FINAL tire sizing question on 17x7???

[stu-nami]

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelClo ... sort=Brand (http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/WheelCloseUpServlet?target=runWheelSearch&initialPartNumber=AR17I92BMBF&wheelMake=ASA&wheelModel=AR3&wheelFinish=Machined+w%2FBlack+Accent&showRear=no&autoMake=Subaru&autoModel=Legacy+L+Sedan&autoYear=2002&autoModClar=&filterSize=All&filterFinish=All&filterSpecial=false&filterBrand=All&filterNew=All&sort=Brand)

I have decided these are the rims for me...the stats on them are 17x7 with a 48mm offset...going on 2002 legacy l sedan

the question is now what size of tire to run....it reccomends a 205/45, however i want to meat to be on the sides...i believe airgines has 17x8's with 45 offset and is running a 235/45......should i go with a 235 as well......all the help in the world would be appreciated ESPECIALLY PICS of rides too

[stu-nami]

i guess the biggest i could go is a 225.....then what for the second part....225/ ??? ....40, 45,50?

[d1giPhux]

I've been wondering this myself.. I run 215/45/R17's on my JDM 17" wheels. I wonder what the max 'height' rubber you can have. 215/50??

Bump for these questions.

[Yamazaki]

Well, my BE comes with 215/40/18 and for winter tires 225/40/18 from the factory. So we know that at least that much is okay. I don't know how to calculate how much bigger a 225/40/18 is than a 225/40/17 though... (I mean how much more tire you could fit on a '17)

[rougeben83]

http://www.rimsntires.com/rt_specs.jsp

For the record, 225/45 is fine, 225/40 is a little too short, 225 on a 7" wheel is ok its the bare minimum for that width (check with the tire company website, they list the width range for each tire size and for each tire model).

The only thing that physically limit you on the height of the tire on a subaru would be the lower spring perches, I've seen WRX owners put in a 215/65/16 all-terrain tire and the strut design is basically the same for 2nd gen legacy's and the front of the 3rd gens; plug in that size in the calculator above, get the diameter, and basically any tire has less than that diameter, UP TO 215 WIDTH will be ok height wise.

HOWEVER, the bottomline for both of these tire questions is that you want keep as close to the OE tire diameter as possible, to keep your speedo and odometer accurate. +/- 3% is the usual layman's cutoff for a given tire diameter. Pick your width, pick an aspect ratio thats close to OE diameter, and you're set.

[stu-nami]

That site helps a TON...225/45/17 is what its going to be...now its just a matter of what brand to go with ill go check out reviews on here in the other post...lookin for low noise, good all weather tire especially living in the west traveling between utah oregon idaho wyoming colorado and nebraska

[ouch1011]

I run 225-50-17s on STI wheels (17x7.5 with 53mm offset) and they would rub the rear struts if I still had a stock style setup (i.e. not coilovers).

They would also rub the rear fenders if they were not trimmed.

[d1giPhux]

Why do they rub.. too wide? (225)? Or too high (50)? I was thinking about getting some 215/50/R17's for my 17" wheels.. wonder if it would rub? Hmm.

[ouch1011]

Too wide. I tried my friends wheels from his STI with stock STI size tires (225-45-17) and they rubbed my stock struts (when I had them).

BEs have a little more clearance than BDs do though, and a totally different rear suspension setup, so keep that in mind.

[stu-nami]

Well just bought those rims ( ASA AR3 ) two days go but they're on back order so it will prob be a month or two before I get them...total purch cost 592.61...pretty excited for them to come

[stu-nami]

Bump

[Airgne]

well did you get them yet? i would go 235/45/17 if i were you. the reason i went 45 is i wanted a low pro tire, but did not want a rubber band tire. with the 45 there is enough sidewall on it that i get some play, but not to much to let the car role like a truck. did you see a tire you are going to go with?

[stu-nami]

Will a 235 be "too wide" though and hit the bumper on the top of the shock?...I had that happen on a previous car when I first put on tires and you could smell burning rubber for a few weeks then the insides of the tires were worn....is my offset right to run a 235? (48mm)

Any certain brand/model of tire are you particular too??? I just need something good all
season and smooth for long drives with low road noise....I prob domt want to spend more than 500 tops for a full set

[Airgne]

i never rubbed with my 235's. have had these tires on stock sus, h&r's with kyb gr2's, and now coils.

as for tire i would go dunlop.

[stu-nami]

According to the tiresnrims website when doing the stock tire/rim setup comparison to the 235/45 and 225/45 the 235 look like a better choice....
Tires I found for less than 100/per with some decent reviews are falken ziex912

[StatGSR]

^ what do you want your tires to be able to do? what do you plan to do with the car while on this set of wheels/tires?

[stu-nami]

Mainly I want the tires to do well on the interstate cuz typically 60% of the time I drive are highway miles...not only that but do great in the rain and snow since I live in the rockies..I take A LOT of trips between idaho utah wyoming colorado and nebraska...future plans on the car are nothing except for a new baja turbo hood going on in a week or two and maybe some exhaust work in the future

[rougeben83]

by "good in snow" you mean mediocre/passable at best in light snow since it's going to be an all season.

There are a thousand different tires for a thousand different needs, price points, and terrain. Everyone and their mom has a "best tires theyve ever driven on" and I can guarantee you 5 times out of 10 it'll be a tire that someone else says is terrible for them.

Google is your friend.

[stu-nami]

Ya I know what you're saying its all subjective to the owner of the vehicle and their driving ability...by snow I would say slushy stuff 3-5 inches and then icer conditions like when the snowed it packed hard from road graders on the interstate not getting all the spots...I've driven a variety of vehicles from buick lesabre, broncoII, grand cherokkee, kia spectra, pt cruiser, gmc sierra, dodge2500 diesel, dodge stealth...so I can pull some stunts based on the conditions andsince. Now I have the subaru it is mind boggling to me how great of a vehicle it is in all circumstances the awd is perfect for me and I trust my driving, so I thought pointers on a predicable tire would help for a managable price cuz over 150$ per tire I think is outlandish when a majority perform fairly equal

[jey]

Everyone and their mom has a "best tires theyve ever driven on" and I can guarantee you 5 times out of 10 it'll be a tire that someone else says is terrible for them.

Google is your friend.

The average consumer is a terrible tire reviewer. Generally people get tires like once every 2-3 years and they wait until their tires have worn down before replacing them. Well of course new tires are going to perform like the best tires they've driven on, relative to those bald things they were on before, and do you think they're going to remember how things were 3 years ago when they last got new tires?

[Yamazaki]

Consumer Reports tests and rates tires. I think they do a very good, thorough job too.

[rougeben83]

Everyone and their mom has a "best tires theyve ever driven on" and I can guarantee you 5 times out of 10 it'll be a tire that someone else says is terrible for them.

Google is your friend.

The average consumer is a terrible tire reviewer. Generally people get tires like once every 2-3 years and they wait until their tires have worn down before replacing them. Well of course new tires are going to perform like the best tires they've driven on, relative to those bald things they were on before, and do you think they're going to remember how things were 3 years ago when they last got new tires?

Yeah, that's what I was implying and whether anyone here will admit it or not, that also applies to the people on this forum. We have a tire review thread already on this forum, but that's very little sample set there and even given the same car and same tire brand/model you can have 2 different experiences based on the wheel width and tire size you select.

Basically has to give us something more than just 'wat tire is gud?' and keep bumping this thread.

[stu-nami]

Bump