I'm shooting from the hip here, but the recommendation may be due to the high center of gravity of the vehicle. I'd research this carefully to make sure it's OK to use the larger wheels with low profile tires.
Honda stresses 15" as only choice for CR-V
- Thread starter 427Z06
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Going to a 60 series tire is likely to give you a harder ride and offer less off road rim protection. Given the nature of the vehicle I'm sure Honda considered both these things before coming up with their recommendation. It also may be just that they are worried about potential lawsuits. After the Ford/Firestone disaster most companies are running scared...
I suspect the combination of what 427Z06 said about the high center of gravity and what jsharp said about the Ford/Firestone debacle is most likely the cause.
Look at all thos Navigators and Caddy Escalades you see with 19"-20" wheels. They have an awfully high center of gravity and as yet, I haven't heard of them rolling like the Explorer. Still, they (Honda) simply have to cover their arse.
I recently bought a 2004 Honda CR-V EX. The alloys are nice but the tires are bad.
My plan was to plus one size: buy 16" wheels and put 215/60/16 tires for primary use and keep the OEM wheels and add OEM sized (205/70/150) winter tires.
My only concern is that honda points out in the manual and on the door that only 15" is to be used. However, Tirerack and Tires.com both list plusing sizes up to 18".
Would adding 16" wheels/tires cause additional stress to the axle/steering, etc? The 15" aren't so bad, but in the 70 profile, my choices are slim!
quote:The only thing that matters in that case is the overall height of the tire/wheel combo. If your 16" size is the same as your 15" size then you'll have no problem. That warning is probably there so that some douche doesn't try to put 14.5" or 15.5" tires on the stock wheels or something really stupid like that. [ June 17, 2004, 01:54 AM: Message edited by: Thomas Pyrek ]
Originally posted by Razl: My only concern is that honda points out in the manual and on the door that only 15" is to be used. However, Tirerack and Tires.com both list plusing sizes up to 18".
quote:Bingo. Give the vehicle more turning traction, like whan you put better and lower profile rubber on, and you are making it easier to roll that vehicle.
suspect the combination of what 427Z06 said about the high center of gravity and what jsharp said about the Ford/Firestone debacle is most likely the cause.
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Originally posted by mikep: Look at all thos Navigators and Caddy Escalades you see with 19"-20" wheels. They have an awfully high center of gravity and as yet, I haven't heard of them rolling like the Explorer.
![[Cool]](images/icons/cool.gif){kind=icon}
That's because they're too heavy to roll over. ![[Razz]](images/icons/tongue.gif){kind=icon}
If you keep the overall diameter the same it won't affect the speedo but a bigger rim with a lower profile tire (and shorter sidewall) will handle sharper and also ride harder. If it's a street-only vehicle I wouldn't worry about it. How many homies take their bling off-road?quote:Yeah, I'd just love to see what a bog full o' differential-deep slime-mud would do to a set of 20' chrome spinners. . .
Originally posted by JohnnyO:quote:
Originally posted by mikep: Look at all thos Navigators and Caddy Escalades you see with 19"-20" wheels. They have an awfully high center of gravity and as yet, I haven't heard of them rolling like the Explorer.
i think honda just means that you shouldnt try to force 14 inch tires on youre wheels or somthing like stupid like that.
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Originally posted by ekpolk: Yeah, I'd just love to see what a bog full o' differential-deep slime-mud would do to a set of 20' chrome spinners. . .
![[LOL!]](/forums/graemlins/lol.gif)
They certainly wouldn't ever spin the same, would they. What really kills me are the spinner hub caps. Saw them in Pep Boys the other week. There's no accounting for taste, is there.
Back on topic, I'd certainly throw my vote in the "it will affect the handling and overall stability"/"Honda covering their arse" ring. If they go out of their way to say "only use 15 in.", they mean something more than just "Don't use the wrong tire size for the factory rims."quote:Absolutely not a problem. You'll be fine, and you'll get better handling. I'd probably do exactly the same thing (unless you do a lot of off-roading). 215/60R16's are actually .5% smaller than the 205/70R15's, so you won't add any stress and you'll even reduce your chance of a rollover by an insignificant amount! Honda's recommendation is just lawyer talk for "your vehicle is not designed for dubs".
Would adding 16" wheels/tires cause additional stress to the axle/steering, etc? The 15" aren't so bad, but in the 70 profile, my choices are slim!
![[Big Grin]](images/icons/grin.gif){kind=icon}
[ July 23, 2004, 09:18 PM: Message edited by: rpn453 ]I think cost of ownership also plays a factor since 15" tires are much cheaper than 16 or 17 tires.
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