I just wana find out b4 i get the tires. thanks

 

You can do it but it's not recommended by the manufacturers and it looks a little weird. I would go with a 225 if you are running only a 7" wheel.

 

ic ic, thanks guy.

 

I ran them on my 17x7's because that's what was actually recommended. I didn't really think they looked funny and they worked fine.

 

This was a hotly discussed topic back around early/mid 2002, and the bottom line is that, strictly speaking, a 7" wide rim isn't wide enough for 235/45-17's (they want 7.5" minimum). That said, a number of .org members have had *acceptable* experience with that combination, though it's due in part to being only 1/2" out of TRA spec and possibly in part to the specific 235/45's being relatively narrow 235's (yes, tires can and actually do measure a few mm above or below their designation size).

For what may be a lot of reading, here are a few relevant threads per my personal database. They all predate your membership here (and are in the early days of Nj93Vi3tMax's), so it's clear that you didn't get that recommendation as a unanimous one from here. Nor would it have come from a tire manufacturer's representative with the authority to make such statements. I'm betting on those words coming straight from the mouth of a tire salesman, many of whom can be counted on to recommend based on what is in stock and their commission.

Anyway, I don't know whether these threads are now in this forum or are still in the 5th gen forum, so you'll probably have to look in both places. I've provided dates for the benefit of those (like myself) for whom the search feature is not available. You'll find the threads at or after the dates listed with them but not before.

225/45/17s on 2K1 max . . . 21-Mar-2002
235/50/17 . . . 17-Apr-2002
235 45 17 Tires . . . 3-Jun-2002
Can I run a 235/45-17 tire on my stock SE 17's . . . 22-Aug-2002
Why run 235's on 8" Rims? . . . 19-Aug-2002
Uneven wear, 235/45R17s on OEM rims . . . 2-Jan-2003


And this one may also shed a little light on the subject

Y2kse AKA Master of all things Rubber! . . . . 6-May-2002

Norm

 

Just to add, check the specs of the tires you want to purchase. Some of them recommend at least 7.5 while others an 8" width as minimum. If you were to follow the +/- 0.5" margin then an 8" may not work for you safely.

 

Hey norm, sounds like good info and I know you have been on here longer than me, so correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the stock wheels on some maxima's 17x7 and don't they come with 235/45/17's? Are those maybe those are some of the ones that are narrow 235's? I'm just curious so that's why I'm asking. Nj93Vi3tMax, I would recommend checking on those other posts or just take Norm's word for it, I'm just sharing with you what I have on my car and I'd hate to see it not work with your setup.

 

BTW, one thing I am noticing while changing from 17x7 rims and ventus 235/45/17 tires is that they are actually NARROWER than how the tires fit on the Z-rims 16x7.5 with Dayton 225/50/16's. You would think that the 235's on the 17x7's would be wider because of the tire, but they are noticeably narrower than the 225's on the 16x17.5's. So it may be true that even if you get wider (235) tires on your 17x7's, they may not necessarily sit wider on the rims, but maybe NORM could answer that question because I'm wondering about that too.

 

Maxima's come with 225/50 stock. As for how wide it looks, the rubber will only look as wide as the rim it's mounted on. If 235/45 were mounted on a 17x7 and a 17x8, it would look wider on a 17x8.

 

The 17" wheels were 7" wide at least for 2001 and earlier and the tire fitted was 225/50-17 94V. Anniversary Edition models got a somewhat shinier finish wheel than other models opted up to the 17" package, but everybody got the same RE92's. I think that the tire size and the wheel width both went up just a little about the time the engine size bumped up to 3.5L; currently the optional size is at 245/45's on 18 x 7.5's, which is still a stingy rim width to tire ratio IMO (OK, OK, I'll turn off the rant mode). Anyway, the 235/45 on 17 x 7 combination was never offered by Nissan.

As far as the tire section width (sidewall to sidewall) goes, it is a function of the tire's actual measured width, the width of the rim that it was measured on, and the width of the rim that it's actually mounted on. Approximately, the section width varies by 0.2" for every half inch of rim width difference from the measuring width rim, either wider or narrower.

Tires themselves vary somewhat from nominal dimensions; I seem to recall hearing of a 7% dimensional tolerance somewhere, though that may be the total range from widest to lowest. What that means is simply that any given 235/45 tire may, even on its official "measuring rim", measure out down around 230 while the same size from a different mfr or even a different tire model from the same mfr might perhaps be up around 240.

So it's entirely possible that a smaller nominal size tire from one mfr could be wider than a nominally wider tire from a different mfr. FWIW, there's one line of auto-x tires in particular that run noticeably wider than the designations suggest.

Norm

 

Thanks for the clarification norm, sounds like good info.