Lawaia

Ok I've been dealing with this CL-s rim crap for way too long. But I need everyone's opinion on this.
To maintain the overall height ratio I decided to go with either 215/50-17 or 235/45-17 on CL-s 17x7. Not many manufacturers make a good performance tire in the 215/50 size so that becomes very limiting. However there are lots to choose from in the 235/45 size.
Now for the question.....
Bridgestone lists a rim size of 7.5" to 9" for their 235/45-17. Do you think I could safely mount this tire on a 7" rim?? Would it look ok?
Thanks for your input...sorry for the long post. I want to get these rims out of my living room and onto my car!!
Thanks again guys!

sutlTL

The 235's will definitely look better on at least a 7 1/2" wheel. Although, the TLS comes with 215/50x17's, your TL came with 205/60x16's and a closer match in diameter to the stock size is 225/50 on the 17's. The 215's, because it's shorter, will give you more wheel gap!

sutlTL

Actually, because I was so concerned with wheel gap, I neglected to mention that the 225/50's are taller than the stock size, but only by a hair!

Lawaia

Thanks SutlTL. Any other comments?

mr tl

if bridgestone doesnt recommend it, i wouldnt do it
its not very wise

check one of those tire calculators...you should have over 70% wheel/tire aspect ratio

Lawaia

Thanks for the info Mr. TL. I checked the Wheel/Tire ratio and it's at 75% - stock setup is 80%. Is 70% a benchmark figure that everyone should be following?
Thanks again.

mr tl

well, they 'say' 70% is the minimum. and 75% is pretty damn good to tell you the truth

ive got summers on my stock rims and im at 72% (if i remember)

i guess the numbers say your ok, but if brigstone says no, you might have problems down the road. call them up, it might be a misprint

Lawaia

I'll check with the Bridgestone dealer here. Otherwise I'll be getting those 235's mounted within the next week or so.
Thanks Mr. TL for the info and advise.

Lawaia

Ok...thought I post what was told to me by the dealer.

235/45-17 will fit on a 7" rim, however the sidewall will buldge quite excessively. The danger comes from the possibility of puncturing the sidewall (sidewall much softer than threads). And if this does happen it is not repairable. Not a good thing. So I've decided to go with 215/50-17. Now to find a decent manufacturer that makes this size...any suggestions?
Thanks.

ZodiakTL

that sounds a little strange... they dont really have a very good idea of what they are talking about... i'm running bridgestone potenza's on stock TL-S 6.5x17 rims with 235/45/17 tires. do they bulge a little yes, but the tires on stock TL bulge more than these do on my setup. the sideway on ultra high perf. tires is a lot more stiff than it is on regular tires, so it does not "bulge" as much as it "fans" from the rim and out to the edge of the tire.

Lawaia

Sup Zodiak...I should have been a bit clearer when I said Dealer. I should have said tire dealer...not car dealer. Sorry. The guy at the tire dealer told me that the absolute minimum rim size that a 235/45-17 would safely fit on was a 7-1/2" rim.

In all honesty, I'm pretty tired of researching, calling tire shops and dealers, bugging the crap out of everyone on this board just to figure out what size tires I can fit on my cl-s rims. To my dismay, I spotted a '00 TL here with cl-s rims and 215/50-17 Proxes...so at least I know that tire combo will fit with no problems. But I thank you all for the info and advise. Who knows, maybe my next set of tires will be 235/45-17!