From 15's to 17's -- PAINFUL

[vectorz]

I bought some 17" rims and correct sized tires, and after they were installed, the ride has been teeth chatteringly painful. So I had a long trip this weekend so threw the stock 15's back on and man.. it's sooooooo much smoother. I'm going to leave the stocks on and sell off the 17's.

Anyone else notice the ride comfort level change after going to 17's? Perhaps in the future I should consider going a LARGER tire size that would exceed the diamater of stock?

[Stylin_G]

?? what do you mean by teeth chattering painful?? I never heard anything like that before.. i've had my 18's for about a year and there was no problem with them on... are you sure it was on tightly?? and also what rims were they?

[vectorz]

Yes, they were on tight.

They are Ikon rims, I don't know which model. What does the rim have to do w/ it.. do they make diff softness in rims? LOL

[Serstylz2]

my ride got smoother w. my 17s installed

[spartus]

Sittin clean on them 20"zzzzzzzz HOLLA you and your weak teens lol jk

[vectorz]

What tires sizes are you guys using?

[mrjaydeeone]

i got 225/40s on my EIGHTEENS and the ride is much better then my 15s

[vectorz]

Weird.. maybe the tires I have are too hard of a compound. Hmm...

Any other ideas?

[bradley1997]

I have 205/40 R18 and the ride is not as smooth as stock but it's nowhere near as bad as the way you're describing.

[vectorz]

So I'm thinking of trying some different tires on to see if it'll help.. Found some cheap used ones but I think they're a little wide.

235/45R17

Will these work on the Galant w/ out rubbing sides?

[vectorz]

The wheels I have are the Ikon P36. 17X7

http://i8.ebayimg.com/02/i/04/10/28/34_1_b.JPG

[quicksilver22]

i wouldn't go any wider than 225, 235 should work... but to keep to the closest relavence to your MPH stick w/ either 215(ideal) or 225 /45/17

I'm runnin 215/45/17 on my 8G and love it, i still need to drop, but regardless of that factor, my ride is still much smoother. it will take you a day or so to get adjusted a bit, but after that, its smoooooooooth sailin'.


maybe you just can't drive. lol j/j j/j https://www.thegalantcenter.org/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif

[vectorz]

Hmmm.. how do calculate a 235 tire width to see if it'll fit on my 7" wide rim?

[quicksilver22]

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html ('http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html')



have at it sir.

[kamilw]

Do you have the hubcentric rings? They are little plastic or metal rings that go between your wheel and the hub that make the wheels fit right onto the hub. Our cars are hub centric, meaning that the wheel must sit centered on a hub while you are tightening the wheel. Otherwise you might tighten it off center and have huge shaking.

That's what happened to me, and the shaking was worst at 70MPH. After putting the correct hub rings, it's running smooth as stock, for over 2 years now.

I have 225/45/17 and there's no rubbing. 235 are a little wide, but I'm not sure how much you would feel that. You shouldn't feel anything on a straight driving though, maybe some rubbing can occur during turning. And your speedo might be off a little bit.

Also check tire pressures, and set it to stock, or 2-4 above, but don't go too high, cause your tire will bounce too much, and car will fill jittery. But also don't go below stock, because you are running a risk of bending the wheel on potholes.

And of course, make sure the wheels are balanced correctly. Sometimes try a different shop for balancing, some shops do crappy job.

As far as tires, I'm using Sumitomo HTR+. They are pretty affordable (~90/tire) but are good quality, and has good reviews on TireRack. I'm driving in NYC all the time, and have bent the rim once, but didn't damage the tire. No bubble or anything. Plus, these are high perf all season.

Just my .02

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vectorz)</div><div class='quotemain'>I bought some 17" rims and correct sized tires, and after they were installed, the ride has been teeth chatteringly painful. Â*So I had a long trip this weekend so threw the stock 15's back on and man.. it's sooooooo much smoother. Â*I'm going to leave the stocks on and sell off the 17's.

Anyone else notice the ride comfort level change after going to 17's? Â*Perhaps in the future I should consider going Â*a LARGER tire size that would exceed the diamater of stock?</div>

[pinoyesv6]

what kinda lug nuts are you using? do the seats on the lug nuts match the wheel? i know for each different wheel i have, i had to get different lugs mostly because of the seat.

[vectorz]

I'm using tuner lugs specific to the wheels.

[Danger DANJ]

There is no doubt that the ride comfort will diminish when going from 15" rims to 17", but it shouldn't be as bad as you are making it out to be. So, either you are real sensitive or something is wrong. How are your shocks/struts? Could they be wore out or blown?

[vectorz]

Shocks/struts are great. KYB AGX 4 point adjustable. I currently have my stock 15's back on and drives smooth as silk.

[qnz]

i didnt feel a difference when going from 15--->17. on 215/50/17 tires so theyre pretty fat.

the miata tire calc wont tell u if 235 would fit a 7" wide rim. you have to look up what are the widths that a 7" rim would fit. but offhand, i would say 235 is too wide and there would be spillage out of the sides. the largest reccomended profile tire on my 6.5" wide rims is 215.

[thebirdman13]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(vectorz)</div><div class='quotemain'>Shocks/struts are great. Â*KYB AGX 4 point adjustable. Â*I currently have my stock 15's back on and drives smooth as silk.</div>

try softening the AGXs too....

[vectorz]

Definitely. They're on setting '1'

[grasshopper]

Also check tire pressures, and set it to stock, or 2-4 above, but don't go too high, cause your tire will bounce too much, and car will fill jittery. But also don't go below stock, because you are running a risk of bending the wheel on potholes.
Definitely check the pressures. Most of the time after installing low profile tires they will pump them up to 40+psi. A good rule of thumb is to add 3psi per plus size ('http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/brochure/info/tmpInfoPlusSizing.jsp'). Any time you increase the wheel size, comfort will decline, it's a law of the universe. The sidewalls have to be stiffer as they get shorter, just like springs. That's why almost every tire with a 50 or smaller aspect ratio is at least V-rated