Quote:
Originally Posted by arudlang
I appreciate the advice aardvarcus. I probably should just buy some 205/55R16s that are known to fit fine on the car with stock rims. I am itching to go 205/60 to gain that .8 inches of clearance I would gain over the 205/55. I want to combine that with the 1 inch gain I got from shoving rubber coil booster blocks into the coil springs for a total of a couple inches more clearance for deep snow (live in northern MN, this low rider gets high centered very easily having a little less than 5 inches clearance stock). It will be interesting to see how much mpg I lose, but I'm willing to drop my winter mpg average in trade for being actually able to drive the car at all when it snows.
Looking at how close my bald 195/55 come to the coil base plate I am just amazed the OP didn't have rubbing issues with 205/65. Seems like... Maybe with a one inch spacer on the hub... Or bending that plate up out of the way (lol!) I mean seriously, that's over +2 inches diameter from stock!
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Another thing to consider about why another person can fit something you can't is that different wheels have different offsets, which may bring the tire in or out more. Even OEM steel wheels many times differ in offset from OEM alloys.
The only other thing to watch out for is that using your spacer doesn't throw off your CV shaft angles too much and wear out your front end too fast. You will also need an alignment after you put them in.
Most people prefer tall and skinny tires for use in the snow, so the car "cuts through" instead of "floating across." I have attached a table which shows you the different common size combinations for one brand of snow tires. (Michelin X-Ice 3)
I like the 205/60R16 as well since it is skinnier as well as taller, but tape measures don't lie if it doesn't look like it fits I would shy away. Another through, some manufacturers tires are taller than others for the same size, what brand of tire is on the car now? Maybe what you have now is taller than you think.