Hi! I need some serious advice. I have an '02 SE with the OEM 17" wheel. I live in NY and I need snow tires. I want snow tires that are at least HR speed rated and VR would be best. Also my car is lowered on H&R and KYB.

The question:

Can I run 225/55/17 on OEM rims?

Some details:

The selection of available snow tires in the OEM size is very low and those I could buy are expensive ~$175 and up.

I have also researched a few alternate sizes such as 235/50/17 and 215/55/17 it is basically the same problem - low selection and expensive tires.

I am not considering the 235/45/17 size because I have that size on my car now and I am not completely happy with them - I feel that the sidewall is not well controlled and it looks to me like the tread is actually "curved" at the edges as it is really squeezed onto that rim.

I do not want to run steel rims since I am planning on buying some aftermarket 17x8 or 18x8 rims in the summer and if I did that and purchased steel rims then I would have 3 sets of rims which is not desirable to me.

Feedback is welcome, I need to order these ASAP since they are running out of certain models/types on what seems to be a daily basis.

 

Tirerack lists 225/55-17 as mountable with 6-8" rim width... so OEM 17x7's (?) should be OK.

They will be bigger overall diameter than stock, I believe... so the speedo should be reading lower than actual velocity. I'm also not sure how the bigger overall diameter will affect rubbing since you're lowered...

 

I went through this last year... it's going to be cheaper to buy 16" wheels and then snow tires for those wheels than it will be to find good snows for our EOM wheels.

 

I just busted out some calculations on my Palm (Auterra OBD-II Dyno-Scan has a tire diameter calculator)--

OEM size 225/50-17 is 25.85" diameter
225/55-17 is 26.74" diameter... that's 3.4% deviation, which I think exceeds the acceptable tolerance...
Especially while lowered, that might be dangerous with rubbing... but I have no direct experience with that.

 

I just had the NOKIAN WRH mounted. Sorry don't know the size off the top of my head. They are great! Very quiet and don't look at all like snows...

 

are looks a concern when buying snows, or is function the main issue??

 

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I calculated the OEM 225/50/17 wheel height to be 656.8 mm. The optional OEM wheel is 215/55/17 and I calculated its height to be 668.3. The new tire, 225/55/17 will be 679.3 which is just shy of 1" taller (25.4mm/inch) than the OEM 225/50/17.

As a side note, I've discovered that 245/45/18 size is almost exactly the same overall height as the 225/55/17. Many people seem to be running 245/45/18 without any rubbing or issues on lowered cars, so I'm guessing I'd be ok too . . . Any ideas?

 

Okay, a little more info . . .

I don't really care about looks too much, although I want a tire that will outperform an All Season tire in the snow, but still give at least decent dry weather performance when none of the wet stuff is on the ground. My two big concerns with going to the 225/55/17 are the possibility of rubbing and greatly increased sidewall flex from the increased height . . .

The percent increase in tire height with a 225/55/17 is 3.4% relative to the 225/50/17 and is 1.6% larger relative to the 215/55/17 that is on '03 GLE's.

I would consider the Nokian WR, but it is not available in my size. I don't want a Hakka because I think it won't handle in the dry too well (mushy sidewalls).

The tires I am seriously considering as the best for my purposes and that might be available in a usable size are these:

Dunlop WinterSport M2
Dunlop WinterSport M3
Michelin Pilot Alpin
Michelin Pilot Alpin 2 (Just released and info is available on the UK Michelin site)

I don't want any Blizzak because only the top 50% of the rubber has the special micro pores in them and they are either not at all performance oriented (WS-50)or too expensive for one that is (LM-22).

I am open to other brands, but there is no way I am going to pay $200/tire . . .

 

If that's the case, you shouldn't have a problem with rubbing...

 

Except that's not the case. People are running 245/40/18, not 245/45/18. I wouldn't run a 225/55/17 myself.

You have a few options:

1) 16" rims with a 225/55/16 snow tire. More choices and less expensive

2) stock rims with 225/50/17 snow tire. Less chices and more expensive

I ran 16x6.5" steel wheels with 225/55/16 Michelin Arctic Alpin's last year and hated them. I got them mounted/shipped from Tire Rack. They wore out after 1 season. The snow traction seemed so-so and they sucked in pretty much every other way.

This winter I'm going to try Continental ContiExtreme "Ultra high performance" all season tires this winter on the same 16x6.5" steel rims. I just got them put on the car this morning. So far they seem nice and grippy on dry payment. Much better than the blowtenzas and the Arctic Alpins.

btw, I run Toyo Proxes T1s on 245/40/18 in the spring/summer/fall.

 

I have the Michelin Pilot Alpins on alloys; these tires are better in the wet and dry road handling than the Blowtenzas, but traction in snow is only OK, not terrific. I had Artic Alpins on my prior car; these tires were MUCH better in the snow and equal in dry/wet conditions. Do you have a link to those new Alpins? They could be interesting!

