Posted by Bill on October 20, 1999 at 14:59:36:
In Reply to: Superior tire assistance for everyone. posted by The Tire God on September 23, 1999 at 10:05:30:
Dear Tire God:
My '99 Intrepid came with 205/70R15 Goodyear Conquests, which blow. I will be replacing them before long, and am considering resizing.
I can do the math, and have worked out o.d. for just about every combination up to 17" rims and down to 50 profiles.
But I really need to know what will get me what I want: improved dry and wet traction, improved steering response, lower noise, and not a huge sacrifice in smoothness. I'm in the South, so snow traction is a non-issue.
So, do I keep the 15's and go wider (but prob would still have to replace the 6"rims)? How much comfort do I sacrifice at 65/60/55/50 ratios? What price (besides fuel economy) do I pay for wider tires (235/55 would *look* good, but what am I doing to myself?)
Also, how do I factor in different rim widths when calculationg outside diameter? And how much variance from OEM o.d. is acceptable for Speedo/odo accuracy? (No ABS here).
And finally- if you're not racing, are alloy wheels are they are cracked up to be? Is there a really good reason why I shouldn't save my pennies and stick with steel?
Note: 225/60R16s are a factory option on this car, so that at least should be a safe size.