225/45-17 or 215/50-17?

[1oldbanjo]

Tomorrow (Saturday) morning I am going to pick up my new Voxx Toscana 17x7 wheels at Discount Tire. I am getting Kumho ECSTA ASX tires. My question is do I want the original GT size of 215/50-17 or should I go to the 225/45-17 size? The 215/50 are just a little taller than the stock tires and will bump my speedometer and gearing up by 3% - so 60 mph will actually be 61.6 mph. The 225/45 is exactly the same diameter as the original 16 inch tires that came on the base Vibe - but the 225 may be a little too wide for the 7 inch wide rim. Most tire companies list the 215 width for the 7" rim, and I notice that most of you who have 7.5 or 8 inch wide rims are using the 225 width. I really don't want to bump the gearing up by using the 215/50 tires - but I also don't want to use the 225/45 if the tires look goofy on the 7" rims. Maybe going from 215 to 225 sidewalls which is less than half an inch of difference really isn't that noticeable. Any suggestions or photos of 225/45 tires mounted on 7" rims? Thanks for your help - Dave

[1oldbanjo]

Now this is a little strange. I looked up the tire sizes for a 215/50-17 and it has a 8.9 inch section width and was measured on a 7" rim. The 225/45-17 has the same 8.9 inch section width and was measured on a 7.5 inch wide rim. This means that the 225/45 tire is actually narrower than the 215/50 when mounted on a 7 inch wide rim. The tread width is not listed so the 225 might had a littel wider tread.Dave

[Raven]

I just mounted my 225/45/17 Falken FK451 tires on 17x7 Motegi DP-5 rims. They look excellent. The 225s will handle better than the 215s and having the speedo read properly is a bonus.

[Mavrik]

I'd stick to the same size personally but thats just me. When I went from 16" to 17" I tried to keep the tire diametre as close as possible. But if your looking for a wider tire... P235/45R17 is a close match.

[1oldbanjo]

I actually want to avoid a wider tire that will make the tread shoulders really square looking and the sidewalls tapering in to the rim - the look that you get when you put a really wide tire on a skinny rim. I also want to avoid getting a tire that is a larger diameter and will adversely affect gearing. I didn't worry about that stuff when I had a torquey V8 - but I do with a 4 banger.Dave

[Mavrik]

Well actually having a little wider lip is good to protect the rim from curbs. I went from 205/55R16 to 215/45R17. If your already on the GT 17" wheel well personally I'd just stick with that.

[1oldbanjo]

I ended up with the 225/45-17. The sidewalls are pulled in just slightly - but the Kumho Excsta ASX has rounded shoulders so it does not look too strange. I have posted a photo of the rims. They are Voxx Toscana in 7x17 size and were only $ 120 each at Discount Tire, and you can get them online with free shipping for $ 132 each. I also bought Eibach Pro-kit springs and will be lowering the car as soon as I can fit it into my schedule.[IMG][/IMG]Dave

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[1oldbanjo]

This is a photograph of the Vox Toscanna on my Vibe.

Attached files

[Mavrik]

looking good, just need to drop it now

[denvette78]

I just put a set of 225/45/17 and they seems smaller in diamter than my 205/55/16. It should be close in specs. Is it possibles that different brand of tire have different diameter for the same #.

[Raven]

Quote, originally posted by denvette78 »I just put a set of 225/45/17 and they seems smaller in diamter than my 205/55/16. It should be close in specs. Is it possibles that different brand of tire have different diameter for the same #. They just look smaller because there is less rubber and more wheel. I noticed the same thing when I put on my 225/45/17 wheels and tires a couple of weeks ago. There should be no difference in diameter between different tires but there is a difference in tread width because of the differing construction and shape of the tires.

[Dezz1]

I agree, drop it.

[1oldbanjo]

I ran a check on the highway with my original 205/55-16 Goodyears before I put on the 225/45-17 Kumhos. Both of these tires listed the same 837 revolutions per mile in their literature....and they did result in identical numbers in my testing. I drove down the highway and set the cruise at exactly 60 mph and reset my odometer and a stopwatch when I passed a milemarker. The speedometer was very accurate at 60 mph and it took just about 60 seconds to go every mile - even at 5 and 6 miles the stopwatch and milemarkers were real close to fight on a minute. The odometer however was off between 1% or 2% - when I got to 10 miles I passed the milemarker with only 9.9 miles showing o the odometer. For some reason my odometer was off with the original and identical diameter replacement tires - and I really didn't expect that in the digital era. It would not have surprised me nearly as much if the speedometer was off - as the pointer is more of an analog instrument and measures a rate (distance/time) and the odometer only reads distance.The drop is coming as soon as I can find the time to do it....but it may be a month or so. I already have the Eibach Pro Kit springs sitting in the garage waiting. I am married, I am building a house, and I have lots of evening meetings at my job - so it will be tough to find even 3 or 4 hours any time soon. I know lots of you like the Tein springs.......but I just couldn't put green springs on a red car. Too many Christmas jokes would have resulted.Dave

[Dezz1]

Eibach is the way to go partner. They fit perfectly without any camber adjustments. Just have them put on at your local shop and pick it up later. Spend some quality time with the wife and kids for four hours.