Replacement Tire Sizes

[Kal-El]

I have 215/50/15's on my stock steelies. Very slight rub on full turn.

They certainly look better when the tire flairs out a bit from the wheel covers (rather than the covers protruding beyond the 185's). Looks less cheap.

My next set will probably be 205/60/15's as I want a little more sidewall to fill out the fenders a bit more. Unless I can get my rims soon (17's).

[SailDesign]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

I have 215/55/15's on my stock steelies. Very slight rub on full turn.

<snip>

My next set will probably be 215/65/15's as I want a little more sidewall to fill out the fenders a bit more. Unless I can get my rims soon (17's).

the 215/55-15s are about 1/2" bigger (taller) than stock - not a real problem. The 215/65-15s, though, will be more than 2" taller, and will make your speedo read very wrong (apart from other considerations that may play here). You will be reading 70mph when in fact you will be doing 76.5 mph. The cops are not likely to think oversized tires are an excuse...
If you are rubbing "a bit" now, you will definitely rub with the 65 series.

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by SailDesign

the 215/55-15s are about 1/2" bigger (taller) than stock - not a real problem. The 215/65-15s, though, will be more than 2" taller, and will make your speedo read very wrong (apart from other considerations that may play here). You will be reading 70mph when in fact you will be doing 76.5 mph. The cops are not likely to think oversized tires are an excuse...
If you are rubbing "a bit" now, you will definitely rub with the 65 series.

215 is width, not height. The 55 measurement is sidewall height.

So my 55's are lower than stock. If I were to go 215/65/15, they would be the same sidewall height as stock.

And as for the speedo, my smaller diameter didn't affect the speedo at all (I have a nav that reads the same exact speed).

[SailDesign]

Originally Posted by Kal-El

215 is width, not height. The 55 measurement is sidewall height.

So my 55's are lower than stock. If I were to go 215/65/15, they would be the same sidewall height as stock.

And as for the speedo, my smaller diameter didn't affect the speedo at all (I have a nav that reads the same exact speed).

Ummmm - please read Kimona's link. The "55" is the sidewall height, true, but as a percentage of tire width. So the actual height of a 215/55 is 118.25mm. and the height of the sidewall on a 215/65 is 139.75mm. That makes the 65-series 43mm (twice the difference above) taller than the 55-series.

Small differences in height won't show up on an analogue speedo (can't read it accurately enough) but a 10% diffence sure will.