The weight of a 195/55x15 tire was 18 lb. So also for 185/55x16's.

I think your choice of tire, 185/50x15, is distressingly close to making your Fit a grocery cart. 185/50x15 tires are 22.28" in diameter and the 08 stock 195/55x15's are 23.44" nominally so your tires are 1.2" smaller. Even if you're looking for a/x performance that choice won't cut it, either.
I'm running 205/50x15's on my Fit getting ready to attack VIR and both mpg and acceleration are better than with the 205/40x17's. Another vote formaking a wider and heavier tire slightly smaller in diametr. !/4" or so, not an inch.
For 09's the original tire is 185/55x16's and they are 24.01" diameter so if you put 185/50x15's on it;'ll really look small. I,m pretty sure the 205/50x15's will fit on an 09 too; perhaps also with 1/4" spacers if they fit. see prior post.
Good luck.

 

My tire selection is purely based on weight and fitment. If i wanted to go AutoX, I'd take my S2000. I need a car that can provide excellent driver feedback around town, and rotational mass is my enemy .

 

A few questions:

Q) What Enkei model did you go with in a 16" size?
Q) What is the offset of this 16" model?
Q) Have you received the wheels/tires yet and fit them to the car and checked clearance in the front?

I'm asking becase Mahout is warning about a 50-series P205 16" tire (and recommending using a 45-series tire instead.)

I should point out that you & I exchanged posts earlier in the thread when you specified the 17x7.5" Enkei you were going with from Tire Rack, and I was just about to order the same exact wheel this week after pondering the decision the past few days.

Now I'm putting that on hold and am back to my previous two options:

1) A 16x7 wheel with a P205/50R16 tire, or
2) A 17x7 wheel with a P205/45R17 tire

The wheel I was considering was the Tenzo DC6 V2 (see pic below) which comes in both above sizes, each with a 42mm offset. It appears with nearly all these various sizes & offsets in the 42-45 range the tire is going to stick out about .8" further, which I'd really like to see before spending the money. I am willing to roll the front fenders a bit, but would prefer not doing it.

Tenzo DC6 V2 (gunmetal/machined):

 

Then you chose the wrong tire. A Fit with 205/50x15's will run rings around one with 185/50x15 tires.
The loss in grip on the 185's will cost you feedback. Response increases with lower sections so why choose 50 series?
PS what do you think of the S3000 planned in 2011?

 

Either of those two tires will need much fender modding with 42-45 mm offsets; why not 205/45x16 or 205/40x17's ?

 

Here's 3 reasons why:

1) The 205/50R16 or 205/45R17 are much closer to stock diameter and therefore little or no effect on speedo/odometer readings or ABS/VSA or even mileage computer function

2) Being closer to stock diameter means filling in the wheelwell better - I don't care for the tiny-wheel look, and I have to think it would be quite noticeable.

3) The minimal performance improvements that a smaller diameter tire may bring aren't personally important.

If I'm understanding the advice so far, it comes down to the .50" height difference of the tires that makes the difference on whether the fender is contacted by the tire on compression?

On my Audi S4, the problem I ran into was that my aftermarket wheel/tire combo stuck out about the same amount more (.80") but it was also a bit taller. When my car wasn't lowered, there was no problems at all, maybe because the suspension didn't compress enough. But when it was lowered, I got rubbing on the front. After rolling the fenders, the problem was 100% solved. I've assumed with the Fit that the suspension rarely would compress enough to cause rubbing, and that rolling the fenders would just represent a bit of an insurance policy against it. I don't plan on lowering the Fit, but from what I also have read, the resulting camber change would negate the need to roll the fenders (as with my old Eclipse GSX - when I dropped it, there was a 2+degree negative camber difference, and the tire tucked right into the fenderwell on compression.)

I would love to see how Radim's 16x7 Enkei with P205/50R16 works out - if you're reading this, Radim, please post pics!!

 

I don't expect anything from Honda on a new roadster for a while, but the concept is intriguing.

The reason I chose a narrow tire is for "nimbleness", front steering feels much faster on skinnier tires, at the compromise of handling. I guess I could over inflat 205's, but I think I'll stick with something narrow.

 

I just wanted to log in and say that yesterday I finally looked at the front fenders for the first time and was amazed how little sheetmetal actually extends into the wheelwell. This leaves me wondering exactly what would someone roll in order to clear room?

On my Audi, the front fenders had about .40" of sheetmetal extending into the wheelwell, and rolling that up and out of the way made a big difference. But the Fit's front fenders look like my Audi's rear fenders, where there's little if any metal to roll, and the main culprit as far as tires rubbing or impacting something on compression is the plastic wheelwell liner.

So when people are talking about rolling a Fit's fenders, are they really saying that the fenders need to be flared? In that case, a fender roller in the hands of an amateur really isn't the best way to go and I'd think a body shop would need to get involved.

 

More research on this topic...

The tire I was planning on getting anyway (Yokohama s-Drive) actually comes in a P195/45R17. It's the only tire I can find (at Tire Rack or Discount Tire Direct, anyway) that comes in this size.

Plugging this tire into the calculator over at www.rims-n-tires.com along with a 17x7 wheel w/42mm offset results in a .3% smaller diameter (which I can live with) and will stick out .60" versus .80" you would get with a P205/45R17.

So would this be a workable size?

 

Most fender-rollng involves only squeezing the fender arch flat part against the fender itself, thus creating a rust inducing place unllees considerable tar in the fold. By that you can get as much as a hal-inch of clearance. Usually its not worth it. Only a professional and competent body shop can do it right.

 

I'm running a set 16"x6.5" 45 offsets with 205/50/16's on my Civic
which I really want to keep when I buy the new Fit/Jazz in the UK
Are these likely to fit?
They are a US option for the previous model Fit
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/07-Ho...mZ250298195797

Any advise would help as I need to source a set of wheels off eBay to stick on the car when it goes

 

The 205/50x16 tires on 16x6.5"/45 wheels will 'push out' 10 mm" for the wheel and an extra 6 mm for the wheel width. That means the wheel, assuming first that it clears the Fit calipers and hubs, centerline moves out 0.3" (half the push out)and therefore the edge of the wider 205 tread moves out another 10 mm,(half the change in section width) or 3/8",(half the increase in section width, the other half goes inward). Thats .675", or more than 5/8". In fact close to 11/16" or 17 mm.
If you do not have 17mm or 11/16" between the stock tire tread edge and the fender arch you are likely to have trouble with mounting those Civic wheels/tires.
Sorry, I know that's not encouraging; it appears Honda wanted to limit tire updating to 205/45x16 on 16x6.5 or 7 rims 42 to 45 mm offset. Those tires are just smaller in diameter enough to clear on compression but just barely.
Looking at my records are you sure the Civic wheel is 16x6.5 and not 16x6?
If its 16x6 you may be OK but just barely. Measure the rim INSIDE the bead flanges and see. In that case you probably only need 12 mm clear.
good luck.

 

First, I contacted Tire Rack this afternoon and they are sending out a single Enkei wheel (17x7.5" +45mm) with Yokohama s-Drive tire mounted (P195/45R17). The consultant I spoke with believed this combo may work and more or less confirmed this isn't listed as the recommended size to use due to the fact that only this single tire make/model exists in this size. He is OK with the 195 mounted to the 7.5" width rim, as is Yokohama's site.

Second, I took some pics in my garage. This first pic shows an L-square (with metal straight edge attached to gain extension) that is pushed up against the outer tire sidewall of the OEM tire. This demonstrates where the outer sidewall lines up vertically versus the fender liner & fender edge. The outer edge of the tread is still another 1" or more inward:



This second pic shows the L-square pulled away (outward) 13mm, the outward extension that comes with this wheel/tire (per www.rims-n-tires.com tool). Here the outer sidewall vertically lines up out near the edge of the fender, but not extending beyond it, and the outer edge of the tread would still be inboard from here approximately 1 inch:



With my Audi S4, when you stood next to the car looking along the side, both front and rear tires were visible poking out just slightly, with the tread edge still inside the fender line. And as a previous post pointed out, I didn't have rubbing problems with the OEM suspension unless I hit some major bumps. When I fitted a Stasis coilover suspension and dropped the car 1.3", there was very little (if any) additional negative camber, and I had to roll the front fenders. In doing so, I cleared about .40" additional room and there were no subsequent rubbing problems.

