Getting my 17 wheels/17 inch spare tire

[galantebeige]

I'm still on 15 alloys for a while now, and decided to move up to 17 since I have to buy new tires. I bought the eclipse 17 10 spoke tires, pictured below.

I am having second thoughts, though. They should look better for sure (they haven't arrived) but 17s have drawbacks too.

Tires cost more, and then I realized there is also a setup problem. My spare tire is a tiny 15. If I needed to use it, would be the car really be limping? I mean, I imagine the car tilted heavily downwards at this wheel location.

Any experience on this?

One solution is probably to buy a really light weight 17 spare?

Anyways, I am not sure how you guys deals with this spare wheel thing, and would like to hear some experiences.

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9071/17eclipse10copy.jpg

[E_Emerson88]

are 17 inch tires that expensive? you dont really have to worry about being limp on the spare since your buying new tires. that wont be for a long ass time from now.

[jimmy_o2]

I think 17s look good on our cars im actually in the market for some

[QnzMostWanted]

17" tires are a regular now, 225/45 17 isnt that expensive vs say 18s or 19s

[beam514]

If you are getting those wheels you posted a picture of, the widest width tire you could go is 215

[littlerick]

i was thinking the same thing, they came with 215-50-17 if im not mistaken

[greddy]

you can run 225/45R17s on those just fine and 17 inch tires aren't that expensive at all, I bought my 245/45R17 Toyo T1-R's which are a high performance summer tire brand new for 145 apiece mounted and balanced. My dunlop star specs on my supra are 235 width up front and 275 out back, and they were only 135 for the fronts and 175 for the backs, so it's not THAT bad .

[galantebeige]

I think the cost indeed may not be a problem.

Now I am more concerned about having for instance a nail on one and using the spare. The G would have three 17s and one 14/15 spare tire on. Can I ride like this?

I think the stock spare is a 14?

[Koncept]

If you get the right size tire, there shouldn't be that much of a difference. When I upgraded to 18s, I just used one of the old 15s as a spare. The overall diameter was pretty much the same, especially since the 18s had low profile tires. I did get a couple nails in my 18s, so I went through exactly what you are worrying about. No big deal. If you are really concerned, the only thing that may happen is excess wear on your differential, or slight misalignment while you have the spare on. If you are worried about the diff, just put the spare on one of the rear wheels and have the front two be the same 17s.

[03-Galant-ES]

I am on 17s right now and i have a 5th konig in the trunk as a spare. If you dont buy a 5th 17 use your 15'' alloys as a spare since it will be the same height

[wright06jhs]

are 17 inch tires that expensive? you dont really have to worry about being limp on the spare since your buying new tires. that wont be for a long ass time from now.

There not expensive at all. You can get a nice all season tire for around $75.00-80.00
Its all according to what you want to spend.

[E_Emerson88]

I think the cost indeed may not be a problem.

Now I am more concerned about having for instance a nail on one and using the spare. The G would have three 17s and one 14/15 spare tire on. Can I ride like this?

I think the stock spare is a 14?

so your saying your only gonna have 3 17's and one stock??

[galantebeige]

I would have four 17s of course. I'm just looking at the emergency scenario here. It looks like having a 15 in the trunk will help more than just that tiny stock-spare tire.

I guess the trend is to go for the slimmest as well, (aspect ratio), so a 45 is preferable than a 60?

225/45R-17 vs 225/60R-17

Will the eclipse 17s pictured above, loaded with 225/60R-17s' fit?

I suppose yes..

[Reelax]

I would have four 17s of course. I'm just looking at the emergency scenario here. It looks like having a 15 in the trunk will help more than just that tiny stock-spare tire.

I guess the trend is to go for the slimmest as well, (aspect ratio), so a 45 is preferable than a 60?

225/45R-17 vs 225/60R-17

Will the eclipse 17s pictured above, loaded with 225/60R-17s' fit?

I suppose yes..

it is not merely a trend, it is neccessity.

when you plus size (increase the wheel diameter from stock), you need to decrease the height of the tire to compensate, keeping the overall tire diameter near stock, thus preserving the accuracy of the speedometer/ odometer/ transmission shift points. preferably you do not want to stray further than 2% difference in rolling circumference versus stock. on the USDM 8G, stock diamater is around 25".

the "series" of a tire (45, 50, 55, 60 etc.) refers to the sidewall height as a percentage of the width. so in a 225/45 where the width is 225mm, the height would be 101.25mm... a 225/60 would have a sidewall height of 135mm. convert mm to inches (25.4mm=1") and you get 3.98" and 5.31" respectively. multiply those numbers times 2 (tire above and below the wheel) and you get 7.96" and 10.62" respectively. now to finally to find the overall diameter add that number to the wheel diameter (17") and you get:

225/45r17= 24.96"

225/60r17= 27.62"

225/45r17 is just about perfect, 225/60r17 is too tall. there are tire size calculators online but i did the calculations here to better help u (and others) understand what the numbers mean.

also if you use one of your stock wheels as a spare, you will have no problems as the overall diameter will match your new wheels/tires (your car will not know the difference)... it will just look silly, which is why it's a spare and only temporary. you don't need the same wheel size for your spare as your regular wheels as long as the overall tire diameter is close. the spare in my trunk is 215/55r16 (OE es v6 stock steelie) and my daily running gear is 235/35r19 (difference of 0.2")... i would never have my spare on for more than a few hours.

[galantebeige]

Hey Relaax, that was a very clear explanation. I read a few threads but I think you got it very clearly written here, leaving very little for confusion.

[beam514]

I thought the widest tire you can run on a 6.5" width wheel is 215 mm?

[Reelax]

I thought the widest tire you can run on a 6.5" width wheel is 215 mm?

well it is a little big for 6.5" but it will fit and will not be a problem... recommended minimum width for 225 is 7.0 but that is just the conservative ratings by tire manufacturers...

[glantv699]

I'm running 225/45/17's on this exact wheel.

They look, ride and perform just fine.

Spare should be the least of your worries. It's smart to keep the factory on board but upgrading to a larger size spare isn't really necessary, more so a personal choice. The point of the spare is to temporarily get your car from A to B at lower speeds. A full size spare can operate longer and at higher speeds but their job should typically be short lived.

[beam514]

damn that means I could be running 225's.. whatever haha

[galantebeige]

Sounds Good!

I'm going for the 225/45R 17.

By the way, I have a great appreciation for Yokohama tires. They were the previous ones I had, and they lasted a very long time, I'd say about 6 years by next October. So, a bit less than 6 years.

They were the Avid Touring, with 80,000 mile warranty, too bad the new ones are only 60,000 now.

[beam514]

I'm running Yokohama Avid W4S tires :) I like them haha