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View Full Version : Different tire sizes to change final gearing



bobdobbs
09-03-2003, 12:08 PM
Has anybody tried using slightly larger diameter tires to help with the shortish 1st and 5th gears? For example, 205/55-R16s would be less than 3% larger diameter than stock. Obviously, this wouldn't be good for Auto-X, but for day-to-day, with lighter wheels it seems to me we've got enough torque to get a good traffic light launch. The speedo would be slightly off (reading 3% slower than actual, which is only 2.4 mph at 80 mph). Is this a bad idea?

sniperSI
09-03-2003, 12:33 PM
Sounds like your right on the money.

anjapower
09-03-2003, 12:38 PM
I guess it would be a good idea if you wanted to get better fuel economy and lower the revs a bit on the highway, but I doubt it would make much of a difference in 1st gear.

I'd rather give up a few mpg and cruise at a few higher rpm to get more performance. That's just me though.