[hitman65]

Please send me to a similar thread if it exists. I've Googled this against this site, and didn't find this exact scenario. Basically, I'm thinking about increasing the tire size all around on the stock 17" rims. Stock tires are 225/50-17, and by my calculations I could use a 255/45-17 and retain the stock outside diameter within 1mm. This would fill out the wheel wells a little better, plus the added grip. There are some great tires (on Tirerack.com) in that 255 size. I did a similar upgrade on a Fiat 500 Abarth, and it made a nice difference in ride and handling with minor rubbing when turned to lock. The roads in my area are bad enough that sticking with 17" is the smart thing to do for a daily driver. Has anybody tried this?

[alohasurftoad]

typical section/tread widths for a 255/45/17 are 10.2"/8.6". minimum wheel width for a 255/45/17 is 8" wide, with best fit occuring on a 9" width, 8.5" at the least.

can you force the 255 on a 7.5" by squeezing the beads? probably, but the tire will be bulging a lot and turn in will likely become sloppier. in theory the widest tire you could manage on there would give the most grip, however a tire that fits better on the rim will deform less under load keeping it's contact patch optimized.

on 17x7.5" ET37, the max tire size i'd use is 235/50/17 in a max performance compound or ultra high performance summer, if a suitable max(performance) option is not available.

if you choose to go with 255/45/17, be sure to post pics.

EDIT...did a quick check on tirerack and imo, the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S in OEM size 225/50/17 would be be best.

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[Dmorenonj]

Originally Posted by hitman65

The roads in my area are bad enough that sticking with 17" is the smart thing to do for a daily driver.

I'm looking into to get different wheels, but stay at 17". I'm just afraid of these roads lol

Maybe one day NJ will fix the city roads...