Rear tire and wheels for front

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Permalink Reply by SATO on June 25, 2008 at 11:59pm

Its been done quite a bit. I personally like the staggered look... Brabus uses something like our rears up front and wider rears... NICE

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Permalink Reply by mr bad example on June 26, 2008 at 12:09am

sure you can, plenty of room. smart put them tiny tires up there for maximum economy. it's 2 extra pounds, might put a little load on the shocks/suspension, but i ran a geo metro for 6 years with 15" aluminum mags and 195/50 tires with no problem. putting the rears on the fronts is 1cm of clearance difference. i've been having some reverse thinking and buying a set of front tire/wheels to put on the rears. the smart is so rediculously light... but that is just a thought. my other thought is to put the rears on the front and replace the rears with 185/65-15's, which are 8% larger for an instant 8% increase in performance and milage and weigh 2 pounds more than the stock tires. this is the standard tire for the MB 190E. i have a pure, so i got steel wheels and plastic covers. you can go either way. the front is so damned light, the tires don't howl in the harshest turning manoever, i whip my smart into a turn at 40mph and it just goes, i watch the people following me brake and drop behind.

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Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on June 26, 2008 at 2:59am

You can run 195-50-15 all around and will get more grip and everything will be the same. No rubbing or any other problem.

Check this link to match your tires.

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Permalink Reply by mr bad example on June 28, 2008 at 2:14pm

i ran 195/50-15's on a geo metro with no problem. the original tires were 155/80-13's.

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Permalink Reply by Greg on June 26, 2008 at 3:35pm

Thank you for the input.

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Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on June 26, 2008 at 7:35pm

Not bad to use 175-55-15 your back tires in front and buy a set of 195-50-15 for the back.
The only thing about using 195-50-15 all around is that you can find this size tire every where in stock. 175-55-15 is a hard to find size when you have a blow out.
Tire Rack has a great deal on Ryla Rims for Smart.
15x6

Original Price:
$135
$135 (each)
Offset: +25mm Backspacing: 4.48" Bolt Pattern: 3-112
Rec. Tire Size: 175/55-15 or 195/50-15
Weight: 14.0lbs.

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Permalink Reply by mr bad example on June 28, 2008 at 2:27pm

i like the rials, 6 spokes are better than the 9 spokers that come with smarts. i'd keep all my steel wheels and 2 in the car as "spares" (need the proper wrench/breaker bar, a bottle jack, that'll fit under either seat, the thing is the driver's seat is stationary and my passenger seat varies with the passenger. i can get a front tire behind "my" driver's seat, i'm 5'8" and have a bit of room behind my seat, if i take my father for a ride the passenger seat goes all the way back)

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Permalink Reply by niceguy on July 9, 2008 at 8:49pm

These wheels look nice, but not worth the headache/cost of switching sensors. I rather wait until my tires wear out in 2 years and then buy something a little bigger like 16x7 wheels and 205/40/16 tires (tho' not sure what b/s is req'd)

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Permalink Reply by Louis Bolieu on June 28, 2008 at 12:28pm

Does anyone know the wheel width of the factory Passion front wheels? Would they be the same as the rears? In short, would I be able to switch the rears to the front and mount 195s on the stock rears?
Louis

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Permalink Reply by mr bad example on June 28, 2008 at 2:10pm

the fronts are 4.5 inches and the rears are 5.5 inches, same as pures. the pures just have steel wheels while the passions have alloys.

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Permalink Reply by 451 Kahn on June 28, 2008 at 8:17pm

I ran into a Smart car owner today who had all 195/50-15 all around. Said he is very happy with the results.

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Permalink Reply by autooracle on August 17, 2008 at 12:18pm

Has anyone tried a 205/50/15? The width seems like it just might work......

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