Question: 17 Inch Rims with 215/50-17 or 215/55-17 Tires

[ND4SPD2000]

Hey people,

I just wanted to ask a quick question about tires. I am planning to get 17 inch rims on my 99 Galant ES V4. Now here is what I am planning to do. I want to keep my ride at the stock suspension level (In other words, I don't want to lower my ride). I would like to get 17 inch rims and instead of getting such "low profile" tires, I would like to get a little bigger tires like a 215/50-17 or a 215/55/17. See 205/40/17 are very low profile tires and will leave a whole lot of wheel gap on it so I figured if I got it a bit thicker tires, the wheel gap will not show as much.

:?: What tire size will you guys recommend getting in size 17 which will be a bit chunkier tires? :?: Is 215/50-17 a good size to go with or can I even put in there 215/55-17 without making it rub or interfere with anything else? :?:

Please right back with your knowledgable responses and experiences. Thank you.

J Jardon
ND4SPD2000
Miami, Fl
1999 Galant ES V4

[Tiller]

hmmm... i'm not sure about that... you are going to end up with a overall wheel diameter much larger than what your stock diameter is... which is going to throw your speedo off... i guess it will look better than an undropped car on 40's...?

It'll be like the 300M i saw the other day with stock 17's and 55 series rubber... not bad i guess...

[ND4SPD2000]

But I mean is it possible to do without rubbing or any type of problems? I just don't want to get 17 inch rims and have that low profile tire you know? 40's are pretty low profile I was thinking maybe a 50 would be a good size to go with. Would'nt the 50 or the 55 equal out the size of an 18 inch rim with tire and all?

ND4SPD2000
Miami, FL
1999 Galant ES V4

[Tazz2000]

I have 215/50 R17s and I have about 1" clearance before I rub. It will never rub because supposedly, the thing it would rub on with 55s is the piece that holds the wheel on anyway.

Now, I'm sure by now u can tell I don't know anything about the suspension stuff, but I know that I shouldn't have a problem with these. :biggrin:

[pinoyesv6]

yea if you don't get a tire that is a lower profile, the correct one, the speedo yes will be off. but chances are that you won't see a big difference until u start going at high speeds like if you were to go 60 on your speedo, you might really be going 61 63 or soemthing like that. just got to be a lil more cautious in the speed traps.

as for the rubbing, yea Tazz says he doesn't rub but there is a chance that u can rub. it also depends on the size of the rim, not just with height but the width too, the offset and etc.

[RedGalant2k1]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ND4SPD2000)</div><div class='quotemain'>Hey people,

I just wanted to ask a quick question about tires. I am planning to get 17 inch rims on my 99 Galant ES V4. Now here is what I am planning to do. I want to keep my ride at the stock suspension level (In other words, I don't want to lower my ride). I would like to get 17 inch rims and instead of getting such "low profile" tires, I would like to get a little bigger tires like a 215/50-17 or a 215/55/17. See 205/40/17 are very low profile tires and will leave a whole lot of wheel gap on it so I figured if I got it a bit thicker tires, the wheel gap will not show as much.

:?: What tire size will you guys recommend getting in size 17 which will be a bit chunkier tires? Â*:?: Is 215/50-17 a good size to go with or can I even put in there 215/55-17 without making it rub or interfere with anything else? :?: Â*

Please right back with your knowledgable responses and experiences. Thank you.

J Jardon
ND4SPD2000
Miami, Fl
1999 Galant ES V4</div>

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

using that calculator we find that 215/55-17s are WAY to big for the car, and 205/40-17s are WAY to small.

215/50-17s are just under 2%. better than either of the other two sizes listed.

The absolute BEST size you can get for 17 inch tires is: 225/45-17 using the above listed website we find that its almost a 100% exact match!

get 225/45-17s if you can.

[ND4SPD2000]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>as for the rubbing, yea Tazz says he doesn't rub but there is a chance that u can rub. it also depends on the size of the rim, not just with height but the width too, the offset and etc.</div>

Well the rim size will be about a 17x7. So then basicly I should go with the 50 Series right? Thats the best way to go? Anyhow, any other comments you may have feel free to drop them. Thanks.

Heres the rims I was looking at:
http://www.wheelmax.com/Wheels/exel/h50ch.gif ('http://www.wheelmax.com/Wheels/exel/h50ch.gif')


ND4SPD2000
1999 Galant ES V4
Miami, FL

[RedGalant2k1]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ND4SPD2000)</div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'>as for the rubbing, yea Tazz says he doesn't rub but there is a chance that u can rub. it also depends on the size of the rim, not just with height but the width too, the offset and etc.</div>

Well the rim size will be about a 17x7. So then basicly I should go with the 50 Series right? Thats the best way to go? Anyhow, any other comments you may have feel free to drop them. Thanks.

Heres the rims I was looking at:
http://www.wheelmax.com/Wheels/exel/h50ch.gif ('http://www.wheelmax.com/Wheels/exel/h50ch.gif')


ND4SPD2000
1999 Galant ES I4
Miami, FL</div>

No, get the 225/45-17s these are almost EXACTLY the size of the stock wheels and tires for the I4 Galant.

The 215/50-17s are slightly to large, and besides you are in florida what kind of pot holes and road hazards do you have to worry about besides water?

Get 225/45-17s.

Nice Rims btw :thumbsup:

[wheelsboutique]

215/50/17 has an over all diameter of 25.4 and 225/45/17 has an over all diameter of 24.9. You'll be fine with either tire. now my opinion you'll have a better look with 225/45/17.

[RedGalant2k1]

215/50/17 has an over all diameter of 25.4 and 225/45/17 has an over all diameter of 24.9. You'll be fine with either tire. now my opinion you'll have a better look with 225/45/17.

The stock tire on a 99+ 4Cyl Galant is 195/65-15 which has a diameter of 25.00"

The stock tire on a 99+ V6 Galant is a 205/55-16 which has a diameter of 24.9"

As I'm sure you know the 215/50-17 is approximately 1.9% larger than the stock I4 size and 2.4% larger than the V6. Thats a noticeable difference believe me. I have 215/50-17 Kumho Ecsta 711s and its definetely a good bit slower. If your rims can fit 225 series tires get them, don't get 215 series tires.

oh, my sig and 'Pictures" link has pics of my Galant on 17s with 215/50s.

[J. T. Z.]

If you want to stay as close to stock as possible I would reccomend a 215/45/17 tire. Not only that but going any bigger than a 45 or 50 series tire wouldn't look good.

[RedGalant2k1]

If you want to stay as close to stock as possible I would reccomend a 215/45/17 tire. Not only that but going any bigger than a 45 or 50 series tire wouldn't look good.

JTZ, i don't mean to keep running over this but 225/45-17 is the best size for tires whether you have a V6 (0.4% slower) or I4 Galant (0% Negligable difference).

Plug the stock tire sizes into this: http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html ('http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html')

There you see the results of using certian sizes of tires.

The stock tire size on the V6 is 205/55-16 right?