I have been doing some math to help me better understand my tire/rim assembly; and what options I have for installing my 16x7 Motegi MR7's with a wider tire. I need to know what the offset of Hyundai's stock rim is on my 2002 Elantra before I can come to any realistic answers.
Here's what I've done so far----
1inch = 25.4mm
Stock tire is 195/60/15. The first number indicates the width of the rubber {sidewall to sidewall}
195mm = 7.677inches
I want 215mm, which would be 20mm wider overall, but only 10mm {.4inches} wider on either side.
If the offset is somewhere in the region of 50mm on the stock rim, than there should be no reason why there isn't enough clearance for 215's on the 7" Motegi's; which have an offset of 42mm

[ December 12, 2002, 01:23 PM: Message edited by: ELANTRAVISION ]

 

The stock wheels are +42 or +45 offset. The stock wheels are also only 5.5" wide.

So going to a 16x7 +42 offset will move your wheels IN.

You need a LOWER offset wheel to match the positioning of the stock wheel/tire combo.

 

I am in dream land... I keep telling myself that they'll fit with 215's, even 225's... I'm out of my mind... But if I have too low an offset then I will have to get the fenders rolled to allow clearance for the rubber when cornering. Who knows what the perfect setup would be?
215's on a 36mm offset? Perhaps that would work out the best...

 

You can roll your fenders all you want, you will still rub. The problem will be on the INSIDE.

215's SHOULD work, at stock ride height. If you lower the car with springs/coilovers, you will probably rub.

225's MIGHT, MAYBE (but I doubt it) be okay at stock ride height, but NO WAY with lowering springs.

Why are you so obsessed with wheel width? Do you know if the tires you want even come in the required size? For 235's you'd need 235/40/16 tires. www.tires.com has NO TIRES in that size. NONE. Not high performance or "normal tires. None. Zilch.

Why not be reasonable. Find the TIRES you want and the wheels you want, and then find a compramise on size/width to fit your car.

[ December 12, 2002, 03:09 PM: Message edited by: Random ]

 

you can get 215 tires with eibach pro springs... i don't know about coilovers or other springs b/c they lower a lot more than eibach.

you could get 215-45-16 tires which is about 2% smaller in diameter than stock tires. i wouldn't get 215-50-16 because it is a little larger in diameter than stock and it might cause problems. and even if it's just a little, bigger diameter hurts your car's launch a little bit so i wouldn't do it especially on 4cyl cars like ours.

but the price of the 215-45-16 is a lot more than the price of 205-50-16. i wouldn't bother getting wider tires and pay like $50 more for each 215 michelin pilots(these tires suck in rain) when i can get a VERY high quality Bridgestone Potenza Pole Position SO-3 205-50-16 tires for $133 each from tirerack.

i'm personally getting 16" and 205-50-16 potenza's this summer. i did a lot of research too. since last october i've been trying to figure out the best setup for my 01 Elantra GLS. and i have to tell you, 16" with 205-50-16's will give you the best combination of performance and looks with low $$.

[ December 12, 2002, 05:19 PM: Message edited by: Elkane7533 ]