225/45-17 or 235/45-17? Which one is better on a 17 x 7 inch wheel? Give me the PROS and CONS.

 

I have 17x7's and have 235/45/17's

225's are a bit lower and less wide but not by much. 235/45 is the widest you can go on 7in wide rims. If you live in a place with alot of potholes, you want the 235's, its harder for your rim to jump the bead and hit pavement.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. That the info I wanted to hear. It looks like I'm going to go with the 235's.

 

Black Maxima - you really should wait for a wider variety of opinion.

If you were to do a search on the topic of 235/45's on 7" wheels, you'd find that that combination is outside the tire manufacturer's specified range. It's been discussed here many times (since most of us are/were unhappy with the OE tires and the fact that the rims are only 7" wide). Or you can look at the 'spec' pages for any given tire make/model over at www.tirerack.com and find out for yourself.

I can agree that the 235 isn't *bad* by much (it's only out of spec by 1/2"), but the fact that it is outside spec at all ultimately means that you're accepting some amount of additional risk that the tire mfrs as a group were unwilling to. So as a planned and intentional purchase, forget about putting 235/45's on 7's. Period.

Bottom line for tires on 17 x 7 other than 225/50 - 225/45 will work but only if you run them with about 4 or 5 psi extra inflation pressure since it's a couple of load indexes smaller than the 225/50 (read: load capacity vs inflation pressure).

Norm

 

 

cliff notes: 235 is too wide for 7" wheel, however many have run them without problems

 

I'm not going to say anything other than 235/45 is the largest you can go... yes it is 1/2" beyond what is supposed to be the limit however I would not categorize it as unsafe. Many.. many people use this combo.

Funny thing is I went to a reputable wheel shop here.. by reputable I mean they install/sell any type of rims for any car from big 26's to my puny 17's and they did admit the recommended size is 225/40, however the wider tire will keep the rim safer especially over craters around here.

 

hhhhmmmmmmmm.....

 

Granted there are a lot of peeps running 235/45/17's I am running that set up right now, but going to 18's shortly! But I'm running mine on 8.5" rims, who know how many are on 7" wide but that a pretty skinny rim for such a wide tire, I'd have to agree with Norm and say no! Unless you went to a 7.5" or wirder rim. Good luck

 

Would somene co-sign that? that the lower load rating of a tire can be offset by increasing the tire pressure by a few pounds. Personally, the load rating is why I went w/ 225/50 over 225/45.

 

what about 235/50???
will that fit?

 

Yes 235/50 will fit

 

anyone have 235/50*17's on their SE max with stock rims? any problems? pictures?

 

235/50 is within spec on 17 x 7's.

Norm

 

will 235/45 work fine on 17x8 or should i just go with 225/50?

 

At least two different mfrs list anywhere from 7.5" to 9.0" as being OK for 235/45's.

Norm

 

How about 235/45-18 tire on a 18" x 7.5" wheel?

 

See above. I don't think that being 18" vs 17" makes any diffence to the width-related stuff. Check the specs pages for any tire in that size over at www.tirerack.com.

Norm