Please help me sleep tonight

[coloskydiver]

When I bought the rim and tire setup on my Scion I was very please with looks and ride height of the car, but after 5K miles I ran into some issues. The Tires that I put on my Scion were a 215/35/18. These tires had next to no side wall which made the ride very rough and ended up damaging two of my rims. Since there was no side wall, every bump and pot hole was being absorbed by my rims and I ended up with a few fairly large dents in the lip of the rim (one was very large). Know the Discount Tire policy about "satisfaction", I went back seeing if there was anything they could do. The manager told me that there was nothing he could do for the rims but would credit me back the full amount on the tires for a tire that was larger. As the manager franticly pound away on his computer he says " okay, this is what you need. It will have a 3/4" larger side wall and will drastically increase the ride and protect your rims from any further damage". So I said great, what's 3/4" of an inch. The tires he was recommending were a 235/40/18. Well, I got them swapped out today and these tires seem huge. I just cant seem to get over how they look. They seem to belong on my truck. I showed it to a few friends and my wife to get their opinions. All of them said that it looks fine, but just not as sporty as before. I need everyone's opinion because I am tempted to take them back. These new tire do rid MUCH better but it also needs to look right. I think that they are to wide. Please be honest with me. I do not have much time to decide and am really on the fence.

The 215/35/18 had an over all diameter of 23.9" and weighed 20 lbs (first set)
The new 235/40/18 have an over all diameter of 25.4 and weigh 24 lbs.

I need to go bigger from before but think that this is to big. Do you think that a 225/40/18 (Diameter of 25.1) would provide the ride and protection I need or just stay with these new 235's. Here are the before and afters



BEFORE


AFTER

[memphis]

hmm I wouldnt sweat it bro.. it looks fine.. I will say, its a lil hard to see on here and Im sure that in person there may be a slight difference, but really, it still looks good.. Its not like your driving around with swampers or anything.. you should just be happy with the fact that your being more safe with having more rubber to protect your rims and give you a better ride then to have the lil rubber bands wrapped around your rims just for looks.. I remember you telling me that this was your daily long distance driver now and having these newer bigger tires is a much better choice I would think..

[mOOsE]

Looks good to me. Have to see it in person I guess but the pics look great

[DJ]

my experiance (spelling) with discount tire they always with do the satisfaction thing as long as you get a larger tire so you have to buy a new rim they tried that crap on me with snow tires and yah it didnt fly dont normally like scions but i do dig the white! nice shots

[MazdaTom]

Well, for a car that small which is street driven, IMO a 235 tire is too wide. I take it that these are summer only tires. If they are going to be used in all seasons, then enjoy sliding everywhere you go with that wide foot print in the snow. And slow down in the rain as a tire that wide is basically a water ski on a car that small.

[Rich]

How wide is your rim? 235s like Tom said seem too wide, especially coming from a 215. IMO they could have gone 225/40 or 225/45 to get you where you'd like to be.

[mOOsE]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MazdaTom @ Jul 30 2008, 07:06 AM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=58639]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Well, for a car that small which is street driven, IMO a 235 tire is too wide. I take it that these are summer only tires. If they are going to be used in all seasons, then enjoy sliding everywhere you go with that wide foot print in the snow. And slow down in the rain as a tire that wide is basically a water ski on a car that small.[/b]

+1, ran 215's on a 2200lb civic + rain = hydro at any speed above 50mph.

[RX-7 Chris]

I think they look great.

[AIM WO4]

Can you take pic #2 from the same or similar angle?

[S4poor]

Can you return the Scion for a better car ;p

[kingtut]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RMSpeed6 @ Jul 30 2008, 11:42 AM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=58696]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Can you return the Scion for a better car ;p[/b]

LOL (says the KIA owner...seriously)

Honestly though, from those pics I think the second one looks better anyway

[S4poor]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (kingtut @ Jul 30 2008, 01:44 PM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=58731]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

LOL (says the KIA owner...seriously)

Honestly though, from those pics I think the second one looks better anyway[/b]

As far as Scions go, that one actually looks nice.

As for the tires, ditch the 35 series.

[coloskydiver]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (AIM WO4 @ Jul 30 2008, 11:38 AM) [url=index.php?act=findpost&pid=58692]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/url]</div>

Can you take pic #2 from the same or similar angle?[/b]

[coloskydiver]

Thank you to everyone for your imput. I went to discount and did get them to swap them out, but really did not have many size options. I problem with the 235's was that they were being mounted on a 7" rim and the side wall was bulging out past the rim. That size should not go on that size of Rim and ended up just barely sticking out past the wheel well.

1. 215/45/18- Too tall and would not work with drop springs
2. 225/40/18 - What I ended up going with. Still a little wide but will fit the rim better and still provide the protection of the side wall for my rim.

The 225 was .4 smaller in diameter, lighter, and about 3/8th of an inch narrower. I think it will be much better.

The car is at Discount right now and will post pics to show the compairison.

[coloskydiver]

Just picked up my car and it looks so much better. It is amazing to see have a few fractions of inch here and there makes such a difference. The tires tuck much better into the fender, do not roll over the rim lip and fit the rim so much better. I hate to be "that guy" and raise a fuss but for that kind of money you need to be happy. BTW I didn't get much sleep. SO, I know the pics do not really show the difference but here they are.


BEFORE:- 235/40/18

AFTER: 225/40/18