Rim/Tire/ground clearance question.

[BlueVibeGirl]

Beginner tuner here. Have a stupid question. If I go with a bigger rim/smaller profile tire. Will I loose ground clearance? Course I'm thinking of puting snow tired on my stock rims for winter. Also do you have to change the shocks when changing rim size and stuff. Told you stupid question.

[AKLGT]

no, as long as you stay close to the diameter of the wheel. i think there is a thread on here with a calculator... no need to change shocks, however, i would recommend some lowering springs. the vibe does sit pretty darn high! when compared to my then stock LGT, my lowered vibe still sat higher! LOL

[Raven]

The stock tire size is 205/55/16. You have to stay close to the same outside diameter with your wheel/tire combo, most agree within 3%. So if you got 17" rims you would have to get 225/45/17 for the closet match. You would not lose any ground clearance. Here is a link to the tire size calculator.http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp Try these guys for tires, great price, free shipping.http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/home.do I would also recommend Tein S-Tech lowering springs, about a 2" drop and a great improvement in handling.

[BlueVibeGirl]

I don't want to lower my vibe because of helacious winters here in northern ohio.

[AKLGT]

(removed). and Alaska doesn't get winters either. the vibe sits very high off the ground. Mav has his lowered 2" and i had mine lowered 1.5" without any probs except for me doing e-brake slides. LOL.now, my LGT sits about 2" OFF the ground and so far, not too many problems, even in the snow.

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by BlueVibeGirl »helacious winters here in northern ohio.I'm not being mean, but thats pretty funny.

[meistees]

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 »I'm not being mean, but thats pretty funny. does sound funny but I killed my bodykit a couple years ago in a winter here at stock height

[northvibe]

BlueVibeGirl - Hey I live in Duluth MN at the moment so we get a ton of snow from superior and its nasty as well! man sometimes that snow can get nasty cant it? But i wanted to lower mine but still have some clearance, and the Hotchkis springs were the best bet. They are supposed to drop the front 1.5 and the rear 1.25 inches so you should still be ok in the winter. I will be installing mine this weekend i hope. did you find a new rim to get or still just looking?

[BlueVibeGirl]

I'm still looking. I think I'm going to go with new rims and tires. Keep the stock rims and tires for winter. I'm going to check with my stepson and see if he can get me a discount on parts. He works for carmax. Course I can get him to install lowering springs if I decide to.

[Mavrik]

I'm on a 2 inch drop as TRDVibe mentioned and I drove 2 winters that way, one in Ontario and one in Alaska that way. Personally no issues as far as that goes. Now if you want to go with a wider tire and different rims I would recommend going with a 17" rim with a set of 225/45R17 wheel which is the most perfect match you can find in tire diametre to the stock P205/55R16 tire. I run stock size tires in the winter and my 17" tires in the summer. The tire won't effect wheel gap or ground clearance. You should be good.As for shocks, unless your changing springs, don't worry about shocks. Not even a concern when doing tires and rims. Keep in mind the weight of the rims though... heavy rims tear down your brakes and fuel mileage.