Wheel/Tire n00b, need advice b4 I blow my cash

Car in question: 95 Civic LX

I'm going to buy 4 new rims and tires and I've got my eyes on some 16 inch ADR rims.

their specs:
16 x 7, 40 offset, 20lbs, 4x100 bolt pattern

From everything I read these should fit onto my car with no problems right?

now for the n00b questions:

7 inches is wider than stock. Is that too wide? most all of the 16" rims I've seen are about this wide, just don't want them too wide, you know?

How do I know if I need tuner lug nuts?

Checked www.tirerack.com and they said that with 16inch rims I should get 205/45/16 tires. Is this accurate?

Also- If my new wheels weigh more than stock, will I need my speedometer recalibrated?

See I told you they were n00b questions.
Thanks for any/all help!
ripthesystem

[TeriyakiBroccoli]

hmm, not sure about the offset, but the tire size is fine.

I have a set of 17x7 buddy clubs, and they fit perfectly fine. and no, your lug nuts will be fine.

thanks for the info TB- anyone else able to help with the rest of the answer? offset etc

[ebpda9]

well that sounds fine. is the car lowered ? but the rims seem kinda heavy 20 lbs geez

As far as I know the stock wheels I have now are 18.5 lbs and at only 14 x 5 inches.. So I figured that these new rims would be adding about < 8lbs to the car and increasing diameter and width would be the tradeoff.

Akron has a fair amount of shitty roads and potholes so I really didn't think it'd be smart to go for a less sturdy alloy. My car isn't lowered at all, but I've noted that the 92-95 gens seem lower stock than the newer civs. I may end up dropping it an inch or so. not sure.

[sohc_vtec 2NR]

the offset, bolt patters, and tires seem to be right....but with those rims you'll have to sacrifice a wee bit of acceleration

Originally posted by ripthesystem

Checked www.tirerack.com and they said that with 16inch rims I should get 205/45/16 tires. Is this accurate?

Also- If my new wheels weigh more than stock, will I need my speedometer recalibrated?

See I told you they were n00b questions.
Thanks for any/all help!
ripthesystem

That width should be fine. You could go with slightly wider tires if you wanted to as well. Personally, I'd probably go with 215 rather than 205....look at the Tire Rack plus sizings.

As far as spedometer recalibration, it has absolutely nothing to do with weight, it has to do with diameter. If you get the right sized tires then your total diameter will be the same or very close to it, like 1% off kinda close. It's only a problem if you go too far off, like 5-10%.

b

Ok can anyone explain Plus sizings? advantages, disadvantages?

Oops....my bad. Sorry I used Plus Sizings wrong earlier. Plus Sizings is just Tire Rack's name for adding an inch to your wheel diameter. For example, if your car comes stock with 16", then +1 woud be 17", +2 would be 18", you get the point. But basically they do all the math for you, knowing stock wheel+tire diameter, a +1 would yield the closest match to stock wheel+tire diameter, they tell you the tire size to use.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/plusone.htm

I accidentally referred to it as meaning a width increase. For width increases, there are calculators out there or you can just do it yourself.

My car comes stock 195/65/15. I put 205/60/15 on it. I didn't want to go up to 215 since the wheel is only 6.5", 215 is better suited for a 7" wheel.

Personally, I like wide tires. If I get custom wheels I'll get 225's on the car...but I doubt I'll ever get wheels. The benefit to wider tires is performance, however there are drawbacks. With wider tires the car is more likely to hunt/dart on uneven roads, more likely to hydroplane, and more costly to replace when you turn 'em into baldies.

b

Edit: added link

Hmmm. Well the tires that came on the car are 185/65/14

I see what you mean and thanks for all the help. I was going to go for the 205's strictly because that's what tirerack said I needed.. the difference on the 205 to the 215 is a little less than 1/2 an inch.

Anyone have any other preferences on the width for a 7 inch rim. the 205 is around 8" and the 215 around 8.5.. just looking to see if anyone has other opinions on this, since I can't see it on b4 I buy it.

Thanks again

on a civic i think 7 or 8 inch wide tires would look nice...going more than that would just make them look out of place...