any one try different size tire then recomended?

[lionssfan]

I work at a test vicility that tests cars and trucks that I shouldn't name. Anyway, we had a 04 vibe that had 225/50/17 on it. this tire is alittle wider and did not rub. but I'm looking at getting 18s so that lead me to possibly putting on 235/45/18 rather the recomended 225/40/18. I know the speedo is going to be off about three miles per hour, I can live with that. I like the 18 look, and having a 45 sidewall instead of the 40 would give a little more sidewall protection and ride comfort. I looked at some tire calculations and there a little taller and wider then the 225/50/17 that I know fit, might be pushing it too much with the little taller and wider 235/45/18. ok so my question is has anyone tryed or exprienced this size thru any tire retailer, that is 235/45/18? I know some of the tire retailers will allow you to try different sizes before buying. also, I'll be going with the sport edition kv5 rim. also does anyone know of a different manufacturer with same style as the sport edition kv5? sport edition has thin paint coating from what I here on this site. I don't mind spending a little more for better wheels. By the way for the people on here that don't know the sport edition kv5 look just like the Millie Miglia evo 5 wheels. thanks guys great site..... here a pic of the Millie Miglia EVO 5

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[lionssfan]

here's the sport edition kv5 rim

Attached files

[djb383]

A taller tire places more load on the engine/drive train. Power and mpg can both go down as it takes more effort to turn a taller tire.

[vibolista]

Might be able to do it with 235/45 18s, depending on wheel offset. I have 225/50 17s for summer, and the wheel offset is 38mm. MountainMax put a set of 225/60 16s on his first gen Vibe and said that his offset was OEM. For the 16 inch wheel it's 39mm, but the 17 inch factory alloy has a 45mm offset, so I'm not sure which he meant. Neither of us have had interference problems. On the near extreme side of things, MadBill used huge 275/40 tires on 17 inch corvette wheels. He had to do a little engineering to get that to bolt up. Hope he doesn't mind me using his picture! It's pretty amazing what will fit in that Vibe wheel well. This is a thing of beauty. If you can, go for a fitment trial. Tell us how this turns out.

[lionssfan]

thanks vibolista, thanks for the good information on the offsets that will help narrowing it down. wow can't believe the tire size on that vibe in the pic. little more then I want to go, but a your right amazing those would even work out. I'll let you know how it works out.

[lionssfan]

that's true more load on engine and trans, the thing is how much? and at what point does it hurt general performance of the vehicle....trans shifts points might seem off and engine performance when acceralating from a stop and highway speeds. and of course gas milage. going to far with the tire size at some point the trade won't be worth it? depends on the individual I guess. not sure yet how far I can go until I know what kind of results I can expect. that's what's great about this site and learning what others have exprienced. thanks dan

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by lionssfan »that's true more load on engine and trans, the thing is how much? and at what point does it hurt general performance of the vehicle....trans shifts points might seem off and engine performance when acceralating from a stop and highway speeds. and of course gas milage. going to far with the tire size at some point the trade won't be worth it? depends on the individual I guess. not sure yet how far I can go until I know what kind of results I can expect. that's what's great about this site and learning what others have exprienced. thanks danWell, there are 2 things that effect the "performance" of the car, in terms of non-stock wheel/tire sizes... First and foremost is WEIGHT.. And then size... Diameter will change rolling distance, slightly.. Width changes resistance slightly, but, weight changes rotational load dramatically.. If you can shave weight, you gain performance, especially in wheels and tires, which is "unsprung" weight, so you may very well know.. I recently shaved 4.5lbs per corner, when I changed over wheels..

[lionssfan]

thanks sublimewind for the insiteful information..........

[vibolista]

Sublime is correct about the effects unsprung weight has on car performance. The 17 inchers I put on my Vibe are not quite as light as I would like... but good light alloy wheels costs way more money than I can justify. Some of the best light wheels can be had for $600 ea. and up!!! Rays are some of my favorites.I drive my Vibe fairly sedately, but even then I noticed the gearing change that comes with the 225/50 17 tire. Unsprung weight only comes out 3 or 4 pounds more per corner compared to the relatively heavy OEM 16 inch steelies that I replaced. The tires I chose are quiet and fairly soft, all season grand touring. Even then, the ride is not too cushy or mushy. Just started running these, so I don't have gas mileage figures yet. If anyone can check the percentage difference between the 205/55 16s and the 225/50 17s it would be appreciated. I came out between 5 and 6 %.

