17x7.5 wheels with 215/45 OR 205/40 tyres?? help

joshpolo · Post by **joshpolo** » Sun May 04, 2008 6:45 pm

Im looking to buy some old style rs4 wheels and lower my 9n 60/65 on FK highsports. These wheels are 17x7.5 and come with 215/45 tyres but looking through similar forums people seem to suggest 205/40's. Is it possible to get 205/40's on 17x7.5 wheels?

Tim_GTi · Post by **Tim_GTi** » Sun May 04, 2008 6:50 pm

Yeh I'd recommend 205/40s, they'll decrease the chances of scrubbing, plus look soo much slicker

joshpolo · Post by **joshpolo** » Sun May 04, 2008 6:59 pm

Thats good to hear!

Does this mean the tyres will be stretched though? or will they fit properly?
Ive not got a clue about stretched tyres and what the drawbacks of them are!

pidge87 · Post by **pidge87** » Sun May 04, 2008 10:07 pm

205/40 is the industry standard size tyre to fit on a 17x7.5" rim

So no they wont be stretched.

By industry standard I mean that if you buy a wheel and tyre package from a shop a 17x7.5" rim will come with a 205/40 tyre 99% of the time

Have a look on a tyre manufacturers website (toyo or yoko) and look for the tech specs section. It will usually have a column for what widths a particular tyre can be fitted to. For a 205/40 its usually between 7" and 8". Thats what the tyre will be 'rated' to go on however some people (myself included

) have ignored those 'recommendations' from time to time

Stretched tyres are usually used to avoid rubbing/to look good. They will not improve your handling or ride in any way though, theyll ruin it!

If you really wanted a slight stretch on a 17x7.5" rim go for Continental Sport Contact's (think they are SC2's) in a 195/40/17 flavour. Will look good if your going to slam it and will at least retain some 'give' in the sidewalls

Ive got 17x7.5" alloys with 205/40's on and my coilovers are as low as they will go (ive also removed the adjuster plates from the rear's to drop it a wee bit more). It rubs but I can live with it

Pics: (because im a shameless pic whore!)

Hope that helps

TimGti · Post by **TimGti** » Mon May 05, 2008 11:22 am

pidge87 wrote:205/40 is the industry standard size tyre to fit on a 17x7.5" rim

So no they wont be stretched.

I disagree im afraid. It depends a lot on the make of tyre you fit. I had yoko a539 205/40 on a 7.5 and it gave a slight stretch. Now I have falken rubber and the stretch is much more obvious.

I think that 205 is fitted to a 7" rim if you want no stretch at all. My comps are 7.5 and there is quite a bit of stretch, the lips of the rims stick out quite a bit from the tyres.

Cars lookin good btw Pidge

joshpolo · Post by **joshpolo** » Mon May 05, 2008 6:55 pm

Thanks for yours responses!
Think im just going to stick with 205/40's at first, might have to get sum 195/40's in the future though

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Tue May 06, 2008 12:06 pm

BF Goodrich 205x40x17 sports on a 7.5 rim:

I recommend the tyre - great grip and I've had them on for nearly 20k now!

Tim_GTi · Post by **Tim_GTi** » Tue May 06, 2008 8:54 pm

Yeh 205/40s will be fine for now mate, pidge yours cars looking awesome

flyfs6 · Post by **flyfs6** » Sun May 11, 2008 3:55 pm

Tim what size tyres have you got on your Mono's? Trying to decide what tyres to get for 8.5x17" Schmidth TH's.

TimGti · Post by **TimGti** » Sun May 11, 2008 6:14 pm

flyfs6 wrote:Tim what size tyres have you got on your Mono's? Trying to decide what tyres to get for 8.5x17" Schmidth TH's.

I know you mean the other Tim, but I reckon 205's on a 8.5 will give you a nice stretch, or 215's a subtle stretch.

Tim_GTi · Post by **Tim_GTi** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:56 am

I've got Toyo 195/45/15s mate, my alloys are 15X8

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Tue May 13, 2008 10:54 am

flyfs6 wrote:Tim what size tyres have you got on your Mono's? Trying to decide what tyres to get for 8.5x17" Schmidth TH's.

I think 205x40x17s will do the job!

although you might be governed by cost anyway - how much are 195x40x17s and do they even do them?!

pidge87 · Post by **pidge87** » Tue May 13, 2008 11:02 am

There are only 2 or 3 manufacturers of 195/40/17's. Continental and Pirelli defo do them as a couple of friends have had them in the past. IIRC they retail at over Â£100 a corner for both makes

flyfs6 · Post by **flyfs6** » Tue May 13, 2008 11:18 am

Thanks for your replies, on 7.5" wide wheels 205/40/17 looks nice. So the same should give a great look/nice stretch on 8.5" wheel. I'll lookout for 195's, but I dont want a mad stretch.

I wonder what size Chris has on his redwood 9n?

david burton · Post by **david burton** » Tue May 13, 2008 12:04 pm

one thing to note: my Yokahama Paradas have more stretch than my BF GoodRich tyres did. So you might want to compare makes if you can.