Just bought new wheels, help me decide on a tire!

So did you buy Konig or Enkei?

 

I would go with the 205/50/17 because it is the same size as the OE 15" tire and will provide a slightly better ride and better gas mileage in theory because it is narrower than the other choice. In that size I would go with the Yokohama AVID Ascend at $163? and an 80,000 mile warranty.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...VR7ASCXL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

 

I'm not sure if the 205/50R17 has the raised rim protector like the OEM 215/45R17, but personally I will only get replacement tires with the rim protector. It looks way cooler and helps protect your rims against minor curb rash due to occasional carelessness. I see curb rash on way too many Gen IIIs.

Keep in mind though that not all 215/45R17 have the raised rim protector. It's available only on selected sizes within brand/model.

 

Good point. The drawback to the 215/45/17 is the increased wheel well gap because it's a smaller diameter tire.

 

And the proper thing to do is to drop it a little unless the aftermarket wheels you get make it look comparable to a stock Five (i.e., not too goofy). The poor man's solution that some members use to close this wheel well gap by increasing the size to 215/50/17 makes the car look lame with too much tire.

 

Im using continental extreme dsw, and its very quite...

 

If you get anything other than stock overall diameter, aren't you messing up your speedometer reading?

 

You actually correct for it in some cases as some read 1.5-2 mph off. There are tire sizes to correct for 2004-2009 and 2010+ speedometer errors.

 

I agree 100%. This would be my tire choice for a 17" wheel. It will keep the speedo accurate as the 215/45R17 tire is too short. It will fit with your Eibach springs just fine too & look great. It's basically the same diameter as my 205/55R16 tires & the narrower width will help mpg too.

 

I've never worried about hitting a curb & never have. I just don't understand how people do that anyway. I would get the best tire wether it had a rim protector or not, just be careful near curbs like I always do.

 

I don't worry about hitting curbs either. I just prefer the look of the rim protector. In fact, when I had Longo Toyota deliver the car to my home sight unseen (having never seen or test driven the Five in person) the first thing that impressed me was how cool the rim protector looked on the factory 17s.

 

I never really notice it to tell the truth. Some of my tires have them, some don't. The only time I notice it is when I'm down washing the wheels & tires. :lol:

 

The above is true. My recent thinking is that the Five coes with its speedo calibrated for this same 1.5-2mph over-read which means if you put the 215/45/17 tire on a non-Five then your speedo error may increase even higher because that tire size is smaller in diameter than the 195/65/15.

This is the reverse situation for GenII owners who upgraded from a 185/65/15 to a 215/45/17. The 15" tire was smaller in diameter so when upgrading to the larger diameter 17" tire, the 2mph speedo error went away or was significantly reduced.

 

Heres the Michelin MXV4 GreenX tire in a 215/50/17, these have the rim protector, are about a pound lighter than the stock 16" setup, eliminated the wallowing the stock tires had...I'm extremely happy with these.

 

heres some photos of 205.50.17 tires on a prius