# Anyone ever run 225/55-17



## motojoe (Nov 30, 2006)

I hate to make a post just to ask this but has anyone ever ran a 225/55 17 tire. Stock is 225/45 but I found a great deal on some blizak snow tires for dirt cheap. Even if they are a little taller I'd use them, I just don't want them to rub bad.


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## tp.wannabe.s3 (May 21, 2010)

stock - 24.97 
55s is 26.74 inch 

u gain 2inch diameter


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## motojoe (Nov 30, 2006)

So that's about an inch taller side wall. I wonder if the width will change. You think a 2" larger diameter it too much. Thanks


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## KnockKnock (Jun 30, 2005)

Too much. IMO. :thumbup:


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

you will have to get superwide rims so that the sidewall goes down diagonally, so your 4.87 inch sidewall giving a 4 in height, thus you need a wheel that's around 5.5" wider.


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## NY_Avant (Jan 10, 2009)

LWNY said:


> you will have to get superwide rims so that the sidewall goes down diagonally, so your 4.87 inch sidewall giving a 4 in height, thus you need a wheel that's around 5.5" wider.


What are you smoking? Where did you get it?:snowcool:


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## motojoe (Nov 30, 2006)

The guy selling the tires said the sidewalk is 3 1/4 tall. That doesn't seem too bad. I know inflated might be bigger. I might pass up the deal unless someone steps in and said they have done it.


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

NY_Avant said:


> What are you smoking? Where did you get it?:snowcool:


 simple pythagorean theorem calculation of length each side of a right angle, with the 55's sidewall being the hypotenuse, the 45's height being vertical side and the additional width being the horizontal side. so 4.87^2-4^2 = 7.7, so a sqrt of that is 2.77, doubling that equals rought 5.5".


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## SilverSquirrel (Jul 24, 2006)

LWNY said:


> simple pythagorean theorem calculation of length each side of a right angle, with the 55's sidewall being the hypotenuse, the 45's height being vertical side and the additional width being the horizontal side. so 4.87^2-4^2 = 7.7, so a sqrt of that is 2.77, doubling that equals rought 5.5".


 :what:


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## aznsap (Aug 7, 2010)

i ran 235/45/17 in the summer, and my speedo was more closely matched to my GPS speedometer reading. 

otherwise it was about 5% higher than my GPS speedo w/ the stock tires if i had to estimate


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## Uber-A3 (Feb 23, 2002)

LWNY said:


> simple pythagorean theorem calculation of length each side of a right angle, with the 55's sidewall being the hypotenuse, the 45's height being vertical side and the additional width being the horizontal side. so 4.87^2-4^2 = 7.7, so a sqrt of that is 2.77, doubling that equals rought 5.5".


 A little education is dangerous sometimes. You're telling me it's practical to run a 5.5" wider rim to keep the overall height the same by stretching the tire? Good luck mounting a 225 on a 13.5" rim. Mathematically it works and that's about it.


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## Uber-A3 (Feb 23, 2002)

motojoe said:


> The guy selling the tires said the sidewalk is 3 1/4 tall. That doesn't seem too bad. I know inflated might be bigger. I might pass up the deal unless someone steps in and said they have done it.


 That is going to be too great of an overall change in %. IMO. 2" Increase might not sound like much but it would throw off speedo, ABS, ECS and and RNS-E if equipped.


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## azoceanblue (Aug 13, 2006)

Diameter with Stock 45's 25.0"; 55's 26.7"; speedometer would read 7.1% too slow; at 60 mph your speedometer would read 64.3 mph. 

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html


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## NY_Avant (Jan 10, 2009)

LWNY said:


> simple pythagorean theorem calculation of length each side of a right angle, with the 55's sidewall being the hypotenuse, the 45's height being vertical side and the additional width being the horizontal side. so 4.87^2-4^2 = 7.7, so a sqrt of that is 2.77, doubling that equals rought 5.5".


 So now I know you failed math also:wave:


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## dreaminga3 (Jan 20, 2009)

You said it right, but swapped the numbers. With a diameter INCREASE, the speedometer would read 60, but you're actually going 64. Not a good thing. 

The other problem is that the 55 tires are going to be a little heavier.


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## motojoe (Nov 30, 2006)

I passed on the 55's and found continental snow tires used on craigslist. 225 45-17. Even better deal. I'm going to check them out tomorrow. He says they have 2 weeks worth of driving on them. Anyone ever try the continental snow tires?


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## dmorrow (Jun 9, 2000)

LWNY said:


> simple pythagorean theorem calculation of length each side of a right angle, with the 55's sidewall being the hypotenuse, the 45's height being vertical side and the additional width being the horizontal side. so 4.87^2-4^2 = 7.7, so a sqrt of that is 2.77, doubling that equals rought 5.5".


 A little math goes a long way, even if it doesn't apply to what you are talking about.:what:


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

NY_Avant said:


> So now I know you failed math also:wave:


 LOL, I went to school in LI to study with Nobel winning chinaman as an afro-fiziks major, which is 100% abstract math. the above math is stupid math. Of course, I changed major at the end to super stupid applied math.


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## JustMike (Jun 10, 2002)

LWNY said:


> simple pythagorean theorem calculation of length each side of a right angle, with the 55's sidewall being the hypotenuse, the 45's height being vertical side and the additional width being the horizontal side. so 4.87^2-4^2 = 7.7, so a sqrt of that is 2.77, doubling that equals rought 5.5".


 ~ 5.5" + 17" = 22.5" ???? way too small? 


Stock ((((225/100) x 45) x 2) / 25.4) + 17" = 24.97" diameter 

Sale? ((((225/100) x 55) x 2) / 25.4) + 17" = 26.74" diameter (way too big) 

Alt size ((((205/100) x 50) x 2) / 25.4) + 17" = 25.07" diameter (better for snow)


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## LWNY (Jul 30, 2008)

JustMike said:


> ~ 5.5" + 17" = 22.5" ???? way too small?
> 
> 
> Stock ((((225/100) x 45) x 2) / 25.4) + 17" = 24.97" diameter
> ...


 I am talking about additional width to the rim so that a 4.9 sidewall, going down diagonally, would be 4 inches in height. I don't think the center of the tire would decrease in diameter though, leading to extreme wear in the middle, thus requiring extreme underinflation (let alone sticking a 13" wide wheel on the car.


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## VWAddict (Jun 12, 1999)

Simpler than that... 

55% versus 45% ofthe same width. Width is 225mm. 

Difference is 10% of 225, difference is therefore 22.5mm in section height. 

Near enough to one inch. 

Overall diameter has TWO section heights, so overall diameter change is... almost two inches. 

If your car is NOT lowered, the tires will intrude upwards about the same as if it was lowered an inch. 

Sometimes the math can be done MUCH more simply. 

Keith


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## SilverSquirrel (Jul 24, 2006)

no need for math. :screwy: 
try this calculator!eace: 

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp 

:snowcool:


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## JustMike (Jun 10, 2002)

SilverSquirrel said:


> no need for math. :screwy:
> try this calculator!eace:
> 
> http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp
> ...


 Best tool out there!


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