So I'm on a budget. I bought some pretty nice rims for $220. But theres an issue. The tires on them are 205/40/17 rated at 84H. I thought itd be fine to drop the rating from my 195/65/15- 88W rims and tires.

But when I drove them around after a while I could feel a rubbing sound and feeling in the brakes. Nothing appeared to be rubbing. The tires were clean, the inside of the rims were clean and the calipers did not appear to be rubbing against the rims. So there was no physical indication of an issue.

But I noticed it when I'd hit the brakes. On top of that the car was always drifting to the right a little bit on the highway. With low profile tires I'd expect a slightly rougher ride but these didn't feel very productive.

So I put my old tires back on and my car drives perfectly. The rims and tires look to be in great condition so I'm wondering if my car just doesn't do well with that size tire and rims. Anyone know what size I should be looking for?
I'm looking for something to look good on my car but on a budget. A few hundred for a used tire and rim package which is easy to find a craigslist but all they have are stuff that work better on smaller cars like civics.

 

It is amazing how good the factory stuff works, isn't it?

I upgraded mine by buying a set of Factory wheels from a better model than mine.

However, truth be told, you should not really have a problem running 17" tires.

Most likely the previous owner had camber issues and wore the tire in a weird way.

If you put a new set of tires on the 17" wheels you would most likely be fine and the car would drive straight.

 

What exact size rims and tires would you recommend for my Accord that drive well but still look pretty good?

 

the 17's you bought are just fine, you just need new tires.

 

I went on yahoo answers a while ago and someone claiming to work in the tire industry answered by saying the tires were too small. they are an inch smaller in diameter than recommended. And from what I know, my car requires a 88W tire. these have 84H. I cant find any tires with an 88 rating at 205/40/17. Any ideas?

 

I think you are confused on how tire sizing works.

First # 205 - that is the width in MM ie. 205mm wide

Second # 40 - this is a percentage of width to height ie. 40% of 205 = 82 mm tall

Third # is rim size

The 88W or 84H has NOTHING to do with the size of the tire.

If you want a taller tire in a 205 size you would look for

205/45, 205/50, 205/55, ect...

 

A 205/50/17 tires would do you just right..overall tire diameter will be 25.1mm .

WheelBrokerAng

 

I do understand the tire size meanings. I was referring to the weight rating in relation to the tires. I could not find an 88 weight rating with 205/40/17. They're all 84. I wonder if that is part of my issue. If my car is too heavy for the tires it will ride wrong and prove dangerous as well. The size comparison I checked and they seemed to be the same but what this guy said made me think.
Whats going on with my tires? - Yahoo! Answers
thats the post, youll see the guys answer.
Before I go throwing the tires on my car again to see if I just didn't put them on well, I wanna see if I should consider finding different tires.

 

My girlfriend works in the food industry, that does not make her an expert in proper raw pork handling techniques.

The dude whose answer you are putting weight to because he works in the "tire industry" does not know what he is talking about.

You have a 4 cyc econobox, the lightest type of car out there. The tire with the smallest weight handling capacity is more than adequate for our cars. I do not think they make a tire in a 17" wheel size that has a rating lower than what our cars require. Now if you were trying to fit a 13" size tire on the car you could run into a weight capacity issue.

Your problem is this (and this is the answer, you do not need to look any further at all this is the answer)

1 -you bought used tires which were wore in a non-uniform way by the previous owner which is why your car pulls and rides different with them on.

2- you have offset issues on the wheels (they are too inboard or too outboard) and cause rubbing issues when you brake because they are rubbing somewhere. When you brake the front of your car dips down which puts the tires closer to the fender lips or inside wheelwells.

That was your answer, you do not need to explore weight capacities, rubber compounds, tread patterns or anything else.

 

that answer helps quite a bit. however there is still the weight rating that baffles me. my car needs an 88, these are 84. You have the same car it seems, what do you have on yours?