help :) 15" wheels and tires ???
 

Hey guys I've been following you for about the last 3 months or so, but just haven't had many concerns that weren't searchable. :) btw your site has been great so thanks for all the good information.

Anyway I have an 08 2lt and am currently in SC but am moving to Denver in merely 3 weeks. I will be doing lots of skiing and mountain driving and have heard the terrible reviews of winter driving on our oem all-seasons.

Basically I am looking for the absolute cheapest but cost effective option available. So i've decided to go with wheels and winter tires. My problem is tirerack.com offers some 15" wheels but does not guarantee all 15" wheels to fit. and the deal I want is from Disc.tire where they can't confirm the use of any 15" wheel for the HHR.

The 15" wheels and tires are almost $150 cheaper than the 16's. I have done all the searching and see some people here have chosen to do 15's but I wanted to check and see how good the clearance was and if they thought other brands would as well.

I'm looking at a 15" 5x110 40mm offset with 205/60/15's which will be a little short but still good.

Can anyone give me more information about what is necessary for the 15" wheels to fit? THANK YOU!

My winter wheels are 15" from a Saturn LS200. They clear the front calipers with less than 1/4 inch to spare. Ask for a tire/wheel package for that car and they should theoretically fit.

I like my winter tires on the skinny side: 195/65-15; that combo is really effective in wet/slushy snow, but dry road handling suffers.

Good luck

Yves

Just a thought, but maybe you'd want to hold off on the tires/wheels until you reach Denver. Being in primo snow country there should be a tire shop out there to fix you up. The other thought is why put the extra wear on the snow tires driving out west when you'll be needing the best traction out of them there. I'm pretty sure several here have done the 15" wheel conversion, and maybe they'll chip in with their advice also.

Thanks for your input Dream that is certainly good info and wow on the 1/4 inch. That is some tight clearances.

843de I agree on getting them when I am there, the only problem is that a lot of the online sources are getting depleted and they won't be restocking winter tires so I am considering ordering the tires and having them shipped when I am on the way out there as that has been offered.

btw are you in the 843? I'm actually leaving myrtle beach for Denver

Anyone else please chip in with your opinions I certainly appreciate the help.

I have a friend out in Denver hhr08 and I'm waiting on him to get back to me with the name of the tire shop he uses. He's one of those goofy SAAB drivers but he's super picky about his tires and he also uses the SAAB for rallies. I'll get the info to you when I hear back. Not in the 843 to answer your question, the 843de is tail number of my aircraft. The plane is a whole 'nother kettle of fish and it keeps me in a state of constant check writing.

I just purchased from TireRack their “Steel” 15 inch wheels and they fit just fine on my 2009 LS. You will find them in their “Winter” packages on the web, but are available individually by phone. I could not find new steel wheels anyplace else. I put some narrower 205/65/15 tires on for both winter and summer driving. I do have some knowledge from this site the steel wheels will not fit any SS with the larger calipers. Clearance on my LS is fine.

I believe TireRack has sourced these steel wheels or has them made for them specially. If you don’t want something simple like steel wheels then you will have to find a willing dealer to work with as they order in various wheels to see if there are any clearance problems.

If you want something used in the lug pattern the HHR uses, then search this site and you will find some recommendations.

As far as getting outfitted in Denver - I agree.

Sno White - I also had found the steelies available on tire rack. My problem was that with their shipping costs I can purchase alloy's from discounttire for just $120 more. With the look and weight saving I felt like this is the better option for me. I think I will just wait till I get to Denver and order one wheel first to see if it fits then order the rest if it does :) lol Unless someone can give me a better feeling about it :). I guess I was hoping to just hear that theres no issues but of course it's not that simple :) Thank you also!

On your trip West you might also happen upon a Tire Rack location - if you wish and save on the shipping.

Heard back from my friend in Denver, he uses Meadow Creek Tire Inc.(www.meadowcreektire.com), and is very happy with the service. They specialize in Nokian and Gislaved tires, pretty much the ultimate snow tires.

Sooooo....15" steelies do fit? I have a 2010 Panel that I was going to order 16" wheel vintique smoothies from.....but I would rather do 15" and do a moon cover from hub cap mike and add white wall tires.

If the 15's fit....what is the tire size?

Overall diameter shouldn't exceed 26"....... Here's a link to a tire size calculator. Tire Size Calculator

You can compare your existing size to various 15" sizes and find a match to your overall diameter and the speedo will stay correct. :wink:


:skull:

I have not found any hubcabs to fit the 15" steel wheels I got from TireRack; so dream carefully if that is the look you want. Tire size? I like the 205/65/15.

The 15" moons from Hub Cap Mike don't fit? It's a 15" hub cap....why wouldn't it fit?

What do the hubcaps grab onto? If it grabs onto the lugnuts it may fit. If the hubcaps grab onto the special raised portions of the wheel - it will not fit as the TireRack wheels have no raised portions for the hubcaps to snap on to.

How many hubcaps were ever produced to use the very strange 5-110 lug pattern these vehicles have? I would say very few if any - this is why I have not found any to fit.

They fit the 16's though and it's the same design.

I'll call Hub Cap Mike tomorrow and get the scoop on this :smile:

Here's the "Wheel size Comparer" I prefer, it also gives you info on what rim width is acceptable for any given tire, visa, versa & etc.. Scrool down after & see all the extra info about your selections.

Wheel size comparer: http://www.rimsntires.com/rt_specs.jsp

I do not want to dissuade you from the decision.
But the guys from the snowy States and Canada will probably confirm. When driving on loose snow height clearance is very important. If a lot of snow in Denver - a careful calculation. $ 150 - good economy, but to be planted on the belly of a snowdrift - a dubious pleasure.
I have 16 inch wheels. My tires 5 % above the norm. Nevertheless, I have a shovel in my HHR and use it at least 2 times over the winter.

tried calling Hub Cap Mike today.....someone answers, but then you don't hear them anymore and they hang up. Tried both phone numbers and got the same thing. How do you sell hub caps if you can't talk to your customers on the phone?

Hey guys again appreciate all the responses I'll be leaving for Denver on the 12th so we will see what works out when I get out there. So far I've taken the advice of not doing a cross country trip on snow tires :)).

Geg spasibo! lol don't use that shovel too much. And this I would plan on trying to keep the same diameter approx. of tire so the 15 vs 16 shouldn't matter too much .. hopefully. Hell I already decided against lowering just because of the winter weather. And when I say lowering I was thinking pro-kit nothing crazy, but I'll wait and see how she handles this winter first.

good luck and good road :smile: