15? 16? 175? 195? 45? 55?

If you’re thinking those figures are someone’s physical measurements, you’re wrong.

They’re actually tyre profile figures.

Yes, tyres.

In a few days time, I’m planning to change to a new set of rims and tyres for my trusty Myvi.

No, it’s not just for aesthetic sake. Everything I install into my car has it’s purpose. No sense wasting money in buying things that look nice but doesn’t work.

Right now, I’m looking at the stability of my ride. The front and back Ultra Racing struts that I’ve installed are great but the overall stiffness of my car is still not there.

I need more support from the tyres. The rims are just consolations.

I’m planning on changing to wider, lower profile tyres. It may affect ride comfort slightly but provides much better stability on the road.

Most Malaysian car enthusiasts know that the stock Myvi is quite tall for its size and isn’t wide enough to compensate its stability. So, if you’re travelling on an open highway and a cross wind hits your side, the Myvi will be sailing to wherever the wind is blowing.

The rest of the car is quite good. Decent torque, exterior and interior design and decent top speed. It can really use that extra stability. Any faster than 180km/h and your car will really lift off the ground.

So, seeing as this car is my bread and butter, it would be wise to invest in making this car as reliable as possible.

But being quite a rookie at this whole tyre and rim thing, I would need some advise from those of you who have experience in this.

I had some advises around me to get a 15” upgrade with profiles of 195/55 Bridgestones. The current tyre profile on a stock Myvi is a 14” at 175/45 Silverstone. Too narrow and hardly enough grip on a bend.

Plus, how does it connect to the rim sizes? I need education on this.

Also, some suggestions on what type of rims to change to. My Myvi is metallic black in colour:

Multi spoke rims in dark colour to complement the black,

dark silver,

silvers,

whites to contrast my black,

or something in gold?

Useful opinions are great. It would help me speed up my decisions instead of standing for hours at the shop, looking over all the rims and the dealer chasing me out for standing there too long.

All are nice. But unfortunately, I don’t have much to spare in constantly changing til I get one that suites my taste.

Next time, I’ll be looking at the absorbers and springs. It will cost a rough estimate of RM2000 for those.

Then again, a PS3 sounds good as well.

Temptations and low budgets. Sigh.