I have a 2005 LX with stock tires and wheels. I assume that they are 15" as I bought the car new. It's tire time. Should I get 16" wheels instead with new tires? I would like real wheels instead of plastic. I prefer a more stock looking wheel over crazy chrome and the like. I am concerned about bolt patten and whether the computer needs to be adjusted for a larger size tire. HELP

 

If the car has 5 lugs (probably) the pattern is 5x114.3mm

If the car has 4 lugs (possibly) that pattern is 4x114.3mm

Getting new wheels with tires is nice. Gives you the option to have a full size spare in the trunk and youll have a spare set of wheels for snow tires if you need them.

Whatever size you get is up to you. You can go about as big as 19" before anything goofy will happen. I personally prefer 17" wheels and there are a lot of Acura wheels that arent flashy such as the 2004-2008 TL "5-star" wheels or the 2007-2008 TL-S wheels, both are 17" and will bolt right up.

Its important to keep the same rolling diameter as what is stated in the door jamb (factory tire size) so your speedometer is not off. Just don't go bigger than a 19" wheel and you shouldnt have any problems finding a tire that wont screw this up.

If you car has a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) there are sensors in the wheel that should be changed over to the new wheels so the traction control will still work and not cause any issues.

 

In order to figure this out, read the tire size...if it says for example, 195/60/15, then you are running on 15 inch rims, if the last number is 16, you are running on 16 inch rims, etc, etc.

 

Here is a usefull and very nice tool for tire size matching. Gives you a good visual.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Ignore the miata.net