Fact: 185/60R15 tires fit on a Fiat 500

Looking for snow tires for the wife's 500, I discovered 185/60R15 tires have the same outer diameter as the Abarth's stock tires, potentially unlocking more (and cheaper) options than the Tire Rack recommended size (185/55R16... two options). The Tire Rack guy refused to agree with my theory, the internet produced no results, so I took a chance and found some "Pop" 15" steelies, and ordered a set of Altimax Arctic in 185/60R15.

I mounted them today. I wouldn't want to go any bigger, but they fit nice, and in my option the car looks great now, sort of a rally 500:

I'm mostly making this thread so others on the internet wondering the same thing can find a result.

Do you know if the steelies will fit on the upcoming Turbo? I may be in the market for one sooner.

Are the brakes the same size?

vwcorvette wrote: Do you know if the steelies will fit on the upcoming Turbo? I may be in the market for one sooner. Are the brakes the same size?

No idea, the internet says they have 11.1" (as opposed to 10.1") front discs, so take that as you will.

If the Turbo has the same brakes as the Abarth (and I believe it does) then no they will not. The stock 16s are as small as you can go and there's even some debate that the 16s from the sport will not fit an Abarth, only the special Abarth 16s fit but I dont know if that's been proven conclusively yet.

Very neat ! !

I ended up with a somewhat similar solution for my my '64 Fiat 600.

Measured and ended up at the used tire store in the end. Bought some 15 inch wheels and had 205/50/15 radials mounted on them. Same exact diameter as the original 13 inch rims and bias ply tires that originally came on the Fiat.

I'm running Abarth-style flares so I'm all set on the extra width.

The internet doesn't know everything, huh?

Osterkraut wrote: The Tire Rack guy refused to agree with my theory

Sometimes...the people on the phone for these tire places don't know anything more about tire options than what their computer tells them. If the computer says it does not fit, they will under no circumstances go against with what that computer says.

If I am ordering anything outside of the realm of a factory specified tire size, I don't even bother to specify a vehicle when ordering. Saves both of us a phone conversation that isn't necessary (trying to tell me what I ordered wont fit).

This is great to know since I have a Pop with steelies. Thanks for posting your findings.

failboat wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: The Tire Rack guy refused to agree with my theory

Sometimes...the people on the phone for these tire places don't know anything more about tire options than what their computer tells them. If the computer says it does not fit, they will under no circumstances go against with what that computer says.

Yep they'll only tell you if a size is an officially factory-approved size, if it's not then they'll tell you it won't fit regardless of whether it actually will. I remember in the early days if you ordered over the phone they'd request a car model and people would tell them the tires were for "a kit car" to get around this problem.

failboat wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: The Tire Rack guy refused to agree with my theory

Sometimes...the people on the phone for these tire places don't know anything more about tire options than what their computer tells them. If the computer says it does not fit, they will under no circumstances go against with what that computer says.

Yup. I gave it a shot from all the good words I heard about Tire Rack's knowledgeable customer service.

Osterkraut wrote:

failboat wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: The Tire Rack guy refused to agree with my theory

Sometimes...the people on the phone for these tire places don't know anything more about tire options than what their computer tells them. If the computer says it does not fit, they will under no circumstances go against with what that computer says.

Yup. I gave it a shot from all the good words I heard about Tire Rack's knowledgeable customer service.

Strange, as while this agrees with my general experience, it's hasn't at all been my experience with Tire Rack. What were his reasons for disagreeing about the size?

I also have bought non-correct sized tires without a hitch from TireRack.

The closest I came was when I ordered some very non-oem sized tires for a truck. They tried to call me to check before shipping, but couldn't get hold of me, so they just shipped them.

We did call later as they wanted to know how they fit, and wanted details for their knowledge base.

Same experience with non oem sized tires. Recieved a phone call the day of my order, told there was no way they would fit, they would rub, and that they could not guarantee anything. I knew they would fit fine, I had personally seen the exact same size tires on the exact same size rims on the exact same type of van more times than I could count. Yep, they fit fine, didnt rub.