In a few days we should all know, and I will post more pics. (This thread is in desperate need of more pics!)

 

Good post..!! But I think you'll be quite good with the 195/45/17 tires..... it should clear the front..and even more so if lowered...

 

Great photos.
Those tire to fender gaps are enormous (looks like 2.5"); much more than the 09 we had in here (about 1"). Since the 195/45x17's are very close to the stock tire diameter, 185/55x16 at 24", the 17x7.5"/45 wheel will push out 29 mm, or 1.14". And the edge of the tire about 1" more than the stock tire.
Thats going to put the tread edge into the fender arch. Unless of course you really have that fender gap, then it won't make any difference on compression so you'll be able to fit 195/45x17's on 17x7.5/45 wheels nicely.

 

Well, the most I'll be out is shipping costs if I have to return it. If it fits, I'll be ordering 3 more combos.

If all works out, my plan is install snow tires on the OEM wheels and swap the sensors to the Enkei's. That way I'll just have to put up with the TPMS light for 3-4 months during the winter months when we really don't travel much anyway.

There's no way I'm dropping $300+ on a second set of sensors and then visiting the dealer twice each year when I swap the winter/summer wheels/tires and paying them to re-sync the sensors.

Hopefully future cars will come with a TPMS system that can recognize multiple sets of sensors and allow the owner to re-sync on their own. This should have been how such systems were designed in the first place.

 

I'm wondering if mounting 205/50 R16 tires on the stock 2009 Fit Sport 16" rims is OK... Will there be any rubbing?

What about changing the rims? The factory rims use a strange offset from what I gather.

I'd be interested in mounting 205/45 R17 tires on some aftermarket 17" rims. But I've read a lot of conflicting things about this!

Can someone recommend an aftermarket 17" rim that is OK with 205/45 R17 tires on a 2009 Fit Sport? No rubbing or compromising the safety/durability of the vehicle, please

I want to keep the outside rim+tire diameter the same as stock and keep the suspension/alignment stock.

Please help... Thanks!

 

This is terrible news. I was about to flip my 07 and get an 09. The rims I have on my 07 are 16 x 7 with a 38+ offset. It fits a little close to the fender already. ( no rub since swaybar was installed.) If these rims don't fit then it's probably a deal breaker. I'm not buying a new set of rims just for this.

Frack sakes!

 

There shouldn't be any rubbing on 20/50x16 tires mounted on the stock Fit Sport rims (offset 53 mm). Close, but probably OK.

The 205/45x17 tires are too large (24.26" vs stock 24" dia) mounted on any of the common 17" wheels with 42 to 45 mm offset as the wheel is 'pushed-out' too far toward the fender arch. In this case 8 to 11 mm or about 3/8" further toward the arch. Too close for comfort although the 45 mm offset wheel has a better chance. We did mount a 205/40x17 tire and 17x7/42 mm offset wheel and it worked.
Only tires with diameter 23.5" or less on at least 42 mm offset wheels not wider than 7" rim tucked under the arch when the wheel turned under compression. Lowered would not be possible.


All this is based on one 09 Fit we had here but he's gone bacjk to school in another stte so we won't have access again to his til Thanksgiving.

Good luck.

 

As necessary before discussing fitments its necessary to know what tire and wheel you have now.
Actually, the 16x7 wheel with 38 mm offset is also too large for the 08 if you used a 205/45x16 or 195/50x16 tire on stock 08. If you installed a rear antisway bar you apparently prevented tire rub. barely.
.
On the 09 the wheel pushes out 15 mm (53-38) or 5/8", plus another .5" for the extra rim width. The outer rim is 1.125", or 28 mm, further out from the hub than the stock wheel/tire. Unless your tire is like 23.4" or less in diameter the tread edge won't tuck under the arch as the wheel rises in compression.