Hi my XB came with my sportmax 501's on it. Now I need to replace the tires. Any ideas of how I would go about checking if they are the 15x7's or the 15x8's? The stock tires are currently on there and need replacing. What tires should I go with if they are the 15x7's which I am kind of assuming they are. I love the stretched look so anything like that would be appreciated. This means I am willing to stretch them. And I am running the tanabe springs.

 

it should say on the back of the wheel

 

Just look at the lip... or take a pic. It's easy to tell since the difference in the lips is almost 2".

Either way, you can do a 185 width on either the 7 or 8"

 

185/65/15 - 15x8 inch rim

 

It's 15x8....so 185/65/15?

 

185 will give you a nice stretch... go for it.

 

Nah, go with a more appropriate size of like 205/50R15 with an 8 inch wide rim. You won't run the risk of getting a puncture in the sidewall then. 185/65R15s are not really suppossed to mounted on anything over 7 inches according to tire calculators.
Here is the one I use all the time.
http://www.rims-n-tires.com/rt_specs.jsp?postId=906

 

Why do you post in every thread about stretching tires that it's such a terrible idea? Have you had some kind of bad experience with stretching? You always have some kind of point about what's so bad about it so I'm just curious why.....

 

Funny you should ask?
Mostly because tires are not designed to be stretched. I'm oldschool. Match the proper width to the rim width.
When you over stretch, it puts unnatural forces on the tire plus it exposes the sidewalls to a greater risk of puncture. They are not usually as thick as the tread so you are just asking for a possible blow out at any time. I also think that overstretched tires look dumb. I like squared off tires. They just look right.

 

It also puts more strain on the bead; so if you corner hard/hit large bumps/do anything to load the sidewall, you have a greater risk of breaking the bead.

 

That and I also forgot about the little or no curbage protection.

 

Well I've had the stockers on there for the past year stretched and haven't ran into any problems. To be honest I bought the xB like that and didn't even realize how much they were stretched until I started looking into new tires. I'm careful with my wheels and never come close to curbs, so having rubber save me isn't going to do much. Does anyone have any reference to someone actually having a stretched tire coming off the bead? Everyone talks about it but I've never actually heard of it happening.....

 

I think It looks good. To me square tires look dumb....call me new school

 

^^^ Agreed. Squared sidewalls just look wrong to me now.

Find a set of Falken Ziex 512 on ebay in 195/50/15 (these are the previous gen tires which stretch much better than the new ones...) They are cheap, like $250 a set shipped as I recall- and handle great. Even have a rub strip that still sticks out past the wheel lip when stretched (but just barely.) Here's a rear pick when I first got em, has 10mm spacers also-

 

those are the same tires i want to get when i need new ones.

 

beads do pop, i have first hand experience of it, but it was an extreme stretch and a big pot hole. i still stretch my tires though. plus, a 185/60/15 stretch on a 8" isn't too bad. now if it was a low pro 185 on a 18X8 (just an example), it would be much more extreme.

 

So why do drifters do it? Or european cars?
There hasnt been any soild evidence that running a stretched tire is any more dangerous than a regular tire.

Read more info here
http://driftjapan.com/blog/car-parts...i-style-tires/

 

Wow, those are so stretched that the rim protection on the tire is about useless.
Stretched tires are fine I guess for showcars but for everyday use it's not safe for one. It also cuts tire life in half but if that isn't enough, go 4 it. It's not my money going down the toilet.