I know the stock tire size on the '03 Maxima SE is 225/50-17. I'm looking at another tire that doesn't come in that size, but a 245/45-17 looks very close in overall size but is slightly wider too. I've listed the compared sizes below.

Tire Size Comparison
Tire Size --- Sidewall ---Radius --- Dia --- Circ --- Revs/Mile
225/50-17 --- 4.4in --- 12.9in --- 25.9in --- 81.2in --- 780
235/50-17 --- 4.6in --- 13.1in --- 26.3in --- 82.5in --- 768
235/45-17 --- 4.2in --- 12.7in --- 25.3in --- 79.6in --- 796
245/45-17 --- 4.3in --- 12.8in --- 25.7in --- 80.7in --- 785


Does anyone know for sure that 245/45-17's on stock OE rims (7.5" I think) will fit under the '03 Maxima SE ??? If not, do you know where this information is available - (I've tried The Tire Rack already)

THANKS !!!

 

03 max se come with 17x7 rims so really even 235/45 17 tires are not recommended. But I'm using that size and many people are too. 40 series is way too low profile... there's been too many discussions on this. It also has to do with bad sidewall flex on low profile tires.

 

Thank you for that information.. what is your overall opinion of using the 235/45 17's on stock rims? Any outstanding issues? Where have you located your informational discussions? Appreciate your input & thanks!

-Larry

 

It seems fine to me. Because the overall diameter of the tire is less than the 225 50 17, you will kill you gas milage and rack up more milage reading on the odometer and therefore the engine etc... smaller diameter spin faster to go a set speed, and your speedo will be off a little, you be going a bit slower than what it says therefore you'll have gone less distance than what the odometer tells you. Good and bad really and I think it's more bad in the pocket. My normal commute is 14 miles now it says I'm commuting 17 miles so that's 3 extra miles it's racking up for nothing each way. That's 30 miles a week extra for nothing. or about 3680 more miles than actual miles driven a year to work.

Figure out gas milage, and now I regret getting smaller tires. It'll cost me more gas in a year than the savings of getting the tire in that size.. Sumitomo HTR+. I used to get 26-30 mpg now at most 25 at times when I used to get 30 so say I lost 5 mpg... It's a lot of money in the long run.. oh well, love those tires though.

Also you may want to use 35 psi on the tires because the lower profile on a "too narrow " of rim basically wants to flatten more... so putting more air in it will raise it up a bit... or else it'll look like your tire is going flat. Yes, this might cause the so called wearing out the center of your tire, but that's what happens when you run a tire that's a bit wider than the rim will hold... there's a post somewhere about someone only getting 15000 miles on Sumi HTR+ in the tire/wheel discussion forum. Check the general discussion or 5th gen discussion forums to see where the tire discussions are. Too bad search doesn't work unless you're "donating member" or I say just search.

 

I appreciate your input.. I considered the miles & mileage you talk about and saw the downside there. I guess on the other hand you probably get a better spin-up on the motor and your 0-60 times are better. I'd like to stay close to the OE tires if possible. I like the larger tire look and if there's any swing to the stats, its a positive one for the mileage and odometer. The tires I was interested in are the Bridgestone RE750's but they don't come in the OE size for this outfit. The Tire Rack suggested a 235/50-17 which also is not available in this tires' range of sizes. My OE tires only have 15k miles on them and I run a winter wheel and (4) snows for 4-5 months over winter so I'm not in a hurry but I was looking ahead. One possible trouble is that I see manfacturers moving towards larger wheel sizes and I don't want to do that just to get a good tire that fits what I already have. I'll keep looking and researching.. perhaps by the time I am ready for tires, something else will be available. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts.