has anyone any experience mounting
235/45/17 tires on the stock 17x7" 5th gen rims?
i know most tire companies say that you need 7.5" minimum width
for the 235's, but was wondering if anyone has put them on 7"wide.
any hints at safety, handling, performance, wear issues?

thanks,
lawrence

 

i don't know
i heard many people say the same thing, that 235's need to be on a rim at least 7.5" wide.... yet a bunch of people have them on their 7" wide rim and it's just fine. i don't see why it can be a big problem.... i mean, people mount 225s on stock 6.5" wide rims, so why not mount a 235 on a 7" wide?

 

the only thing is that the tire will "bulge" out a bit. won't be flush with the width of the rim. shouldn't have a problem in regards to performance or handling. i figure you will have a bigger "footprint" or contact patch with these wider tires which should help in traction.

 

About that fitting 225's on a 6.5" rim thing - it all depends on the sidewall height. Short sidewall tires have a narrower rim width range that they can fit on, which is why a guy with 15x6.5 wheels can fit 225/60/15 tires, but on a 17x7 can also only fit 225/45 or 50 because the sidewall's shorter. Look at a specs page at Tirerack and you'll see this.

As for whether it works or is safe or not, I don't know. I found a lively old thread about this subject a while ago, and some people said it's okay, but some others said you shouldn't. I'm beginning to think it's not a huge risk or big deal, but there could be pitfalls. It's still kinda up in the air, but I personally wouldn't just because incase something goes wrong with the tire I don't want anyone saying it's partially my fault for going out of spec for that rim/tire.

 

get 225/45-17

 

Here we go again. Try the search function, there are hundreds of threads discussing this topic.