Help me choose tires. Non eco project.

[Ecky]

I'm under the impression that 45 isn't all that thin nowadays, relatively speaking. There are plenty of new cars on the road today with 30 aspect ratio tires.

That said, I personally prefer a little bit more sidewall.

[hat_man]

I wish there was a general rule of thumb for this. XXX cm of sidewall is good for comfort. YYY cm is good for handling but harsher ride. ZZZ cm is super comfortable but has a lot of side wall roll.

The closest I could find was a reference to a luxury package tire size for a Cadillac CTS that had 123 cm of sidewall height. I do the math with certain combinations of sizes that keep me under the 25" total diameter and almost all are auto cross or track use only. At least at TireRack. To get that sidewall height in a 16" tire is nearly impossible and the 15" ones are track tires.

Miata's and RX7's must have a similar tire size. I wonder what those guys are using for daily drivers and highway cruisers?

[hat_man]

According to TireRack the only size with multiple choices that fit my criteria is a 225/50/16. Nothing available in a 15" tire that isn't Pirelli (read super expensive) or a track tire (basically slicks and not for rain)

225 width would be good for aero but I have to wonder how they would do if I decide to put my foot into it.

[mattrod]

I just bought a set of 225/40/19 Bridgestone Potenza at 4wheelonline for my sedan. The ride isn't bad at all although the speedometer is a bit off.