Right now I have 17x7.5 wheels and using 205/40/17 tires they are too thin for the roads here and there is no sidewall protection. Will I have to get 16x7 wheels with 205/45/16 tires in order to fix these problems?

www.whalentire.com list all tire spec's

side wall height
diameter
width
height
etc.

205/45 & 205/40 has only about a 1/2" difference

I'm not the Tire King, but isnt it possible to get a 205/45/17??? Or could you get a 215/45/17 on your 7.5's?:confused:

EDIT: This is from Toyo Tires

215/45ZR17 91WRD
Proxes T1-S Ultra Performancehttp://www.toyo.com/tires/tire_lines/images/t1s_sm.gif

Getting different tire sizes for my 17x7.5s was the other option I was thinking of but tirerack.com lists the "recommended" size of 205/40/17. They wouldn't pick that size for no reason so I don't know if it's ok to mount different sizes tires. Anyone know?

I dunno. Tire Rack has good suggestions, but they don't always let you explore all your options. Like when I put in my car, the only show me 16 17 and 18 inch rim options. These are "reccomended", but I know for a fact 19's can fit on a 2000 Accord. But you said your rim is 7.5 width, so I'm not sure if a 215 will fit. But in general, getting new tires will cost less than getting new rims. Depending on where you shop and what type/brand tire you get. Plus, even if you do buy new rims, the tires will have to be replaced at some point anyway.

This might help...I went to WhalenTire.com and put in your car (if your car is the '94 Del Sol Si)....

If the links work, the first one will have the tire that is stock on your car at the top with all it's sidewall, diameter, etc. specs, and the new specs with the 205/40/17...including how the tire change affects your spedometer.
http://www.whalentire.com/tiresize.cfm?w=205&a=40&r=17

The second link will be the 205/45/17 and will show how the sidewall hight changed and how this tire will affect your spedometer reading.
http://www.whalentire.com/tiresize.cfm?w=205&a=45&r=17

The 205/45/17 only added about 0.4" to the sidewall over the 205/40/17, but it really affected the spedometer.


PS: I'm going to be putting on wheels and I'm trying to decide whether to stick with the 15" or upgrade to a 16" or 17"....I want for it to look good, but I don't want to ruin the ride qualities and since i don't drive real aggressively, the 17s would be mainly for looks and not performance...What I would like to know is how much rougher the 17s made your ride...For what I want would it be best to just stay with 15" wheels (anything would be better than the Hubcaps on there now) or would I still be happy with the smoothness of a 16" or 17" wheel?