Can I go 185 instead of 175

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I am tired of looking for tires for my honda FIT, I am hating the size 175/65/15
I am looking at tirerack and I see a TRUCK load of tires in 185/65/15

I am inclined to Michelin/BFGoodrich (I like the rubber),

I have factory steel wheels with the 175/65/15s, I can put on 185/65/15 on these wheels?

I am guessing I might get a little rubs with extreme turning and possibly a drop in MPG.

So, will 185 work in my 175 wheels?
 
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Taller/shorter tire = less/more rotation = a change for all on-board computer stats like mpg, etc. In addition to rotation, a taller sidewall will give a softer ride, but the handling will be less precise and wear will be more to the outsides as the tire rolls over on the sidewall.
 
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Yes they will fit but, are you willing to accept the loss in performance? Honda engineers work very hard at trying to give you the best balance of performance. Ed
 
I can tell you that I have "+1" sized a vehicle, from 13" to 14". Made it feel better, took a small hit in MPG but so what, it looked better ran smoother ran comfier and had better tires on shiny polished allow wheels. May even still be able to find them if I look hard enough, 4x100 bolt pattern discontinued American Racings. All depends on what kind of car I get next.
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Also. Went from 195/65R14 to 205/60R14, worked like a charm. Then I ended up going 205/60R15 on another car. Sporty, sporty, sporty.

Go for it sir. I think you will be satisfied. Just give yourself a "3" MPH margin of error, that the speedometer is indicating slower than actual speed. A good way to judge is if you are keeping at an even pace with a car in the left lane. Speedometer accuracy is questionable, different makes like to make it so that the speedometers say FASTER than actual speed, as some sort of safety measure. At 75-80MPH, difference will put you on razor's edge of a ticket ("I clocked you going 83, I clocked you going 77" etc for 80 and 75.) But you should be fine. Just be mindful.
 
206 60 15 ought to be about the same diameter. I put 15 x 7 Borbets with 205 60 15 tires on a Toyota which came with 195 70 14s. Made it a different car. No rubbing issues. Then I was able to put Avalon front brakes on it as well. Calipers from the Avalon wouldn't fit inside the 14 inch steelies. Does the maker know best... well, the maker put 15 inch wheels ON the V6 version OEM. And bigger brakes.
 
The closest tire size to OEM for your Fit odometer / spedometer / fuel economy that is readily availible is:

185/60r/15

Most people don't realize that the "r" size is a ratio. A 205/65r/15, for example, will have a different Diameter and Circumference along with the different Width so it affects your Odometer and Speedometer.

Most people just think the width measurement has no other bearing on the other specs but it is untrue don't listen to them.

If you have a warranty to respect, changing the tire from stock specs may cause you issues. It would be considered rendering the Odometer inaccurate, and they can claim greater wear on driveline components, transmission, and engine strain.

While this is all truly negligible, they can make warranty claims tricky.

Never show up on a warranty claim with odd sized tires, a snakey dealership will immediately write this on the docket notes, and take photos, then probably get you to sign the work order. And POOF there goes your warranties.

But I wouldn't know first hand, just something to keep in mind. Contrary to popular belief that a Dealer takes any work they can get, they DO prefer when the client pays the bill, not Honda corporate.

Forgot to add: I use 185/65R/15 for my Winter tires to give slightly more clearance for deep snow and the ride is SMOOTH but note that wheel well slush and ice are that much closer to the tire so you have to kick the wet slush off the fender wells before a deep freeze to avoid breaking push pins on your plastic fender liners (never happened to me though just a thought).

Steer clear of OEM friendly Pirelli Snow Controls, they are horrible on ice. I have to snap the car into neutral and push the car a few feet backwards during a freeze as it will spin on the ice indents in my parking spot, and I have to peel my tires up icy slopes. I use Yokohama IG20 185/65R/15s now and NO ISSUES RIDE GREAT.
 
