Can anyone tell me the highest profile I would get away with on 17 inch wheels. I really don't want too low a profile as I hate the ride and I live in pothole central. Thanks

What are you current wheels and tyres?  Then some-one will tell you the size of tyres on 17" rims to give the same tyre diameter to keep the overall gearing as close as possible to what it is now.

I have 15" standard 195 65 15 steels on right now, I was looking at some 235 55 17's . thanks

That's way to big.

 

If you dont have to get wide tires, then dont!

 

225/45-17 is optimal and you shouldn't have a higher profile than 45 in those dimensions. And if you still want 235 you should go for 235/40 or 235/45.

 

/Jimmy

Thanks mate

235/55r17 simply won't work.  It's 65mm more than 195/65r15 in diameter. 

 

I run 225/50r17 (+22mm diameter) and with Eibach springs & rims that have a bit of poke they are a pain in bum when cornering very hard - hit a bump & they'll scrape.  I'll be glad when they are worn out & I can go to something slightly more conservative.  (nb: They wouldn't scrape wit standard springs)

 

225/45r17 (-1mm dia) are the factory spec 17".  They do handle better & the ride is reasonable.  Personally, I like 235/45r17 (+8mm) - they are a fraction more compliant and have slightly more sidewall height.

I have 15" standard 195 65 15 steels on right now, I was looking at some 235 55 17's . thanks

As other have already said - the correct size for 17" wheels is 225/45 .  Your suggested 235/55s would alter the overall gearing by almost 9%.

 

I use 225/45-17 for my winter tyres and they gave a noticeably better ride than the standard summer 225/40-18s.  Although tyre brand and tyre type obviously also has an effect on the ride.

 

You could go to 205/55-16 if you want a slightly larger wheel and you would still have a reasonable ride.

I got a set of 17's with 225 40 17 on. They are bf Goodrich, never had them before but hopefully they will be OK for a while. Will likely go to 45 if possible and do a bit of research on which tyres are best. Thanks for your help everyone.

Ok so the wheels turned up today and the seller had advertised them wrong. They are 235 45 17s have fitted them and the car looks a bit long legged. Not really what I was going for. They seem to fit ok though, no rubbing over speedbumps or anything so will do for now and will change the tyres for 40 profile at a later date.

225/45 R17 is recommended unless it's for the Scout.

It's only 8mm more in diameter so it's only increased your ride height 4mm.

 

The "long legged" that you refer to is an optical illusion because you've reduced the wheel: rubber ratio.  You'll get used to it.

 

They'll work fine & both your speedo & odo will be more accurate if the speedo was as wrong as my car was.  Check it with a GPS if you are concerned.  I went +25mm to get my speedometer accurate.

 

It's pretty common to fit 235/45r17 down here because they are a more common size & $50 cheaper per tyre for a Michelin.

It's not much difference between 225/45R17 and 235/45R17. Both works fine. Scout uses 225/50R17 and will also fit fine. As long as the rims has "normal" width and ET.

I seriously doubt you will see the difference if you can't compare directly. For example: what is the dimension of this tyre?? It's one of the above mentioned.

Edited 26 March, 201511 yr by fatzy

This is how it looks, not too obscene I guess.

They looks fine! And nice rims too, do you have dimensions of them?

Crap photo but they seem OK.

 

What size rims?  They almost look like TT rims but they aren't wide enough for that.

LOL...I take photos for a living so excuse me not getting my DSLR out. They were sold as from an A6 but can't be sure on that