[ProtonXX]

I got 17 / 50 /215 on my 03 & its about 3% too big. So far my mileage went up with taller tiresIm wondering if anyone ever went to 17/ 55 & will it fit w/o rubbingAlso when I first got my rims they already had 17 / 45s but the mileage tanked.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by ProtonXX »Im wondering if anyone ever went to 17/ 55 & will it fit w/o rubbingI'm running 225/55/17 right now with no problems.

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by vibolista »Sublime is correct about the effects unsprung weight has on car performance. The 17 inchers I put on my Vibe are not quite as light as I would like... but good light alloy wheels costs way more money than I can justify. Some of the best light wheels can be had for $600 ea. and up!!! Rays are some of my favorites. Getting a set of TE37's is how I was able to cut my 4.5# per corner... The stock 17" wheels I had were ~17lbs per wheel, which is light for stock... For you Sir.. I also bought them used, so I didn't pay that premium for them... I was very concerned about cracks, which there where none and I had to fix curb rash on all 4 of them... But I knew that going in... 1100 shipped from Japan.. !

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by lionssfan »I work at a test vicility that tests cars and trucks that I shouldn't name. Anyway, we had a 04 vibe that had 225/50/17 on it. this tire is alittle wider and did not rub. but I'm looking at getting 18s so that lead me to possibly putting on 235/45/18 rather the recomended 225/40/18. I know the speedo is going to be off about three miles per hour, I can live with that. I like the 18 look, and having a 45 sidewall instead of the 40 would give a little more sidewall protection and ride comfort. I looked at some tire calculations and there a little taller and wider then the 225/50/17 that I know fit, might be pushing it too much with the little taller and wider 235/45/18. ok so my question is has anyone tryed or exprienced this size thru any tire retailer, that is 235/45/18? I know some of the tire retailers will allow you to try different sizes before buying. also, I'll be going with the sport edition kv5 rim. also does anyone know of a different manufacturer with same style as the sport edition kv5? sport edition has thin paint coating from what I here on this site. I don't mind spending a little more for better wheels. By the way for the people on here that don't know the sport edition kv5 look just like the Millie Miglia evo 5 wheels. thanks guys great site..... here a pic of the Millie Miglia EVO 5The amount of width difference between a 225/50-17 and a 235/45-18 are almost nothing.. I mean overall, you are talking a width increase of 10mm.... not much.. how it changes the sidewall profile might be a little greater, but not by much.. You could likely get away with a 245/45-18 without much issue and it would fit the typical 18x8 fitment better with the slightly wider rim.. AJflan runs 18's, but I think he has lower profile tires.. (he's not the only one, just the first to come to mind)

[vibolista]

Those TE37's are beautiful, Sub. Very nice. You got a screaming deal on them, too. Super lucky that no damage was found on your rims. Did you paint them or did they arrive that way. Super light, and yes, one of my all time farovite wheels. They look awsome on your Subie. Is that the south facing shore of the UP?The cost of your TE37 wheels were almost equal to my much more mundane set of Borbet wheels with the ultimately quiet Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX tires from Tire Rack. I use my Vibe pretty gently, but the Platinums are very firm if you run them near 40 psi, and linear. I really haven't found anything that I don't like about them, so far. Although rated a A/S tire, they are only marginal in snow (as I expected). I left them on to the first snow fall just to see how they performed on my driveway(Signature pic)... and then switched to my snow tires right away.

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by vibolista »Those TE37's are beautiful, Sub. Very nice. You got a screaming deal on them, too. Super lucky that no damage was found on your rims. Did you paint them or did they arrive that way. Super light, and yes, one of my all time farovite wheels. They look awsome on your Subie. Is that the south facing shore of the UP?The cost of your TE37 wheels were almost equal to my much more mundane set of Borbet wheels with the ultimately quiet Kumho Ecsta Platinum LX tires from Tire Rack. I use my Vibe pretty gently, but the Platinums are very firm and linear. I really haven't found anything that I don't like about them, so far. Although rated a A/S tire, they are only marginal in snow (as I expected). I left them on to the first snow fall just to see how they performed on my driveway(Signature pic)... and then switched to my snow tires right away. thank you... I did the red on them, after grinding down the lips to remove the curb damage... They were blue though... They were in rough shape really.. Took forever to get the baked in brake dust off... I doubt anyone would spend the money on a Vibe to put on TE37's, it would be silly.. I mean, for looks sure, but the car just can't perform up to that level, it was never meant to... I wouldn't buy them for the Vibe.. personally.. Light would be nice, but, not at that price... there are plenty of other light wheels that don't commend such a premium..

