Buying winter tire wheels for set of tires, help..

[cutchemist42]

Is there anything I should be aware of? The tires are 195/65/15. Does that mean any 15" rim will do?

A bolt pattern guide said the O.E. wheel size is 15x6.5 and the bolt pattern is 5x100. What do these numbers mean?


Thanks!

 

[abycat]

No you need a to have the right width rim. there is some play but you need to be close. Make sure your tire distributor tells you what size rim you need and if they get them both for you they should know.

 

[cutchemist42]

Originally Posted By: abycat
No you need a to have the right width rim. there is some play but you need to be close. Make sure your tire distributor tells you what size rim you need and if they get them both for you they should know.


So I need a 15" rim that is 6.5 in width since thats what the guide says?

 

[eljefino]

It needs to fit over your hub too. Aftermarket snow wheels usually have huge bore holes. Fit will then be "lugcentric" with the lug nut cones centering the things so they roll smoothly.

5x100 means five holes in a circle with 100mm diameter. Like on a toyota corolla.

 

[cutchemist42]

So how is rim width measured? From the inside to the other inside when it says 6.5 for a VW Golf rim width?

 

[antonmnster]

There are several factors already mentioned, but there are a couple more!

Offset: If you draw a line down the center of the tire tread, right down the middle of the tire through the wheel, there is a prescribed amount of distance between that line and where the hub is. In other words, the outside of the wheel where the tire is may be in different locations with respect to where the hub is, depending on the offset of the wheel. This is usually referred to as the ET number. Get it wrong and either the wheel won't fit around the brake parts or the driving dynamics will be totally goofy.

Brake clearance: If you have more of a performance car, it might have relatively large brakes that won't fit into the dish of many wheels. My car can't take anything smaller than a 16" wheel because the brakes won't fit.

Bolt pattern: Already covered, but you can't get around this one.

There might be a lot of wheels that are 5 x 100, but that doesn't mean the wheel will fit.

Best bet is to research where your wheels came from, get the dimensions for that kind of car online, and compare that to your car.

 

[cutchemist42]

Originally Posted By: antonmnster
There are several factors already mentioned, but there are a couple more!

Offset: If you draw a line down the center of the tire tread, right down the middle of the tire through the wheel, there is a prescribed amount of distance between that line and where the hub is. In other words, the outside of the wheel where the tire is may be in different locations with respect to where the hub is, depending on the offset of the wheel. This is usually referred to as the ET number. Get it wrong and either the wheel won't fit around the brake parts or the driving dynamics will be totally goofy.

Brake clearance: If you have more of a performance car, it might have relatively large brakes that won't fit into the dish of many wheels. My car can't take anything smaller than a 16" wheel because the brakes won't fit.

Bolt pattern: Already covered, but you can't get around this one.

There might be a lot of wheels that are 5 x 100, but that doesn't mean the wheel will fit.

Best bet is to research where your wheels came from, get the dimensions for that kind of car online, and compare that to your car.


So if the rim width is 6.5", 6" and 7" will not do?

 

[eljefino]

If you look at a tire it will give a range of rim widths. Usually about a 1.5 inch range. So going half an inch either way *usually* doesn't matter *much*. It does some *minor* stuff to the shape of your tread.

Doesn't tirerack.com have a faq section for this stuff?

 

[AstroTurf]

Originally Posted By: cutchemist42
Is there anything I should be aware of? The tires are 195/65/15. Does that mean any 15" rim will do?

A bolt pattern guide said the O.E. wheel size is 15x6.5 and the bolt pattern is 5x100. What do these numbers mean?


Thanks!


Have a look here: http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp

Hope it helps, Jim

 

[cutchemist42]

No luck on acceptable rim width being listed on the tire....going to try to contact Dunlop for opinion.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: cutchemist42
No luck on acceptable rim width being listed on the tire....going to try to contact Dunlop for opinion.


its listed on the tires stat page .. tirerack has those available online

it will say something like 5.5-7.5 6.5

that means acceptable rim size is 5.5" to 7.5" and measured tire size was on a 6.5" rim
(this was generic numbers and doesnt apply to your exact tire)


Since I dont know your model of tire I couldnt look that up for you.

Simply knowing the size and brand is close but may not be exactly right for your unknown model of tire.

 

[weebl]

What vehicle is it for?

 

[CapriRacer]

The easiest way to do this is through a retailer that will sell you the whole package. Both Tire Rack and Discount Tire do a fine job of walking you through the process.

Why is this the easy way?

As you have already found out, the wheel has to fit - and that means the rim width, bolt circle and the clearance around the caliper all have to be right or - oh, oh - it don't fit!