So just for kicks, I went to tirerack.com to price tires/wheels for the Hawk.

I selected my 15" rims (MSW Type 25 matte grey finish), and to shop for tires it shows I should get 205/55/15 size tires. There were only four to choose from. Granted, I do kind of like the one selection, but I would want a higher tread rating as I prefer a harder compound.

So I went to another site of a local tire dealer and shopped by size, and it showed nothing in stock. Next I tried NTB and it only had one off-brand selection.

Are 205/55/15 going the way of the dinosaur like my 13" tires? Is there another 15 inch size that I would have more luck with that will be around for a long time to come?

I just don't want to buy rims and then not be able to get tires in a few years.

Idk what to suggest.I will stick with my factory size 13inch rim and cannot even recall the exact size(duh).I know that with todays new cars with the small size those should be easy to find I would think.But if your wanting to go up in size I would consider firestone or goodyear as good choices.I run firestone on both my old truck and my wifes accord.I have the destination on the truck(this is a true trk tire) and the wife has the bridgestone turanza a awesome tire! It handles great,NO road noise and no body roll in the curves.Her tire has the 60k mileage wise and 600 treadwear and she runs the 16inch.My cav runs theg 195/70/13 btw after running to the garage for specs.The bridgestone turanza cost 146.00 each but a super good tire.I suggest buying the road hazard as well(I DO ON every tire) it will pay for itself if you have a issue later.I considered continentals but hard to find and normally not a stocked item with firestone who sells them.My now previous civic had them and were pretty solid no noise,good tread life,handled well in snow,rain and dry and did see some snow action with the civ.Do lots of online checks with the brands and what you want to spend before just buying any tire.I found out this will make the time you own the tires more enjoyable and buying a harder compound tire means as it wears down it will be NOISY!Stay away from the bridgestone Potenza as these last and great aside from the last two years on the wifes accord the tire noise totally sucked.I managed to get right at 44k out of those and that was me checking the tire psi every wk and rotate every 5k.

Go up to a 16" rim and use a 205/50R16. You will have more choices and still get a tire with 400-700 tread wear and AA traction. I've been using that size since 2004 and my speedo is still accurate.

thank you Josh...I really thought 15" would be the way to go with no rubbing, but if 16" fits, I'll have the Hawk wear it.

Go to this website: http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/tirecalc.php?tires
There is a tire size calculator that will tell you everything you need from going from 13" to 20" wheels and tires. I find it invaluable in choosing wheel and tire sizes for different vehicles.
I went one size laterally and saved a bundle for my daughter's SUV tires. It even shows how a size change will affect your speedometer readings.
Get on that webpage and BOOKMARK it. You won't regret it.






~ Mike ~

+1 to Josh's comment. I was running 16" rims off of a 96 Grand Am on by Sunbird for a while. No issues.

I just checked the wagon I just traded for and its wearing 225/45/17's with no rubbing, It looks linda silly with 17 inch wheels but thast the size tire it had and no rubbing even with worn out rear shocks.

Was prepping my summer Cimarron wheels today - getting them cleaned up slicked down and letting out the air - then putting them in plastic garbage bags. Got a surprise when I looked in the reverse side. "Made in" ....of course I expected to see "USA" but to my suprise I saw "Japan" !! How about that? Cadillac the King of GMC buying Rims for their version of J-Body from Japan back then...LoL. Don't feel half bad now since the rims are sporting Korean tires on them Hahaa.

Always learning something interesting and new!!











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