Tires for 17" wheels

Sounds like 8" and 9" wheels have you covered for almost anything.

I'm going thru the same thing with an El Camino that has the same original tire size you mentioned. People push going to 215 and 225; however, that is at or over the limit for a 6" wide wheel. What happens is that some point the tire tread becomes wider than the sidewalls and probably looks like you have a severe case of under inflation.

IMHO, more rubber on the road is better, but for cars from the 1980s, giving the illusion of sidewall height looking period correct is the best policy (when you go to sell) and avoids the issue of having the car looking like it was heavily modded.

 

Please make sure you double check before you consider the 50 series with a 17. I’m running 50’s on 16’s. 225/50 and 245/50. They fill the arches very very well. Tire rack has the actual rolling diameters for the combo chosen. I tried 215/55/16 to up the diameter on the fronts and went to large.

 

I agree. I bought them and put them and they just didn’t look right. So I bought the 225/50’s and put those on and all was good again. I sold the two 215/55 fronts on Craigslist. In the end it has to fit the eyes.

 

This what I have on my 17” now with Sumitomo HTR Z III tires.
Front 8” wide 225/45/17”
Rear 9” wide 255/40/17

 

One other thing to consider when changing diameters is how close the front and rear corners of the front tires come to the inside of the wheel well when turning. On my early GT4 I had rubbing when turning. Later GT4s had a pocket in the fender liner to clear the tires better. The GT cars had better clearance from the start, but I'd still turn the wheels both ways and check how much room you have at the closest point. Do you have an additional room to spare when you increase both the diameter and width?

 

5.65" - 4.66" = ~ 1". An inch can be a lot on a car and is probably what caught David's eye.

As another real world example, right now for the El Camino, I'm looking at going back to OEM white letter tires and note that 2" high letters are far too large versus 1" high letters with the extra 1" just not looking right.

 

FWIW, I have potenza 235/45-17 front and 245/45-17 rear on 8" wide wheels. I found later I could have gone 245 front also, but wasn't sure at the time.
I did put 1/2" spacers on the rear to push the wheels out more.
of course, offset does play into all of this.

The 45 series kept the wheels closer to stock height.

Doug
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The thing that I've always wondered about with the wider tires on the car is if it contributes to premature wear on the steering rack. I replaced my rack at 50K.

 

Here’s what they look like. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

GAAHHH!!! The Smog Check sign. That brings back nightmares. Glad i don't have to do that anymore.

Doug

 

It’s only a nightmare if it doesn’t pass, mine pass no problem.

 

Very nice looking 308 Mike. That size looks the best to me, aggressive yet elegant. I have to concur with your tire sizes as I did the same size on my 308. I must have lamented for days on the brand but I finally went with a Ultra HP All Season, Michelin tire. The Pirelli was limiting with 17” but Conti, Goodyear, and Bridgestone had nice tires as well. I bought mine on Tire Rack and had an Audi dealership install.

 

I can't say my 3.6L upgrade with high perf cams, 10.5:1 CR, no cats and no air pump would pass smog.

But, I bet my car is one HELL of a lot more fun to drive, than yours...

Doug

 

No rubbing at all at full lock with the 235/45 on my 8" wheels, The 245 won't rub either with the offset on the wheels i have. I think the offset was 20MM, but I can't remember which way without looking up the specs for the heel.

Doug

 

No, Nick Forzas 4.0 L conversion that puts out 500 plus hp, now that’s fun to drive. Mine may have less HP than yours but it sure makes me happy and puts smile on my face and that’s all it counts for me and nothing else matter.