Need new tires ASAP. Here's the dilema:

Hit a big-ass pothole. Tires appeared to have survived ok. But when I tried to drive from NB to Calgary one of them popped a sidewall and the other developed a large bulge.

Since NOBODY had these tires on hand (185/55/R16) anywhere (not even Honda) I was forced to limp from just north od Sault-St. Marie to Calgary on the space-saver spare and bulged tire, not exceeeding 100 kms per hour. Fortunately I made it here ok.

But apparently nobody in Winnipeg has them, and I suspect this is true in other Canadian cities as well. The bastards at Honda apparently chose 16" as a rim size because they knew nobody would have tires that size on hand (only by special order with minimum one-week lead times for delivery) and that this way Honda could corner the market.

So I'm wondering: are the 15" and 17" rim offsets and bolt patterns the same on Civics and Fits alike? I'm thinking of picking up a set of aftermarket tires/rims of a more common size from Kijiji or someplace--- all the better to cut Honda out of the market. Or has anyone in Calgary actually succeeded in finding these 16" tires on hand an a non-price-gouging rate?

 

Tire Rack has the Stock Dunlops for like $81 in stock (and the Bridgestone's but they are a little over $100)
Most modern Civics are 5 lug (I have completely forgotten what year the Civic went away from 4 lug maybe 2002?)

One or 2 Canadian guys have replaced the stock 16's with Goodyear Fuel Max in 205/50 ( about stock diameter, but a little wider) size and have gotten better MPG to boot as they are one of the new breed of low rolling resistance tires.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/eco-...l-economy.html



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Thanks T, the $81 price sounds encouraging, even after being adjusted in Canada to our echhange rate and the shipping/brokerage fees. This would bump that price to around $120 per tire in Canada.

But you can count on Honda to gouge that up to a factor of at least $200 per tire, plus mount/balance/tax/enviro fee. Then they'll tell you what a great deal they can provide you at over a grand installed. I'll call them tomorrow just for laughs, but....

 

I've got stock tires that I could sell to you if you want. I'm in Calgary as well. My tires have about 2000 kms on them and they look like new. Let me know if you're interested.

 

Sad to see you getting mad at the car manufacturer even though they don't make the tire...And yes the current economic uncertainty with GM has probably affected a lot of suppliers already, so expect worse things to come.


BTW current price on those stock tires are 160.00 and are in stock in Calgary.

 

Honda has a role in this as it is an odd tire size. If it were a more common size he would not be having any problems finding a tire in stock. It is the same as the Protege5 I owned, originally it was just the one type of Dunlop in that size you could get, so you either have to go with a wider tire with a similar circumferance or get hosed trying to buy the unique size.

 

Actually it was the oddball rim diameter chosen by Honda that made the proper tires difficult to locate. Honda in Thunder Bay didn't have any on hand. Some of the tire shops I contacted in my search had some very nasty things to say about the predilection of some manufacturers to introduce non-standard rims sizes among other strategies, giving them a marketing advantage for the first year or so until the suppliers catch up.

Good to see that your dealership does have these tires though, and the price of only $160 is a nice surprise. Even with taxes, enviro, balace and install that would still come in at under $200 per tire.

However, I took the advice of one of the previous posters and found the 205/50/16 tires to be much more plentiful and perfectly compatible. I just had a set of Kuhmos in this size installed for a grand total of $557 and change. They seem to have a higher sidewall than the 185/55/16s but I haven't yet worked out the numbers to confirm this. Higher and wider would be better though--- might make them more resistant to the negative effects of bottomless potholes smoked at highway speeds.

BTW, how much does Honda want for a set of 15" steel rims for these cars? My new province (NB) will be requiring WINTER tires (ie: NOT all-season) and I want to mount mine on the more expendable steel rims this coming winter to save the mags.

 

I think they were $61 CDN each from the dealer. 15" x 5.5 width Honda steel rims. There are cheaper aftermarket Civic rims that'll fit but they're 6" wide.

 

So are you in Calgary moving to NB or the other way around?

 

I've already moved to NB (over a girl) after 28 years in Calgary and Vancouver, but I'm still working in Calgary until mid-July.

 

Are those cheaper Civic rims 15" in diameter? The Civics are now 5-lug. I'm not certain, but I think the last time Civics used the 4-lug rims they were only 13" rims. At least that seemed to be the case from my recent recon visit at Pick 'n' Pull.

 

You can get 15" diameter x 6" wide Civic rims with 4x100mm bolt circle. I think they're around $45 to $50 each.

 

They'll probably work better with slightly more sidewall, but not by much. I don't know if it is worth the trade-off of decreasing your MPG due to the heavier weight of the tire.

Civics haven't used 13" rims since 1995. The latter ones till 2005 were all 4-lug and 14" or 15". The only exception is the EP3 Si's, which came with a 5-lug in their latter years of production.

Be sure to check to see if the 15" rims will clear the calipers (will depend on the offset and design). If so, that would be a much better choice as it will offer more protection against potholes and offer up a smoother ride. But the handling would suffer slightly. On the brighter side, your MPG will probably improve slightly, as well.

 

Caliper clearance isn't a problem with 15" rims. The DX and LX models come with 15" wheels

 

I was just saying not all 15"-lug will fit, because of the offset and possibly the rim design. I know that height wise, it will clear the calipers, but I'd be cautious of the width. IIRC, the offset should be around 60-65mm.

BTW, are those Civic Hybrid wheels on your Fit? Looks good.

 

Thanks but nope. They are stock 15" mags on Canadian LX models.




And here are my winters: