#1HuskerTL

I came across a great pair of barely used Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50 snow tires in my area that I had to act quickly on or miss out. The tires still have 8/32 tread on them and are in terrific shape so I decided to buy all four for $150. Here's the catch.... They're 225/55R17 (not the stock 235/45R17).

Since I had to make a quick decision I thought that the skinnier tire (by 10 mm or about 0.5") would actually be a little better in the snow and that the extra sidewall height would be small enough not to make a difference. However, now that I've started comparing the two different sizes a little more closely I'm getting a little concerned.

The WS-50's are 1.4" taller overall, so they'll extend another 0.7" all around into the wheel well. Visually this doesn't look to be a problem, but I don't want them to rub when the suspension compresses or the steering wheel is turned to lock.

The difference in tire diameter is 5.32%, which according to one website is too much of a difference from stock. I was given a warning message that said "We recommend staying within 3% of the diameter of the original tire. Any more than this and you face the risk of brake failure." I'm guessing that is warning against the extra rolling mass from a bigger tire, but I can't imagine this is going to make a huge difference.

The speedo would only be off about 3.3 mph at 60, so I'm not worried about that. In the winter I'd rarely leave the city with the TL.

I'd appreciate hearing what you guys (and gals) think about going with these tires. THANKS!

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Can't believe that the 225 will cause any fitment problem.
Here's a thread where a 245/40-19 was installed, which is the same diameter as the 225/55-17, and are installed on Infinity rims that move the wheel 1/2" closer to the suspension, and are no problem.
https://acurazine.com/forums/ramblings-12/checl-out-maybach-killer-126827/