kkouddous

What is the difference between a 18x7 wheel and a 18x8 wheel if they both use 225 width tires which translates into the same contact patch on the road. Shouldn't everyone save money and weight and opt for 18x7 wheels unless they go with 18x8.5 wheels which can take 234 width tires?

kkouddous

I meant 235 width tires ofcourse

Havepitty in W.Van

7 is good for 215 width tire

8 is probably good for 235 width tire

you can always sqeeze bigger tire on a rim... but there is a limit.

Larrytt

Using the same tire on different rim widths offers a few different things:

1. More contact patch when used on a wider wheel. Reason is the tire is stretched wider, thus more tread will be under the wheel.

2. The sidewall will be slightly shorter because more tire will be stretched out to cover the wider wheel.

3. Stiffer ride because of slightly shorter sidewall because the tire is being stretched to cover the wider wheel.

To me the optimal width wheel for the TT is 8.5" both front and rear.

Boosted

8.5 is good as its very common, I went with 8s though which are also a good choice

bldn10

and more sporty cars, and you will see the difference. The reason the wheels/tires on sporty cars look fatter, squattier is that the wheels are wider. IMO a narrower tire on a wider wheel looks better than a wider tire on a narrower wheel. I transplanted my OEM tires to an 8" wheel and they looked fatter. I bought the wheels from a guy who had them on a Jetta w/ 215s and, side by side, I swear the 215s on 8s looked wider than my 225s on 7.5s. Also, you can get more of a lip or deeper dish w/ wider wheels if you want that.