So just about everything short of Snow traction and LSR means bigger meats on your ride. Short of buying and trying (obviously the best idea), can you get a general feel for what will fit under there by using the published specs on a tire?
Example:
My Riviera takes a 225/75R15 on a 15x6in wheel. I want to squeeze the biggest 18in tire under the front as I can. Looking on Tirerack for the spec of the average 225/75R15 and I'm looking at a section width of ~8.8in on a 6in wheel. This tells me I have ~1.4in a side outside the bead. By going to an 18in tire of close to the same overall diameter I get a 235/50R18 with a 9.6in section width on a 8in wheel. This tells me I have ~0.8in outside the bead. Doesn't this mean I can increase the backspacing by around 0.5in since the tire is the closest to hitting something on the stock setup due to the decrease in "bulge"? Could I also widen the tire selection out into the space by keeping the same backspacing and overall diameter if I keep the "bulge" on the inside to less than the stocker?
Thanks,
Example:
My Riviera takes a 225/75R15 on a 15x6in wheel. I want to squeeze the biggest 18in tire under the front as I can. Looking on Tirerack for the spec of the average 225/75R15 and I'm looking at a section width of ~8.8in on a 6in wheel. This tells me I have ~1.4in a side outside the bead. By going to an 18in tire of close to the same overall diameter I get a 235/50R18 with a 9.6in section width on a 8in wheel. This tells me I have ~0.8in outside the bead. Doesn't this mean I can increase the backspacing by around 0.5in since the tire is the closest to hitting something on the stock setup due to the decrease in "bulge"? Could I also widen the tire selection out into the space by keeping the same backspacing and overall diameter if I keep the "bulge" on the inside to less than the stocker?
Thanks,
Comment