I have a 2006 JCW, and looking at tires. A couple I'm looking at don't come in a 205, but rather a 215. So I'm concerned about rubbing. Since a JCW has a stiffer suspension, should I expect rubbing?

I also autocross.

Anyone have experience in this?

 

wat offset are the wheels again and the width?
i doubt you would rub given that you use a 35 profile. like 215/35/18 tires.

my 205/50/16's on 16x7.5 wheels are MUCH wider than those 215/35's on say a 18x7.

 

They would be going on the stock S-Lites.

215/45-17 is the tire size. Which is the same profile and diameter as stock.

 

i thought 215/40/17 was closer to the stock 205/45/17 circumference?
(too lazy to recheck).

 

Different ratios, 40 and 45. I'd prefer to keep the same profile (45). So the main difference between what I have and what I'm thinking of getting would be the width. 10mm?

 

Diameter comparison:

215/40-17 = 23.77in
205/45-17 = 24.26in
215/45-17 = 24.62in

215/45-17 on stock wheels shouldn't rub.

215/40-17 will provide better acceleration but may not meet load rating (84).

 

gromit- im not sure what you mean because the 215/40 would be smaller
total diameter than a 215/45, but anyway, it depends on the shoulder
design of the tire. if you get a/s tires with rounded/narrow shoulders
you will probably see no issues at all. if you get wide tread tires
like ES100's, you might rub. be worth a try though. if you rub the
inside, get a 3mm spacer. if you rub the outside, just do a minor
dremel.

you can't just go by size, you have to go by the design of the shoulders
and width of your wheels. (this time 7" so no big deal)

 

I have been running 215/45/17 for about 4 months now with no rubbing problems. My MCS is stock height. The wheels that I am running them on are 17 x 7.5 with 42et. The tire brand that I'm running is the General Exclaim UHP.

 

My experience is with 16's, but relevant to 17's, and if you go to the links below it will help you to see the dimensions of the sizes that you may want to use with out speedo error or rubbing.

You should also, as example, go to the tire rack and check the "specs" for the tire your interested in as every manufacture has a slightly different configuration for their particular size and model.

As kenchan said the other factor is the shoulders, rounded versus square, on the tires.

For what it's worth my experience with 215's (215/50/16) on a 42 offset is a very minor and to me annoying rubbing of the rear wheels. I don't think my tires would rub if mounted on stock wheels. This happens on harsh bumps only. With stock rims or not less than 45 offset there should not be any rubbing. If you go to the Discount Tire site you will see that my 215/50/16 is almost identical in height, just .16 smaller diameter, that your proposed 215/45/17 tire.


Hope this helps...


http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...foTireMath.jsp

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirebran.jsp