225\60-16 or 245\50-16
 

Is an inch going to make that big of a difference in appearance? I really want the Kumho Ecsta AST's.

Yes.

You will have too much wheel well and not enough tire.

Why not just get those in 225/60/16's?

245/55/16's will be .04% off which is about perfect. If you're getting 245's get 55 series Sidewalls.

245/50/16's are almost 4% smaller, and it will look downright bad.

This is the calc i used.. http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

IT's probably easier to get those tires in 235/55/16's. I had 235/55/16's on my 1995 SLE and swapped them onto my 99 SSEi when I bought it. They were a very good handling tire, but the lifespan was not so great. The brand/model I had were Dayton Daytona's, H-speed rating.

there are no tires in the 245/55/16 size, its just not manufactured by anyone.

You don't want 245/55/16 anyway. You want 245/50/16. They're much closer to the stock rolling diameter. There are alot of tire choices in that size.

can 255/50-16 fit or is the 255 to wide on your year of Bonneville.
a lot of us that have 2000+ cars use the 255/50-17 tire and they fit
in our wheelwell just fine. if the stock tire size is 225/60-16 then the
hieght of the stock tire is 26.6" if you can get the 255/50-16 to fit then
the hieght of that tire is 26", .6" shorter than the stock tire, that would
still fill your wheelwell and if you don't rub the inner wheelwell your
car will handle so much better. again IF the 255's would fit ? :?

ROD

255's will fit with modification to the front wheelwells. I may be mistaken, but there may be minor work needed in the rear as well.

245's rub on SOME 92-99's. Also MAY require modification (removal or hammering of some shrouds/liners/shields).

wren hadn't had his morning coffee yet. While it is true that there are few choices in 245/55/16, BonnieMeMn has the diameters right.

225/60/16 diameter = 26.63" circumference = 83.66"
245/55/16 diameter = 26.61" circumference = 83.60"
245/50/16 diameter = 25.65" circumference = 80.57"

this site can give you a visual comparison
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html

I think I'll just stick with stock. I need a few more bux for other unforseen issues that car developed after sitting all winter.

I was looking at the kumho 711's and the AST's for the 245\50-16, but they don't make them in 225\60. What is a comparable tire for the same price, in the stock size? They were about $550 on the road, CND$

MY 225-55-17 BFG's rub on my 92, just did some work in the front an dyou can see the marks.. so watch the size

Ok...............

I'm bringing this one back up.

What about a 235 55/16. There's only a 1.7% difference and the speedo would only be approx 1 mile faster according to 1010 tire

At the moment I am running Bridgestone Potenza RE750s, they are 245/50/16 in size, I have no tire rub at all, even lock to lock...
But yours may be different, It made quite a difference in off the line traction.

How much difference is there between your aeroforce and speedometer in mph/kmph??

I never put the aeroforce in MPH mode..for the fact that its in MPH lol
Between the hud and speedo im out about 2km/h.
Not a huge difference at all

and don t forget bigger tires take horsepower to turn them i lost 2 MPH at the track going from 215 70 15 to 245 50 17 there 7 pounds between the 2 .bigger tires = better traction .but less horsepower and fuel millage