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The correct way to type/ write a tire size is P185/65R15. The "R" simply denotes the tire as a radial. As an example, ST205/75D15 is a common trailer tire size and the "D" denotes a bias ply tire. You are correct that the "65" Is a ratio. It's called the aspect ratio.
 
Most cars (all? DOT reg?) have clearance for snow chains on their stock tires. Going over stock by this much you'll probably do fine without interference but might not have room for chains.

175/65/15 is a dumb size. They should have just gone with 14 inch wheels.
 
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
-1 eljefino

There are some cases where there isn't built-in room for chains, so be cautious assuming.


but random cars aside back on topic..

in this case they will "FIT" fine.

the oem size is mildly retarded and not often used.

there will be no "rolling over sidewall" issues with this size either.

AT THE MOST you might lose some tiny fraction of gas mileage but the tire itself is more important to this than the change in size.

Can we get abit more common sense providing the OP an answer instead of arguing semantics.

AT THE MOST you might lose some tiny fraction of gas mileage but the tire itself is more important to this than the change in size.

and capriracer is 100% correct many new FWD cars wont fit regular chains. Some dont have room for cable or low-profile chains either.

For example my subaru forester has plenty of wheel well space but the suspension comes extremely close to the sidewall.
 
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Mileage - with wider tires the mpg will drop a bit - Non issue

speedo inaccurate - good point, and the fact that the ECU might not like it.

wheel well rubbing and chain fitment - rubbing, I have to be careful, I don't drive this in the winter so, chains no issue but it is good to know.

I am trying to get tires and keep atleast one on wheels are full size space in the garage as these tires are NEVER in stock locally.

Michelin Energy is ONLY tire in the size and it is not in stock anywhere.

My rear tires have a lot of meat as I do not rotate.

So for now I will get 2 185/65/15 and put them in the rear and move the rear in the right size to the front to avoid any speedo/powertrain issues.

keeping fingers crossed so the michelins in 175s come in stock soon.

FYI: honda fit manual has a sections for tire chains/cable I am pretty sure, I picked up cables for it last year, never had to put em on though.

THanks the input guys.
 
Originally Posted By: stockrex

So for now I will get 2 185/65/15 and put them in the rear and move the rear in the right size to the front to avoid any speedo/powertrain issues.


Actually this is a terrible idea doing just one axle in a different size. Will mess up your ABS, stability control, and change your caster alignment for the worse. Go all in or nothing.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Originally Posted By: stockrex

So for now I will get 2 185/65/15 and put them in the rear and move the rear in the right size to the front to avoid any speedo/powertrain issues.


Actually this is a terrible idea doing just one axle in a different size. Will mess up your ABS, stability control, and change your caster alignment for the worse. Go all in or nothing.

+1.

If the OP wants to upsize I would suggest either 185/60/15 or 195/60/15. Both are very close to the OE 175/65 tire's diameter. It's been posted to this forum that 195/60 fits fine on a Fit, so don't worry about clearance issues.

Going to 185/65/15 is a larger change from the OE diameter, though not a huge one. There is the potential warranty issue and slightly off-kilter speedo/odometer to consider. Also it might slightly affect the ABS and stability control, if you have it. (I think ESC became standard on the 2011 Fit.)

The one thing you do NOT want to do is run 185/65 on one axle and 175/65 on the other. That could be a safety concern and a legitimate warranty red flag. If you simply must replace two tires and also upsize, then go to the 185/60 or 195/60.

Here is a tire-size calculator to confirm the above: http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp
 
I'm not familiar with Hondas, but every Ford and Chrysler product I have piloted has had the speedometer 2mph slow (confirmed by GPS).

Stock on my Focus is 195-60-15, my winter tires are 185-65-16 ... the speedo is only 1mph slow at 60mph instead of 2mph slow.
 
Wow, keeping orig size, I think I will get a pair of avids.
Thanks guys, learned a few things from this thread,
 
Avids are generally pretty sweet and you can mail order them for the price of junk chinese tires locally.

Note there are a few flavors of avid; they are very popular.
 
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