hemants

I've heard mixed opinions on this.

eg. 225/50/16 on stock wheels.

The side wall is 4.4 inches, and you are increasing by 20mm or 0.8 inches.

That means each sidewall (inside and out) must bend 0.4 inches over the 4.4 inches to meet the tire.

What will this do?

1. move the flex point of the tire closer to the shoulder ->change tire wear?

2. decrease the contact surface because the shoulder is bending more?

3. increase bend in hard cornering?

4. increase chance of wheel popping out under hard cornering?

Opinions?

Personal experience?

Liam in Montreal

Why don't you just get 225/50/16

hemants

Oops typo, that's what I meant, original post edited.

Liam in Montreal

Well then you should be fine.... just drive.

hemants

What are the risks in exceeding mftr recommendations?

Liam in Montreal

your speedo will be a bit off, but otherwise the change is not big enough to cause any harm.

regards,
Liam

ArandA4

The fact that Audi chose to put a 205 on a 7" wheel is underkill. If you look at tire manufacturer recommendations, a 205 fits best on a 6.5" wide wheel. 225 is a natural fit for a 7" wheel. Look at the following specs for a representative tire (Dunlop SP5000) from Tirerack.

Size | Rim Width | Sect. Width | Tread Width

205/55WR16 | 6.5" | 8.5" | 7.5"
225/50WR16 | 7.0" | 9.1" | 8.4"

Bottom line, go to 225 and enjoy!<ul><li><a href="http://www.dunloptire.com/ourtires/performance/sp_sport_5000/specs.htm">Dunlop SP Sport 5000 Tire Specs</a></li></ul>