chris2001gle

I have read all of the postings regarding various rim/tire sizes and have a question. I know the 2002 17" stock tire size is 215/55/17 and the optional 2002 17" tire size is 225/50/17. After browsing sizes on Tirerack, I noticed there are only a handful of tires available in each of those sizes (less than a handful!). In searching 225/45/17, I find 50 available tires! What are your thoughts on using the 225/45/17 (lower profile) on stock 17" (7" wide) rims. Pros & cons? I know the speedo will be off slightly and that doesn't bother me - I am more concerned about ride/handling/etc. I am looking to mount these on a 2001 GLE with no mods. Any thoughts, info is appreciated. In addition, I was considering going with the Kumho Ecsta Supra 712s since I run dedicated snow tires in the winter. Thanks for your input guys!

chris2001gle

Ok - I know it is not the most exciting topic , but someone must have an opinion. Anyone?

Greg's2kGLE

A lower profile tire will give you a harsher ride.
What size tires are you running now?

chris2001gle

I'm running the stock 215/55/16s for the 2001 GLE. I was looking to switch to the 2002 OEM 17" rim and just wondered if the 225/45/17 would be way too harsh since the factory optional 17" was 225/50/17.

Greg's2kGLE

If you are going to get the 17's, why not just go with 235/45/17 tires? Your speedo is almost exact upgrading from 215/55/16, 0.1% slower. So if your speedo said 60mph, you would actually be going 60.6 mph with the 235/45/17's.

chris2001gle

I was under the assumption, based on posts to other threads, that the 225 was the largest tire that could be mounted on the 7" rim - the 235s had to be mounted on a 7.5" rim?

Greg's2kGLE

Well the best thing to do is use the search. I know putting 245's on a 7" rims has been debated before and is not recommended, but I am not sure about 235's

Bman

All the tires I looked at at www.tirerack.com in the 235/45r17 size all said a 7.5 or sometimes 8" rim size minimum. Most 225/45r17 tires had 7" minimum. Since these wheels are 7" wide, I'd agree that you should go no wider than 225 and 245 is waaaaay out of the ballpark.

A 235/50/17 tire only needs a 6.5" rim, but these are as rare as the 225/50 and expensive too.

Greg's2kGLE

You are right. I couldn't find one tire of 235/45/17 that would fit a 7" rim.

So I would go no wider than 225 on a 7" rim.

2001SE

A lot of people have put 235's on there stock SE rim. They said they didn't have any problem. 235/45/R17 shouln't be a problem, its just a safty percaution from the manifacture, but its all good like many other .org people said.

Telus.net

Kyle from tire rack told me that it is okay to mount 235 45 17 on 17 x 7" rim. So I did it. I am currently riding on 235 45 17, recommended by Kyle.

The 235 45 17 I am using is one of the narrower 235 tires out there and mounting it on seems effortless. Just hand mounted.......

Bman

Of course if you have a tire failure, and someone looks it up and realizes the manufacturer didn't approve it's use.......


Oh, and about using the 225/50/17 tire thing: go to www.discounttiredirect.com I found they sell Nitto 450 Extreme Perf. tires and Falkens in that size for little more than the Kumhos! Maybe you don't have to worry about any of this then!

Also try: www.whalentire.com and see what they got.

If you really want Kumho's or other tires that only come in the 225/45 size though, I'd probably do it and not worry. According to the handy http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html calculator you're only 2mph off at 60mph (3.4%). The 225/50 size tires are 1.8% different themselves anyway.

Telus.net

People from different forums told me that the Nitto NT450 is crap, in both perfomrance and ride comfort.

Falken seems pretty good, except its only H rated. Nissan wouldn't approve the use of HR tires on the SE. Maybe you are fine since you currently use HR, but my stock is 17" VR, so the dealer told me I must get VR.


Pilot XGT Z4 comes with 225 50 17 in ZR. It is generally very good. Good price, very well balanced, long tread life. You should get that one.



Micheline Pilot Sport All/Season is very good too. Although its expensive, but consider that you will have one of the best perfomring All season tire and it has very long tread life and good quality overall. It is the top of the line Micheline tire, best all season tire you can find in North America.

2KSE

I just went through all this and ended up with the Pilot Sport A/S's. I called Tire Rack (which before this I respected very much) and was told I could put a 235/45 on the 7" rim, I called Bridgestone Tech and they said NO WAY! I wanted the RE950's. So just for laughs I called Tire Rack again and asked if I could put the 235/45 on the 7" rim, got a different guy from the first time and he said NO WAY!.
It seems that it depends who you ask, it'll probably be OK but why chance it? I drive mostly highway and don't need to lose a bead doing 75 mph.
Here's my suggestion - you said you have to get the 17" rims to replace your 16's right? Just go pick out a nice set of rims 7.5" to 8" wide and put whatever you want on them. That will give you a WAY better selection of tires AND save you money. Just my .02

chris2001gle

I appreciate all of the input guys. The only reason I was looking to use the stock 17s was I found someone local looking to sell them for a very reasonable price. Knowing how limited my selections were in the stock 215/55/17s and 225/50/17s, I wondered how much harsher the ride would be in the 225/45/17s - which are a common tire. After reading the reviews on the Kumhos on Tirerack, the consensus was for the money ($100.00 each vs. $200.00 each for the Pilots), they were a great tire for the money. I will investigate the other brands brought up in the thread! Thanks again for your opinions.

doublea

iTrader: (7)

In addition, I was considering going with the Kumho Ecsta Supra 712s since I run dedicated snow tires in the winter. Thanks for your input guys! [/B][/QUOTE]

I used to own a 98 SE witch came with 215-55-16 tires, I switched to 225-50-16 and honestly it was the best ride I ever had on my 98SE. The Ecsta Supra 712 are the best bang for the buck so if it's what you can afford go for it.

Cheers

DoubleA

irvine78

iTrader: (2)

hmmm...let's see...faster tire wear, harsher ride, possible bent rims in the near future...i'd say if you want the stock 17s...stick to 225/50/17s...