tire size

[jeff_j1701]

Hello,

I had a snow tire blow on me on Friday so I need to get a new one. I'll probably get 2 because having a new and an old on the same axel isn't a good idea.

However, I am having a hard time finding the right size tire, so I was wondering if another size will suffice?

Current tires are 215/50/R17, but the tire store in my town has 215/45/R17.

Would this be ok?

Both tires would be on the front of my Vibe.

Thanks.

[SeattleJeremy]

Does your Vibe have AWD? Does your car have ABS?
If your car has AWD putting different size tires (even if they are the same size across the axle) would be catastrophic to the center differential.
If your car has ABS it might start throwing codes since the front and rear are traveling at different rates.

Can you limp around on the spare for a few days until the right size tires can be ordered/shipped to your area?

[zbyers]

Is yours AWD? If so, it's recommended to keep all 4 the same size tire, and replace all 4 (unless the others are going to be simliar tread depth of your new replacements). If FWD, I would say it is best to replace 2 of the same size you already have.

With that said, the size you mentioned will fit; but in general, it is best to keep all 4 the same size.

[jeff_j1701]

Hello,

My Vibe is an '07, and it is a front-wheel drive.

[joatmon]

There is a tire size calculator at https://tiresize.com/calculator/ It says the 215/50/R17 have a 25.5" diameter, the 215/45/R17. are 24.6" Both are the same 8.5" width

If you put in a tire size, that calculator shows a list of somewhat comparable tire sizes on the right side of the page, a 205/50R17 is closer in diameter, a little bit narrower in width to the tires you currently have.

For what its worth, the factory 16" tires were 205/55/R16, diameter 24.9, width 8.1

[jeff_j1701]

I only need 1 tire, so will put 2 new on the front.

My rears are also 215/50/r17 and I thought you shouldn't have R17 and r16 on the car at the same time.

[joatmon]

I only mentioned the factory 16" tire size as a point of comparison, wasn't suggesting you get new wheels too. The size of the 17" you have on the car now are the size Pontiac shipped Vibes with if they had the 17" wheels. More had 16's, but 17's were an option. I guess given the size difference between the factory 16 and 17 tires, it doesn't matter much.

I do agree it would good to have the same size on both wheels of an axle, not sure if it matters if the matched two fronts are slightly different from the matched two back, as long as they are fairly close

I can certainly understand not wanting to have to buy 4 new tires just because one failed. Two is bad enough, I wouldn't go for just one unless the others were new enough to be comparable to new.

[Bookworm]

When I bought my current 2007 vibe, it had two different sizes of tires. So I kept them paired, front one size, rear the other. No real problem, and no tire/engine gauges complained.