They sent them to me without a hitch, sure, and I know they just had good intentions of making sure I didn't accidentally the wrong size tires. All I am saying is if you know what you are ordering, and its not one of their recommended sizes for your car, expect a phone call verifying your order. I save them the hassle by not specifying my vehicle in those cases.

In reply to failboat:

That sounds like someone doing a good job. They of course are going to be conservative with what they approve, so it doesn't surprise me that the range of tires that will actually fit a given vehicle will be greater than what they would approve. And calling to confirm you ordered what you wanted is just good customer service. I don't necessarily see either as indicating a lack of knowledge.
I get tech calls asking about using alternative refrigerants in our a/c systems. I always tell them that the only approved refrigerant is R-134A. Why? Because I'm not going to be the guy that tells them it's okay to use something else and then have deal with them when it doesn't work.
I've used alternative refrigerants myself, but when it comes to the official line, we don't approve anything else. I'm sure Tire Rack is much the same.

I know, I realize my posts didn't come across like that, I really only wanted to convey my last paragraph...non standard tire size means no car specified when I order.

Back to the topic at hand....so 15's fit....I wanna see GRM's wheel and tire combo from the fiesta on a 500 (15x7 225/45)

I ordered my tires from Discount Tire Direct since Tire Rack doesnt carry Nittos, and they didnt give me any crap about the sizes I wanted. (275/40R17 fronts and 305/35R18 rears)

The rears fit with about 1/8" to spare on the inside fenderwells, but dont rub at all. Good thing my subframe is centered well.

failboat wrote: Back to the topic at hand....so 15's fit....I wanna see GRM's wheel and tire combo from the fiesta on a 500 (15x7 225/45)

I'm a big fan of this one with 15x7.5s and 195/50s. A bit more rubber would be excellent, but that wheel fitment... Yes.

Powar wrote:

failboat wrote: Back to the topic at hand....so 15's fit....I wanna see GRM's wheel and tire combo from the fiesta on a 500 (15x7 225/45)

I'm a big fan of this one with 15x7.5s and 195/50s. A bit more rubber would be excellent, but that wheel fitment... Yes.

I've got 15x7" Rotas on the Spider... might have to convince the wiff to let me swap them on.

Just adding to the discussion?

While our data is quite extensive we, simply, can not know everything about every car. Our recommendations are based on manufacturing, performance and engineering data obtained from several sources. That information looks at everything from clearance and tolerances to roll center and CG. As most of you already know all cars are not created equal even when they are built with the same parts on the same line. When there are minor differences it is not possible to determine that over the phone or internet so, our fitment advise must be a bit on the conservative side. 93gsxTurbo even posted that he is happy that his sub-frame is properly centered. There is no way we could know that so, it would not be possible for us to maximize any fitment recommendation to the absolute limits. Most if not all cars are not 100% perfectly square and clearances do vary so , we offer the best information we can without exposing the customer to possible fitment problems or us to any undue liabilities.

If you are one, like me, who likes to push the limits and explore the edges to find something better suited to your needs we will happily share any of the published data we have access to in order to assist you in finding what's best for your needs and car.

If you EVER have any question regarding any products we carry or want to explore things more indepth or have technical questions feel free to call me directly

thanks 800-428-8355 ext. 362 Luke Pavlick

iadr wrote:

Osterkraut wrote: Looking for snow tires for the wife's 500, I discovered 185/60R15 tires have the same outer diameter as the Abarth's stock tires, potentially unlocking more (and cheaper) options than the Tire Rack recommended size (185/55R16... two options).

two sites to reference: http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp or more in depth: http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp And Tire Rack Luke- your listings for Hyundai Equus are wrong- most of the 18"'s you quote as fitting, do not.

Unfortunately, those links (and similar that I looked at) were not useful in my case, as I knew all the calculated information beforehand, thanks to Tire Rack's specs page.