It's been a while since I posted up and figgured this would be as good of place as any. I'm due for tires on my 05 WRX wagon. Since the car has 45k on it, it could probably use an alignment. Since I'm going to get it aligned, I might as well do the spring/insert swap I've been eyeing since I bought the car I'm gonna go with prodrive springs/koni inserts, and was curious what tire size I could comfortably clear with the stock 05 16" rims. I was thinking 225/45/16, but would 245/45/16s get a little too wide for the rim and subsequently tend to roll on the sidewall?

Thanks,
Chris

 

A 225 on a 6.5" rim would not be ideal but AFAIK it will work. A 225/50/16 would be almost an identical OD but I'm not sure if anyone makes a 225/50/17. 225/45 16 would be almost an inch smaller in OD. It's always a good idea to check the recommended wheel width of the tires you're going to buy.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

I think 225's are the widest you can go on the stock rims but you will have a little bit of overlap around the lip (which will actually help protect the wheel from crub rash supposedly)