I need wheel/tire assistance.

I am purchasing a set of tire/rims for my Lancer OZ 2002. Obviously, I am a newbie... but I am hopeing someone can tell me what these numbers mean:

(205/40/17) 17x7
(215/45/17) 17x7

Can someone tell me what each of those 5 numbers mean?


As I look at my stock OZ tires, the tires look smallish like bicycle tires, I am hoping these are a bit wider. So I want to go as wide as I can, but I dont want any problems.

 

http://www.nepa-scca.com/tirespecs.html

There is your best bet for getting a good, quality explanation. As for width, I wouldn't go past 7" to avoid chances of rubbing.

 

okay, so i pretty much understand it now... except for a few last questions.


You said not to go past width of 7inches... but the article said that the width is 205 or 215? which one is the width?


Now that i understand the numbers... can someone help me out with my lancer specs ('02 oz rally). What will fit on my lancer? Will 205's or 215's fit on my lancer.

 

Heres all you need to know, if you want a tire that has the same rolling radius as stock, and you dont want any rub,
Go with:
7 inch wide rims, no larger than 18 inches in diameter
205 width for tires, if you want 17 inch rims get 205 45 17 tires
Id recommend Yokohama AVS ES100 tires

 

i have 215/45/zr17s with no rubbing on my 03 OZ