... what's the biggest tire I can get on the back of my 05 TL on the factory rim?

I'm new to the forum and have been looking for a previous post on this issue, no luck yet.

The factory 16' five spoke rim looks OK to me and I really like the big tire look but have not seen a 3G TL yet w/ rear fat rubber.

 

Do a search for the 255 tire thread. Basically you can fit a 255/40 on the stock 17s with no problems. The sidewall remains about the same. One poster has even used a 265 but that's really pushing it. Here are my 255s.

 

That's an aggressive looking tread!

Thanks for the info. I'm assuming you get no rubbing (front or back). If you don't mind, where did you get it and, are you running 255 in all fours?

 

No rubbing whatsoever. I've lowered the front 3/4" since the pic was taken. 255s all around. Even with four people in the car, it will hit the bumpstops before the tires rub. I've taken it to the track and driven it for all it's worth with no rubbing. The first problem you will run into is not tire clearance, but rim width vs tire width. 255 is about as big as you want to go on an 8" rim.

The tires in the picture were the noisiest tire I've ever owned. Even though I'm broke I just swapped them with over 1/2 tread left for something quieter. They were unbearable.

 

Road noise is one thing I don't want to deal wit either. So, what did you go with this time and, are you happy with them?

Are you a tire rack kinda guy? I normally get wheels/tires from them.

 

I ended up with the BFG G-force sport this time. Very happy with the noise level. They're a little stiffer than the last tires. I haven't had a chance to test them out on the track but I'm pretty sure they're a step down in the performance arena. I got them because money is tight and I didn't want to wait for them.

In the other thread, people are having very good luck with the Goodyear Eagle F1 I believe. It's said to be quieter than stock and grip is very good. I wanted them but being that I haven't worked in two months I had to settle.

 

Here's some reading for you.

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=135535

 

I looked at the Eagles for a 1999 5 series I had, but the rack was always out of stock. That tire has been getting good ratings for a while now.