 

Well I ordered the Michelin Pilot Alpin 2 in the 225/55/17 size. I'll post some comments after they are mounted and I've driven on them a little. For those interested, here is the link:

http://www.michelin.co.uk/uk/auto/au...it_alpin_2.jsp

 

Just received delivery of Continental ExtremeContact Ultra High Performance in 215/55/17. They are W rated at 90W (above Z!). The stock tires were Bridgestome Potenza RE92 225/50/17 93V. RE92's were 25.9 tall when new and 8.5 wide, The Conti's are 25.4 tall and 9.25 wide...with a rim guard!!!The Conti's are 5 ply in the tread and very well made. Top rated of all performance tires in the snow on Tire Rack: 8.3 they got. SUV tires don't get 8.3! I ordered from Tire Rack on a monday and got them on friday from South Bend Indiana to Mass. The 215 size is perfect on the 17/7 stock wheel (2001 Maxima). Found the 225/55 specs a bit too wide for the rim and a bit tall for an already full wheel well. Now for the really good news...your car is lowered and the 215/50 Conti's should fit better than 225/55. From the 9.25 width (total frontal edge) of the Conti's you will love the crouched look of the wheel. Here is the kicker...THEY ARE ONLY $91 EACH (yep..$91) and because they are 17", there is still stock so order ASAP!

The Conti's are very pliable in the sidewall due to their construction so it is best to not oversize and stay closely matched to the rim with good air:40-44 PSI. That should take care of steering response nicely.

The drop from 93V to 90W is from 1433 lbs to 1323 lbs: still within the calculated needs of the Maxima with 5X150 lb passengers and 61% weight displaced to the front. I think the RE92's were optimistic in several ways anyways and the Conti's appear conservatively rated. I intend to keep the tires inflated pretty hard and will replace two front tires every other year, rotating from front to rear. None of the tires will get older than 4 years. And I won't be running two sets with dedicated snows. Now that has to be easier and cheaper.

The Conti's are continually being compared against the Pirelli PZero. The PZero wins for out and out performance but the Conti's always perform well too. In rain and snow however, the Conti's rule.

Check out the surveys on www.tirerack.com A lot of Maxima owners in tough climates are raving about the ContiExtremeContact. I suggest that a lowered Maxima is likely to be helped just as much by a well chosen all-season as it is by a dedicated snow tire (and they want too much for the snow things anyways)!

Can you run 225/55/17 on OEM rims? I wouldn't...too tall, too wide at bead. It'll ride nice but the steering response will be less. SUV's can run wide tires for the rim, but they handle like barges! (I oughta know, I got two Pathy's) For a performance car, I'd stick close with the match-ups. Good luck!

 

I'm telling you the ContiExtreme's rock. They really grippy and most shocking is they're super quiet.

 

Thanks for the info on the Conti's. I checked them out on Tire Rack, including the reviews. I found only a couple of reviews that talked specifically about good snow performance and more that wrote in that they figured the tires would be good in the snow, but that they hadn't had any experience.

I've got the Dunlop SP5000 Sport tires on the car now, and I used them last winter, but I decided I wanted a dedicated snow tire this year as opposed to an all season radial like the SP5000 or the Conti . . .

You are correct in stating that this is also a good size replacement for the 225/50/17 size on the Maxima. According to my calculations the tire is 1.5% shorter than the 225/50 - exactly 10 mm.

 

Reading through your post, I noticed that you staed that the 225/55 would be too wide at the bead (where the tire meets the rim). I'm really confused by that statement, this size is in spec on a 7" wide rim and also the tread width is exactly the same as OEM (225mm). It is possible that the sidewall will bulge a little more than the OEM tire, but as I recall, the OEM Potenzas really did not bulge all that much to begin with so I'm not all that worried. As a side note, the 235/45 I have on the car right now does have that problem . . . the short sidewall, the narrow rim, and the wide tread alters the handling in a negative way. In comparision, the 235/45 is a good example of where the angle at the bead is too great!

One last comment, I checked it out and it seems that many high performance sports sedans use the 225/55/17 size. I find that one of the big Audi's - I think the A8, a 500 series Mercedes and even a Jaguar sedan are using that size. Go figure! I bet they are a good compromise between handling and ride quality . . .

 

I was thinking of the 235 size that I found required 7.5 rims. I suspect that the handling of a Maxima at these widths and profiles is pretty delicate however and I chose the smaller size with excellent and surprising results. The Conti in 215/50/17 are .75 inch wider than the stock RE92 225/50/17, probably due to the rim guard design. The 235/45/17 you have now, at 25.327 tall are very close to the 215/50/17 Conti's at 25.465. The Conti's improved the handling of the car from very good to nearly outstanding and the wet handling is real close to dry. They are quiet too. I was trying to give you a much cheaper ($91/ea) alternative to the rip-off prices for "performance snows", most of which don't perform all that well without the snow. I think the prices being asked for some of them are absurd. Really, check out Tire Rack and look at the H rated ContiPremierContact at $98-106 in sizes we've discussed. They have an 80,000 mile warranty. Good Luck!