Re: 215-50-15 ???

[Khan Klatt <khan@mediaaccess.com>]

At 8:31 AM -0800 03/06/2000, Khan Klatt wrote:
>At 10:38 AM -0500 03/06/2000, Naresh H. Singh wrote:
>>Hey Gang,
>>
>>I picked up a set of rims this weekend and they have Continental Contact
>>215-50-15s mounted on them with lots of thread left. Anyone tried this
>>size on a non-lowered A3 Jetta? Any rubbing? The guy had them on his G60
>>Corrado and said it was a tight fit but no rubbing.
>>
>>What do you think?
>
>If I've got it right, the only difference between those tires and 
>stock tires is the width of the contact patch. Stock tires are 205mm 
>wide. Your tires are 215mm wide, or a whole 1cm wider. I can't 
>imagine that a tire 1cm wider would come close to rubbing. I'm no 
>expert, but you should have no problem.

Following up on my previous post, I forgot that the second number 
(50) is the height of the sidewall, as a percentage. So the 
difference between 50% of 205 and 50% of 215 is 5mm.

So, the height of the sidewall increases by 5mm (0.5 cm), and the 
width of the tire (contact patch) increases by 10mm (1 cm). If you 
want an idea of how much a cm is, the typical key on your keyboard is 
approximately 1 cm square.

Don't ask me why the first two numbers (205-50)refer to the metric 
system and the diameter and speed rating of the tire derived from the 
English system. (15 inches/149mph, etc.)

-K


Khan Klatt                                         khan@mediaaccess.com

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