shawn744

Hey guys. I have about 16000 miles on my 03 TL-S Nav and it's time for some tires. I wanna BURN these stupid stock michelins. Anyway, I called up tire rack (www.tirerack.com) and asked if i could put on 225/45/17 instead of stock 215/50/17. He said i could. But my friend says i can't. So my question is who here has installed tires wider than stock? Thanks. -Shawn

nortondlcl

yes you can ,225/45/17 OK & 225/50/17 OK But no 235/45/17 on stock rim. I have 225/50/17.and they are great!
Darrell

andytran

i have 245/40s on my CL-s rims and they are fine.

jayhawk815

Do keep in mind the CL-S rims are a 1/2" wider than the TL-S rims. This topic, however, has been discussed MANY times in the past. Please do a search before you start a thread.

sc354

HAHAHA yes you're right about the 235/45/17...not!!!! I have TL-S rims and am running the Toyo T1-S in 235/45/17. Just got back from a small road trip yesterday and they were fucking awesome on the highway. A few times my buddy wanted to play around in his 5 speed BMW 525i and I was dusting him. We did atleast a handful of launches from 120 km/h to about 160 km/h and they flew. I love these tires!!! And the best part is it hardly sets off your speedometer. So I went 235/45/17 and couldn't be happier.

They will be fine on the 6.5 inch rims. Don't worry.

edgalang

luxurycarson20s

our rims width are 6.5 the widest tires you can put on a *x6.5 wheel is 225, once your width hits 7+ you can go with 235, i wouldnt go with anything wider unless your rim is *x8+ so in a nutshell

*x6.5=max 225 width
*x7+=235 max
and *x8+=240+

shawn744

hey EDGALANG, are those Sumitomos good? I hear their reviews are pretty good and they're cheap as hell...they look appealing.

edgalang

yep....so far NO complaints. (make sure you keep the PSI high though)

fsttyms1

235's will fit no problems.

dj5

Most tire manufacturers and Tire Rack recommend not going any wider than 225/50 17 on the stock TL-S rims.

I took the advice from the experts and put Michelin Pilot A/S 225/50 17 on mine about a month ago. Great tire.

To me pushing the limit was not worth the risk.

vandy786

I would also recommend 235/45/17s. I have done some research for the last year or so and found that many people are running this size without any problems. It might not be recommended by the "pros" but the difference and improvement in handling is worth it, as well as the fact that it doesn't throw off your speedometer at all like the 225s do. From an aesthetic and practical standpoint, the 235s kick major a$$. They are not dangerous as some people have suggested.

69ssrscam

I'm running 235x45x17s with no problems on my 03 tls

hemants

235/45/17 or even 245/45/17 will fit on a 6.5 inch rim safely. But when you exceed the recommended width, you will sacrifice handling.

Because the sidewall has to bend close to the shoulder it will exhibit less stiffness than it would on a 7.5 or 8 inch wide rim.

But you will gain from a wider contact patch so it's a tradeoff.

I'd rather have a high quality 215/50/17 or 225/50/17 tire on my car than an el cheapo 235/45/17.

225/45/17 is too small IMO and should only be done if you are trying to avoid rubbing.

shawn744

Hey everyone, thanks for all of your replies. If hemants is right by saying that handling will start to suck on a 235 then i'm not going to consider it. (i always thought pretty much the wider the tire the better the handling).

NOW, the only thing i have to decide is to get a 225/45 or 225/50. i dunno what the pros and cons of each are. Any opinions/facts? Much appreciated. -Shawn

hemants

The only con of 225/50 is limited tire availability, not many tires in that size.

Don't let me dissuade you from 235/45/17, but if you are going to do it, get a z rated tire that has stiff sidewalls not some crappy no-season tire. The z rating will also help dissipate heat that may build up on the shoulder from the extra flex.

But let's put this in perspective:

235 is a section width of 9.25 inches
225 is 8.85 inches

BOTH of these have to bend to meet a 6.5 inch rim so it's not like night and day between them.

The tradeoff i mentioned is at the margin.

shawn744

hey hemants thanks for your reply....i was planning on buying these (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes) regardless of tire size. But what about this tire as a 235/45?


EDIT: Ok, don't laugh, but my only fear with 235s are that when i order them, they'll either won't physically mount on my rim cuz they won't fit, or under heavy maneuvering they'll....like pop off or something.....i'm just worried about that strain on the edge of the tire from stretching....(keep in mind the premium brand/quality tire). Thanks again.

yield2s

hey I have the yoko es100's in 225-45-17 and they preform great but I wont go w/ that size again mainly because of the way they look(too small).
I'm conteplating tire size also because the yoko avids h4's(500 tread wear rating) that I want only come in 215/50/17 and then 235/45/17.

hemants

"But what about this tire as a 235/45?"

The only way to know FOR SURE would be to see if anyone has mounted this particular tire.

I wouldn't worry about it not mounting or popping off. If there's going to be a problem it will be premature or uneven wear from excess heat buildup because the tire sidewall is slightly out of the shape that it was designed for (but recall, it is slightly as I mentioned above).

If you're not planning to take it to the track or run it for 10 hours straight at it's maximum speed rating then you are operating well within the tolerance of the tire even if mounted on a 6.5 inch rim.

