Well it only took me 21k to wear out the stock tires that came with the car. And since I have to replace the tires I thought why not upgrade? After countless hours of research i have decided that a 16 inch wheel will best meet my needs. 1) They are light weight. 2) Tires are realitivly inexpensive 3) with a thick enough tire they would not negativly impact my comfort on bumpy NJ roads and 4) I will not through my speedo off all that much. However, I was hoping to fill up my wheel wells a little bit more and i thought that i would go with a 205/55/16 profile tire, a hankook Ventus HriiH405 to be exact. So basically, I would like to know if any one is currently running this size tire and if they have had any rubbing or fittment issues. Thank you.

 

well, i have the 205/*45*/16 on 16 x 7 rims w/+42 offset , not lowered, and I have no rubbing issues.

 

If you are truely concerned out your speedo accuracy, you would be better served with a 205/50.

 

205/55-16 is a gigantic tire for a box. That's what I use on my Sentra for the rear. I'd do what the other guys said. You can also use a 215/45-16 or 225/45-16 tire.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

However, a 205/55-15 tire has the same diameter as stock, but more wider. You can get some 15" x 6.5" to 8" wheels & put those on, or you can do a 225/50-15 tire on a 15" x 7" to 9" wheel. Same diameter as stock, but a lot more wider. Both of those tires still have plenty of meat on them, but are also low enough to handle good. (^_^ )

 

I have 16x7 +37 offset with 205-55-16 and they DO rub. Its a HUGE tire that WILL take a beating which is what i wanted. (Puerto Rico streets are not for low profile tires). When you turn the streering wheel completely to either side you get a little rub on the inside of the wheel well. Its only a problem when you turn the wheel completely to one side, the final little bit of steering does make the tire rub a little. Ive calculated on the internet and this tire with this rim will make your speedo read 3.2% slower than what your speedo is actually reading and your tire diameter increases by 3.5% <--- this causes the wheel rub. Anything above a 3% change in tire dimater will cause this problem. Any other questions just let me know.

 

Just get the 205/50/16s; you will have no problems and your speedometer will be fine. I'm running this size on my 16s and the roads here in Milwaukee are complete crap.