What's the difference between 16x6 wheel rims and 16x7 wheel rims?
I have what I believe to be 16x6 wheel rims on my car. I know this because I just bought a replacement rim for my set that was 16x6. I now see that I need to replace another rim in my set. I may be able to get a good deal on a set of 16x7 rims,replacing all my existing ones. But I don't know much about this subject - will that even work?
I have an '05 PT Cruiser that currently has the Hollander 2168 16x6 rims on them.
Please help!
You may want to talk to the parts counter at your dealership - I'm not sure if the low-profile in the PT will make any difference with wider wheels. Here's an article at Car & Driver that broke down speed/handling differences in changing wheel sizes.
What size are the tires on your existing rims, and will you transferring them to the new rims, or will you be getting replacement tires as well?
the difference is literally 1 inch. A wider rim by 1 inch will allow a wider tire, increasing the contact patch of rubber to the road. While there are many, many factors that affect handling, the novice answer is: all other things being equal, a wider tire offers better maximum cornering ability. A side effect is often also sitting more flush with the fenders, rather than tucked in, which is an aesthetic issue and purely subjective.
With that said, a wider rim won't always fit. In your case, we're not talking about a tiny car, nor ultra wide rims, so it will likely be fine.. but double check the backspacing (or post it here, we can help) - this will determine how wide of a rim and tire you can use before you encounter fitment issues.
@goatcrapp: I currently have Firestone FR710 tires, P205/55R16 89T's. It sounds like changing the rim would be more involved than I originally thought. I don't even know what backspacing is. I think I'll pass on the rims. Thanks all for the information!
@thumperchick: Thanks for the article!
@sirlouie: a 205 width tire will fit on a 7" wide rim. If you said 185, 195 or similar, I'd say skip it, because it would be too "stretched" - while the stretched look it desired by some people - it does nothing for performance, and generally looks silly on stock-like rims.
regarding backspacing - it may or may not fit, but it's an easy enough thing to answer - if the rims are online, and you can link us to them, i can try and help that way... at least you can go into it with a definitive yes or no, and then decide if the hassle is worth it :)
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