Let me rephrase. In order for Pirelli to offer that tire in a 94 load and W speed rating, the tire has to be rigorously tested. If you mount it on a 6.5 inch rim, you are going outside the test boundaries so performance will probably be less. How much less is anyone's guess but with a 94W you've got plenty of excess capacity unless you're going on the track with it.

mike_snyder

This is why I chickened out on the 235/45s..the tire popping off. I went the Bridgestone Turanza's in stock size (wanted the Pilot A/S but too cheap.) The Turanzas are OK. Slightly noisier, better grip..no squealing around corners, but the side wall flex seems to be a bit more. I don't think the Turanzas corner as well as the stock tires. I still paid $150/tire, shoudla opted for the Pilot A/S for another $50 I guess.

Vicman17

I coudn't agree with this more. I've seen people with the nicest rims and slapped on el-cheapo tires. Kinda ruins the look. They even say they are scared to do runs on those cheap tires knowing that the road holding is no good. When it comes to tires, you get what you pay for. (except for the stock Michelins of course).

Remember that for the next few thousand miles, the one that is gonna keep you safe (and alive) is your tire investment. So don't go cheap.

shawn744

Ok, so you're saying that a Pirelli in 235/45 will have less performance than a 225/45?

And one more thing. I just e-mailed tire-rack and they said they'd recommend a 225/50 instead of a 225/45 because of the load. That it may blowout. Is that true? Thanks a lot.

(What's your opinion on mounting 235/45 VS 225/45/225/50? Which one would you mount?

bassman

I recently bought Bridgestone Turanza LS-V's in 225/50 and I haven't looked back. The tire seems to fill the wheel wells more, provides a little extra height in sidewall to protect TLS rims (replaced one already from the "beloved" Michelins) and are a little bit wider than stock. These tires are extra load tires and have the new AA rating in traction. Traction inthe rain is GREATLY improved over the Michelins. The ride is quiet and smooth. Tire rack is a good place too, they give great advice.

Allout

I'm running 235/45-17's on 03' CL-S wheels and they work fine.

From what I've read, putting 235/45-17's on a 6.5" rim is not as good as on a 7.5" rim. In addition to what Hemants said about the sidewall bending close to the shoulder, it also reduces the contact patch. Not sure how much but you don't get the full benefit of going to 235 rubber on the ground.

The other benefit that hasn't been mentioned is that you get a lot better wheel protection with 235/45-17 on a 6.5 or 7.0 inch rim because of the tire bulge.

To keep things in perspective, the 10mm difference between a 225 and a 235 tire is only .394 inches (25.4mm per inch).

shawn744

Well since the time is coming within the next week or two....the only thing that i find myself thinking about is: are 235/45 s really that much of a pain in the ass? like having the car follow the curves of the road, and the gain of a wider contact patch? Or should i just buy tires (conti Extremes) in stock size (215/50)? I wouldn't mind better handling and looks. But if it's really gonna suck.....see where i'm goin? Thanks for the support, just don't want to make a mistake (a $500 mistake).

shawn744

As vandy786 says here 235s increase handling performance, has anyone else felt this compared to stock size or 225s?

yield2s

It won't increase handling at all on the 6.5" rims,
and look at the yokohama avid v4s,they are the only 1's that have a tread life warr.(60k miles) and a rating of 500.the contact patch on the 215/50/17 is actually BIGGER than most 225/50/17 tires

shawn744

okay, what about handling and contact patch on a 235/45? It's gotta be better than stock size. What about the tires following the road and wandering a lot with a 235? Is that common for you guys?

yield2s

Alright it really sound like you want the look of the 235/45/17. Thats fine you'll get less mileage and less preformance because they'll be warped to fit you rim. I've looked in to doing it also and thats what i was told by the pros on more than one occation. This is actually what i was told "if you want 235s get new rims" but hey i drive about 30k a year so i need a properlly setup tire/rim combo to get my $s worth.
If you want something for looks and preformance i would recommend a 225/50/17 that tire is the widest you should put on and it is just slightly taller so it will not leave even MORE wheel gap then we already have(like the 225/45/17 will)

shawn744

holy crap, i didn't even realize....i've been looking at your pictures in your member page for the last like hour....dude ur green TL is HOT. I love those tips. I'm thinkin of getting them too. Either that or these. Rims are hot also. about the tires, it's also about what brands are available. I'm liking the pirellis but they're only avail in 215/45, 225/45, and 235/45. If i go stock size i'll probaby go with conti extremes. Or sumitomos cuz they're so effing cheap...$70 a tire AHH!! ...anyone with stock size sumitomos? (HTR+) thanks a lot.

yield2s

hey thanx ya my gallerys a good place to look ,girl on girl videos,g strigs,oh ya and pics of sumitomos in stock size,and es-100 in 225/45/17(too small), and check out my exhaust tips on the bottom of page two they're actually the stock tip that i modified to stick out longer, I actually removed my 3A tips for these modified ones and there free! reply if you wanta know how to do it.

http://www.acurainspired.com/gallery...d=367&uuid=626

yield2s

ya shawn for the tips I just removed them and used a drill and 1/8 drill bit to drill out the 2 spot welds in the inner ring that secures it to the tailpipe, not on the side the tighting bolt is on but the other end so the end of the tailpipe is back about 1 and 1/2 inches now.Once you drill thoughs spots out you can knock the ring down a bit. Look at my gallery on page two and youll see the 2 small holes on the bottom of the tips, thats where the spot welds were. and also the pic look staight into the exhaust you can see that the ring is further back now. as for the sumitomos, they were great for the price, not as good as my yoko es-100s but much cheaper.