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Car Forum / Saab Cars / June 2007Wheel Width/Tyre Width
Guys ... It's that old wheel width/tyre width question again. SAAB classic 900s have 5.5" wide wheels and while the standard ratio is 195/60, some people fit 205/55s. Personally, I don't think they look right on 5.5s, but ... Onto 6", 6.5" and 7" width wheels ... What experience do people have of 205/55 ratio tyres on those width wheels on the classic 900? I have some 6" curly Aeros (off a 9000) which I'm thinking of fitting 205/55s for my Mrs' 'vert and definitely going for 205 width tyres on my 7" wheels, but whether to go for 55 or 60 percent sidewalls on those wheels ... They're the deep dish, five spoke wheels that kind of look good with big tyres and I know the 195/65 ratio straight from the 9000 works without rubbing. I'd like to hear from people running 9000 wheels (with 6" width) on their classic 900s with 205/55 ratio tyres. What brands? Are they too wide for dramatically lowered cars? What rubbing do people get with passengers in the back? Inquiring minds need to know ... Cheers all, Paul 1989 900 Turbo S http://saab.go.dyndns.org/ I put on a set of 205/55 on 6J rims recently. A non-turbo 900 that is, it looks great and I can imagine that they wouldn't on 5,5J rims. The tyres are chinese Maxxis tyres (used ones I got for cheap). I know one guy who's running 195/65 on a CV... it seems to work, but doesn't look any good! Here in germany it's for bidden anyway. I think I can take some pics of both if you like (drop me a mail in that case). /T. > I put on a set of 205/55 on 6J rims recently. A non-turbo 900 that > is, it looks great and I can imagine that they wouldn't on 5,5J rims. > The tyres are chinese Maxxis tyres (used ones I got for cheap). I'd love to see a picture, especially of the rims. I know different manufacturers look very different, but it would give me an idea. > I know one guy who's running 195/65 on a CV... it seems to work, but > doesn't look any good! Here in germany it's for bidden anyway. There was some discussion here recently about the legality of wheels and tyres in Germany. Is it the 195/65 ratio that is illegal on the classic 900? 195/60 is standard on 5.5" width wheels. Our convertible is not lowered, so it could take a little higher percentage tyre wall size, but I'd like to go with a ratio equivalent to the standard or perhaps the standard ratio if the 205/55 look a bit "fat". On my C900 Aero, the suspension is quite lowered, but stiff and I can get away with the 195/65 ratio that is on my 7" width wheels, so I think 205/60 would be okay too. The wheels are quite small-looking, being a split rim, so it looks kind of retro to have big tyres on them ... Hopefully the 205 width will give them an even fatter look. It's these wheels, in case you were wondering: <http://www.saabphotos.com/gallery/albums/Orca/DSCF3967.jpg> > I think I can take some pics of both if you like (drop me a mail in > that case). I'd like to see the 205/55s on the 6" width wheels. I've e-mailed you as a sideline. Paul 1989 900 Turbo S http://saab.go.dyndns.org/ >> I put on a set of 205/55 on 6J rims recently. A non-turbo 900 that >> is, it looks great and I can imagine that they wouldn't on 5,5J rims. >> The tyres are chinese Maxxis tyres (used ones I got for cheap). >I'd love to see a picture, especially of the rims. I know different >manufacturers look very different, but it would give me an idea. > >> I know one guy who's running 195/65 on a CV... it seems to work, but >> doesn't look any good! Here in germany it's for bidden anyway. >There was some discussion here recently about the legality of wheels and >tyres in Germany. Is it the 195/65 ratio that is illegal on the classic 900? >195/60 is standard on 5.5" width wheels. Illegal how though? Because it puts the speedo ratio out? Something to do with the effect that particular tyre size has on the car's geometry when driving? Craig.  