Hello, I am going to be buying new tires for my 03 es protege and wanted to know what size would be best 17. I know the recomended size for my car is 205/45/17 from tire rack but i wnat to know what other people are driving on. I am looking to buy 4 new hankook Ventus HRII at 215/45/17 which is the stock size on the msp proteges so i dont' think clearance will be a problem. I know my speedometer will be off but by a lilttle. On my car I have eibach pros and tockico blues so take into acount that it is lowered. Please any suggestions and tire sizes would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

I have a lowered P5 with 215 40 R17 tires on it. The overall diameter of this size is pretty close to the overall diameter of the stock 195 50 R16 wheel and tire package. That is one reason that I selected it. Another reason is that this is a very common size of tire, and there are many good ones to choose from.

BTW, if you do decide to go with 40 series, please note that due to the 215mm tread width, the sidewall is several mm higher than it would have been with 205mm wide tires (since the "40" specification for height is a percent value of the width). This sidewall choice has been sufficient, in that pot holes and other sharp impacts have not caused damage to the wheels and the ride is still decent. In my experience with 205 40 R17 tires, that was not the case.