Newbie unsure about after market tire sizes

[ICreel]

Hi there.

I purchased a 2005 GT in December 2006 that I just love driving. It needed new tires for the stock (15"?) rims when I bought it so I threw a set of Avalanche winter tires on for the colder months.

It is now time to put summer rubber on and I am debating getting larger rims and tires to go with them as opposed to just throwing new tires on the 15" rims. The truth is I don't know the first thing about what sizes are an option for tires and rims on this car.

Questions:

1) If I were to go with larger rims than the stock 15" what are the side effect (ie, throwing off the speedo etc).

2) What sizes rims and tires can be used? i.e. width of the tire and as sidewall height. Wider tires always look cool to me but is this practical?

3) Is it worth looking at used sets or is this somewhat of a sketchy process. Is there a good place to find used tires. i.e. eBay?

4) Totally unrelate question.... I am thining of adding a strut bar to reduce body roll. Any side effects or consequences to safety or anything else I should know if installing myself?

Please don't feel that you need to answer all of these qustions and thanks for taking the time to help out a newbie.

Cheers,

Ian

[Sergio]

1) Depending on the type of driver you are, unless you are willing to spend over 2000 on wheels i would not recommend buying anything larger than 16inch rims. Celica is a light car, heavy rims will drag it down, plus the GT is a bit underpowered. Then again its up to you.

2) I assume you have your stock 15inch rims. I would recommend buying a good set of tires. Stock specs are 195/60 R15. Remember tires make an enormous difference in your car so don't cheap out! What I did, I bought 205/55 R15 for the stock GT rims.

3) NO! Tires drive your car. Do no cheap out!

4) Don't cheap out here either. Go for the APR strut bar. You will feel a difference at first, you will notice sharper control.

If you want to reduce your body roll, look into upgrading your suspension.

Dont be afraid to ask, go all out, learn on mistakes of others.

[hl2k3]

I can give you a good example, today it was raining in Burlington, on and off, and you know the worst time to drive is within an hour of the rain

well I bought a set of tires for $350, noname brand crap, 'brand new'...


Sufficite to say I slid down Guelph Ln for a bit when I attempted to brake...

[ICreel]

Hi guys.

Thanks for the advice as it is much appreciated. It would save me quite a lot of money to be able to fit tires for the existing rims but I am tempted by the allure of larger rims and wider tires (even if the ladies don't notice, I am a sucker for sick wheels ;)

Seriously though, I think I will pricing a few different otions and see what the number come out to. I will keep in mind the suggestions about keeping the usprung weight down with larger rims

If anyone ese want to add to this thread please do so as I am sure there is a lot more for me to learn and I welcome the advice.

Cheers,

Ian

[Sergio]

Take my advice, get good tires for your 15's for now and play around with your car. Then you will know what you want. Find the best tires for you, before you spend thousands on wheels. and even more wrapping them with expensive tires.

Look into Michelin, BFGoodrich and Toyo tires. Avoid less known brands.