SignatureCraig's Saab C900 Page at | Craig's Classic Saab Workshop - Sydney .au http://lios.apana.org.au/~c900 | http://www.classicsaab.net and other URL's Email: c900@lios.apana.org.au | For Saab 99/C900/9000 Enthusiasts World-Wide! Alternate: saabonaut@gmail.com | Web-forums, galleries, library, links, etc. >Illegal how though? Because it puts the speedo ratio out? Something to do >with the effect that particular tyre size has on the car's geometry when >driving? > >Craig. We already went through that subject a couple weeks ago :-) Apparently Germany has strict regulations on tire sizes being in conformance with original manufacturer specs. (They also regulate bicycle lights closely!). > I'd love to see a picture, especially of the rims. I know different > manufacturers look very different, but it would give me an idea. I sent you some pics of my 205/55 on 6Jx15 ET33 Fundo "Turbo 9000" rims. Usually I drive on Minilites, but since some people told not to go for the 205/55s, I bought a cheap test-setup ;) > There was some discussion here recently about the legality of wheels and see here: http://groups.google.com/group/alt.autos.saab/browse_thread/thread/b607eefb92ab2 fe4/278bc95363e82492?q=rims&lnk=ol&hl=en& > tyres in Germany. Is it the 195/65 ratio that is illegal on the classic 900? > 195/60 is standard on 5.5" width wheels. Yes, It's not only illegal, it looks strange ;) I can try to take some pics of my colleagues CV tomorrow at work. > Our convertible is not lowered, so it could take a little higher percentage > tyre wall size, but I'd like to go with a ratio equivalent to the standard > or perhaps the standard ratio if the 205/55 look a bit "fat". You should go with the standard diameter... everything else looks strange. As you can see on the pics they don't look "fat", only wide. You have to have a littel distance ring for the rear springs... /Tomas >> I'd love to see a picture, especially of the rims. I know different >> manufacturers look very different, but it would give me an idea. > I sent you some pics of my 205/55 on 6Jx15 ET33 Fundo "Turbo 9000" > rims. > Usually I drive on Minilites, but since some people told not to go for > the 205/55s, I bought a cheap test-setup ;) ... > You should go with the standard diameter... everything else looks > strange. As you can see on the pics they don't look "fat", only wide. > > You have to have a littel distance ring for the rear springs... Thanks for the pictures - TBH, I'm inclined to go with 205/55s on my 6" wheels (SAAB wheels, so ET33) which are certainly within the parameters for fitting into the arches on the convertible. They look fine on the wheel and seem to sit nicely in the arches. I definitely _would not_ go for 205/55s on the 5.5" wheels and definitely _would_ on the 7" width wheels, so the issue was ... What to go for on the 6" width and this has certainly answered that question. Thanks again, Paul 1989 900 Turbo S http://saab.go.dyndns.org/ 'welcome. I'm happy with that setup as well. /T. >Guys ... It's that old wheel width/tyre width question again. >SAAB classic 900s have 5.5" wide wheels and while the standard ratio is >195/60, some people fit 205/55s. Personally, I don't think they look right >on 5.5s, but ... >Onto 6", 6.5" and 7" width wheels ... What experience do people have of >205/55 ratio tyres on those width wheels on the classic 900? >I have some 6" curly Aeros (off a 9000) which I'm thinking of fitting >205/55s for my Mrs' 'vert and definitely going for 205 width tyres on my 7" >wheels, but whether to go for 55 or 60 percent sidewalls on those wheels ... >They're the deep dish, five spoke wheels that kind of look good with big >tyres and I know the 195/65 ratio straight from the 9000 works without >rubbing. >I'd like to hear from people running 9000 wheels (with 6" width) on their >classic 900s with 205/55 ratio tyres. What brands? Are they too wide for >dramatically lowered cars? What rubbing do people get with passengers in the >back? My 83 turbo came with 6.5" wide 3-spoke aftermarker 'Speedy' wheels which had Yokohama 205/65 tyres. They rubbed on the wheel arches even without anyone in the back when I put them on the 85 900i for a while before I sold the wheels on Ebay and went back to some standard Saab 5.5" wheels on that car. I think they may have been better with 205/55 or even 205/45 tyres (though 205/45 might have made the car too low by a smidgen). Craig. SignatureCraig's Saab C900 Page at | Craig's Classic Saab Workshop - Sydney .au http://lios.apana.org.au/~c900 | http://www.classicsaab.net and other URL's Email: c900@lios.apana.org.au | For Saab 99/C900/9000 Enthusiasts World-Wide! Alternate: saabonaut@gmail.com | Web-forums, galleries, library, links, etc. |
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