I will be running on 17x7+25 wheels soon, lowered on tein s.tech's. wondering what tire size would be better. 215/40/17 or 205/45/17?

 

after having run 205-40's.. i would say 205-45's... its friggin rough on 40's...


not that 45's will make much of a difference.. lol

 

205 40, will look the best

brent

 

I'm running 215/40R17, but on 7½" width wheels. I guess it depends on what type of sidewall appearance you want. 215's on a 7" width wheel will protect the lips of your wheel better, but will also have a balloon type appearance. 205/40R17 is a shorter sidewall and narrower tire so it will probably look better, but it will ride rougher too.

 

What constitutes "better?" Ride? Looks? Handling? Acceleration?

IIRC a 215/40/17 is a damn near perfect match for the stockers. I wonder how the little scion will handle a 215 tire, though. That's a lot more meat - better traction on dry pavement, but what about bad weather? It's gotta raise the rolling resistance significantly going with a 215, too.
A 205/40 supposedly has 3" of sidewall height, too. I'd imagine that's adequate but definatley more road feel than the 185/60/15 stockers' 4.5" of sidewall.