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18" wheel and tire fitment??

W

wontgrowup

CEG'er
Joined
Nov 17, 2002
Messages
140
Location
Western Massachusetts
I have an opportunity to pick up a set of 18" Maxxim Wheels with Toyo Proxes on them CHEAP!!! Unfortunately, while the person in question had these mounted on a 2000 SVT Tour, the tire size seems a little large-225/45-18. I've checked out places like the Tire rack, just to see what the rims would look like, but also to see what they recommend for tire size- they recommend 215/40-18's. I'm assuming the person selling these (he's sold the car long ago and just wants to offload them) probably didn't think about the fitment or what the increase in diameter would do to their car.

Using this handy program I found awhile ago, I came up with this chart:

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

I'm running the Roush rims right now with 225/45-17's- even those are a 1.6 percent increase in revolutions, which is negliable. My problem is this- I'm afraid two of the rims have been damaged by the crappy roads around here, and may have to get new rims anyway, if they can't be balanced out. that being said, i can pick up these rims and brand new 18" tires for what a set of USED 225/45-17's are going for on Ebay right now! What I'm worried about is clearance within the stock ride height, suspension clearance, etc.

Any thoughts or opinions are welcome- I'm trying to live on a budget.....
 
45 sidewall is a little bit large for a 18" wheel on a Contour. I ran 225/40/18 on my old wheels and current wheels.

Having stock suspension, you shouldn't really have to worry. The most important factor in all this would be the offset of the wheels. If the offset is +40 or lower, you may run into problems with rubbing. It will also depend on the design of the wheel.
 
I have the same - 225/40-18. They're not mounted yet, I have to wait for warmer weather before I take the snows off, but when I do I'll post a few pictures. I have a BAT European handling kit.

When I decided what to get, I used a tire calculator ( http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp?action=submit ) and the 45-series sidewall was more than 3% different in diameter. That was the limit of what they suggested running.
 
I have 225/40R18 too with a worn stock suspension with minor rubbing. If you roll your fenders, you shouldn't have a problem with rubbing.
 
As mentioned before 225/40/18's ar the best to go with. I ran them on my SVT and had no issues whatsoever.

Aaron
 
I had to roll my fenders to run that size, but my car has 135K on it... I just used a poly sledge hammer handle and tweaked away... No problems anymore :laugh:
 
Well....

Well....

Thank you for your input!! After reading your input and checking tire/rim sizes online, I ended up making the purchase. I was glad I did, because after I removed the old rims and got a better look at them, one of them was pretty badly mauled. The new rims and tires look great on the car and only have minor rubbing issues....I'll deal with that when it gets warmer. My only issue is that I just basically effectively put higher gearing(lower numerical ratio) on the car by placing larger rims and tires on.....oh well...it was still a great deal!!!! I'll post pics when I get some time. Thanks guys!
 
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