Skidoor

Just called Green and Ross for winter tires and wheels. Their steel wheels in 18" are not hub-centric, they are called multi-fit. I read somewhere that the center hub must fit tight for adequate safety since its not the job of the nuts to hold the wheel in place centered on the rim (i always thought the nuts themselves could be trusted if they were conical style against a steel wheel with conical recesses for the nuts since there is no way the rim can slide around)
So, they do however sell hub-centric winter rims fitting the RDX in 17" and I would use a slightly different tire size to get back close (enough) to the OEM tire diameter.
The new size is 235/65/17 as opposed to OEM 235/60/18....I dont care if the diameter is slightly different affecting the speedometer.

Just wondering if anyone has used 17" steel wheels, if so I assume they dont hit the brake caliper.....thanks folks.

thoiboi

DEFINITELY make sure your wheels fit the center bore or at least get some hub centric rings to properly fit or experience vibrations up the wazoo. What is the offset of the 17" wheel, that's needed to determine if it will fit.


I wouldn't trust a wheel labeled 'multifit' but that's just me

RDX-Rick

First of all, I always recommend putting winter tires on a smaller rim. Because the rim size is smaller, you will need to use a tire with a taller sidewall to achieve the same diameter. You original tire is 235x60x18 which means the sidewall height is 60% of 235mm = 141mm , the 17" tire has a sidewall of 65% of 235mm = 152.75mm. The extra 11.75mm (about 1/2 inch) will help smooth out the ride on rough roads, and help reduce rim damage when driving through winter potholes. According to this calculator, your speedometer will be off by .25% or .25 kph at 100 kph. Another option is to install a 225x70x17 tire which is 10mm narrower which will cause it to sink deeper into the snow and make contact with the pavement (think of the snowshoe principle) for a better grip, and provide even taller sidewalls for comfort and pothole protection.

Purchasing a 17" tire will also save you a few dollars. BTW I have the 235x65x17 tires on alloy rims installed on my 2016 RDX. They were purchased at the dealership. There is no problem with caliper clearance.

Now with regards to hubcentric vs lugcentric. The advantage of hubcentric is that the weight of the vehicles is carried on the hub, and not by the lugs. I have used lugcentric (multi-fit) wheels on many vehicles over many years, and despite hard cornering and braking, I have never seen a broken lug. If you use conical lug nuts, and tighten them with your fingers, one by one, as you keep wiggling the wheel, they will end up perfectly centered. Torque to specs afterwards.

One problem with hubcentric wheels is that they often get corroded to the hub requiring that they be hammered off to remove them. It makes it awkward to change a flat at the side of the road. Multi-fit wheels are also easier to resell because they will fit many other vehicles. And of course, multi-fit wheels will also save you a few dollars.

Conclusion:
Use a 17" rim and tires to improve ride,reduce damage caused by potholes, and save money.

Hubcentric rims can carry more load, and easier to mount (by a few minutes). Lugcentric carries all the load required by any vehicle (I can't find any reports of failure). They are also cheaper to purchase, less likely to get corroded onto the hub, and easier to resell due to the multi-fit capabilities.