

"Out, but with a W - has found the answer" (belg)
04/19/2017 at 13:35, STARS: 0

Or you could do as I did: go up a size and lose weight. ;)

Did you take tire weight into account in your calculations?

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
04/19/2017 at 13:36, STARS: 0

17.6 lbs per wheel for the 16s and 15.2lbs for the 15s. No idea what they weigh with tires.

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein)
04/19/2017 at 13:37, STARS: 0

I recommended the S.Drive because the DZ102 doesn’t come in your 205/40-17 size.

I don’t know where you’re getting this $250 CAD price. The OE tire is the Bridgestone RE050A which is $141.25 USD on Tire Rack. Not sure if they ship to Canada but I feel like it can’t be that much more in Canada, can it?

The S.Drive in your size is $87.25 USD on Tire Rack so I know it should be available at some kind of reasonable price in Canada.

"McMike" (mcmike)
04/19/2017 at 13:39, STARS: 2

I refer to this article a lot.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/effects-of-upsized-wheels-and-tires-tested

A bigger wheel is usually a little better, but don’t get cocky. ..which is why I picked the 16 instead of the 17.

IMO, the only reason you ever need to buy bigger wheels is to fit bigger brakes.* This is never the case, though.

Take a look at ANY online car configuration that has multiple trims of a single model. The Accord, for instance, has three or four different ones.(sport, 4cyl, hybrid, V6, etc...)

One comes with 16" wheels, another with 17, one with 18... and there’s an optional dealer installed 19" wheel (sometimes 20)

Now look at the brakes. They are all the same size on every model. Hell, you could even fit a 15" over the brakes on every single one.

*In some cases, (like my case of the 14" Vanagon wheel and limited tire choices with a 99+ load rating) you could benefit from being able to find a better selection of tires if ran 15 or 16" wheels.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 13:42, STARS: 0

Interesting, that site has amazing pricing! I still feel like 16 might be the sweet spot, as there is a lot of selection and I dislike the amount of sidewall that I have, I’ve scraped the wheels on bad roads last summer.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 13:46, STARS: 0

Cheapest I found them was 250CAD, it’s outrageous I know. I guess I could stay at 17, I can get the RE760 for 140CAD in my stock size, and now that the wife is staying at home money is pretty tight. Damn you, logic!

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 13:47, STARS: 0

Interesting.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 13:47, STARS: 0

I believe so.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 14:08, STARS: 0

EDIT: Damn, they aren’t in stock.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 14:20, STARS: 0

So based on forum talk the 15 is a net better feel.

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
04/19/2017 at 14:25, STARS: 0

I find the 15s to be more comfortable than the 16s but they really dull the handling.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 14:26, STARS: 0

2 lbs more per corner for 15", I believe the net was 8lbs, as the rim is closer to 10 lbs lighter.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 14:26, STARS: 0

2 lbs more per corner for 15", I believe the net was 8lbs, as the rim is closer to 10 lbs lighter.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 14:49, STARS: 0

What car do you have, and what sidewall? If I go down in size I feel like only the 15" makes financial sense, otherwise staying at 17 would be better. Also, keep in mind I run 185/60R15 winter tires on steelies, so I already deal with extra squanch for at least 6 months if not more.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 14:51, STARS: 0

Also I already run 15" steelies, these would only be summer rims.

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
04/19/2017 at 14:54, STARS: 0

The car is a 2004 Mini Cooper. Tires are 195/55 R16 vs 175/65 R15.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 15:05, STARS: 0

Ah, that is some significant sidewall.

"TheTurbochargedSquirrel" (thatsquirrel)
04/19/2017 at 16:37, STARS: 0

About the same as yours as the sidewall height is rated in terms of the treadwidth.

"Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again." (sir-stig)
04/19/2017 at 17:08, STARS: 0

oh really? I was not aware of that.