What is the widest tire I can put on my stock 2002 wrx rims?

 

225/50/16.

 

thats pushing it

 

I've run 225/50/16 on stock 02 wheels with no problem. The sidewall flex is an issue, and I saw a lot more tramlining, but I can't say that was all because of the size and not just the tire itself. But the wider footprint looked great!

 

I've heard a lot of people say the 225's will feel very sloppy on the stock wheels. 215's I dont know about though

 

thanks for the replies guys...I think i'll go with some 215 and then move up from there, i've got awhile before i need new tires so until then thanks for your help!

 

ya 215s!

 

Not on a sedan. I ran that for five years with no problems other than the occasoinal sidewall flex.

 

So are talking about 225's? or 215's? and if so which kind of tire were you running? falken, bridegstone..etc?

 

225/50/16 Bridgestone Potenza RE750, a "wider" model of tire due the beefy sidewall "curb guard".

 

i use 225/50/16 kumho MX on my '02 wrx wagon (using the stock wheels) and i didn't think the sidewall flex is really an issue. i use my car for HPDE events at thunderhill and it has been fine for me.

that said, i have not tried 225 width tires on 7" wide wheels so i may not have the best basis of comparison. for what it is worth my previous vehicle had azenis sport RT215 (very stiff sidewalls) and i don't think my current setup on my wagon is noticeably worse

next time around i will use azenis sport rt615 to take advantage of the supposedly stiffer sidewall compared to the kumho mx

 

Not to rebut what he's saying, but just to add a log to the fire of discussion, I've been running 225/45/17 for a while now and can honestly say there's a pretty big difference in the feeling of "stability" between my current setup and my old setup (225/50/16). In retrospect, there may have been more sidewall flex issues than I realized since I had no basis of comparison; however, I suppose that ignorance is bliss since I have no real complaints regarding my old setup. Would I go back to 225/50/16 if I had to? Yes, if it were between that and 205/55/16.

Just my 2 cents

 

Thanks for the .02
Im going to def. check into some bigger tires wen i need to replace mine.