[vibolista]

Nice job. How did you grind the wheel lips?

[dragon64]

Quote, originally posted by lionssfan »I work at a test vicility that tests cars and trucks that I shouldn't name. Anyway, we had a 04 vibe that had 225/50/17 on it. this tire is alittle wider and did not rub. but I'm looking at getting 18s so that lead me to possibly putting on 235/45/18 rather the recomended 225/40/18. I know the speedo is going to be off about three miles per hour, I can live with that. I like the 18 look, and having a 45 sidewall instead of the 40 would give a little more sidewall protection and ride comfort. I looked at some tire calculations and there a little taller and wider then the 225/50/17 that I know fit, might be pushing it too much with the little taller and wider 235/45/18. ok so my question is has anyone tryed or exprienced this size thru any tire retailer, that is 235/45/18? I know some of the tire retailers will allow you to try different sizes before buying. also, I'll be going with the sport edition kv5 rim. also does anyone know of a different manufacturer with same style as the sport edition kv5? sport edition has thin paint coating from what I here on this site. I don't mind spending a little more for better wheels. By the way for the people on here that don't know the sport edition kv5 look just like the Millie Miglia evo 5 wheels. thanks guys great site..... here a pic of the Millie Miglia EVO 5There is a good reason they look the same. 70-80% of the alloy wheels on the market in North America these days come out of 4 main foundrys in China & Taiwan and to a lesser extent in Thailand and the Phillippines. What the wheel company do is look through a catalog of up to 1000 casting designs then pick and choose the designs they think they can market. As a result some wheels can be on the market at the same time under as many as 5 different brand names. Another parameter to look at is the approved rim widths for the tire width. Also as the rim with changes so will the correct offset. Wider will need more positive offset and narrower will need more negative offset from the OE wheels to maintain proper clearance but more importantly so that the centerline of the wheel is centered over the wheel bearing. Wider wheel tire combinations can place a lot of addition stress on the wheel bearings causing the to wear rapidly or in some cases fail at speeds.You never said what brand of tires you are considering. You mention the tread width spec but Tire manufactures can make the overall width of the significantly different from each other. One brand of tire that I can think of are physically the same width as 2 sizes wider tires as most other tires. I also know of a couple brands of tires were they are physically narrower than most other tires.

[vibolista]

You should post some pictures of your 225/55 17's on your Vibe from different angles so we can see how they look and fit. What offset are your wheels?

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by vibolista »You should post some pictures of your 225/55 17's on your Vibe from different angles so we can see how they look and fit. What offset are your wheels?There are some pics in my garage. Follow the link in my sig. I'm planning on getting new tires. I think the 225 is a little too wide.

[vibolista]

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe »I think the 225 is a little too wide. Why? By the way, most of your best Vibe pictures show your steelies. Nice alloy wheels. That's the Scion Tc coupe wheel, isn't it? Looks great... but you need more pictures that show off your alloys! Do you know the wheel offset? My guess is 45mm.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by vibolista »Why? By the way, most of your best Vibe pictures show your steelies. Nice alloy wheels. That's the Scion Tc coupe wheel, isn't it? Looks great... but you need more pictures that show off your alloys! Do you know the wheel offset? My guess is 45mm.The 225 just looks weird. I know most of the pics are of the awesome steelies. I just recently got the new alloys and have been busy with a new daughter to get tons of pics. The wheels are from a Scion tC, and I believe the offset is 45. p.s. I would sell them if the offer was right

[vibolista]

The Scion tC wheels look great on Vibes. You shouldn't have any trouble selling them... just wish I had known about them before I bought a new set of alloys for my son's Vibe a couple of weeks ago. His rusty steelies are going to do snow tire duty this fall. I run 225s too, but side wall is a 50 instead of your 55. I almost went with the the 55 sidewall... but chickened out when I couldn't get answers for any fitment problems. I like the look a lot. Makes the Vibe a little taller and mini suv or ute like.