tire questions

[matthew122]

Would it be better to get 215/40/17's or 215/45/17's on 17/7 rims? Also, what are the advantages/weaknesses of the bigger 45 tire, and what are the advantages/weaknesses of the smaller 40 tire?

[Bling]

The 215/40 will have a shorter sidewall than the 215/45. They will both fit the same, but the 40 will be slightly smaller than the 45. The 45 will also provide more protection of your rims.

[chameleon]

There are a couple of other things that need to be taken into consideration as well. If you make the overall diameter of the tire/wheel larger than the stock wheel it will make your overall gearing taller. This means that your acceleration performance will suffer, and it will be more difficult to land above 6K during your shifts. If you make the overall diameter of the tire/wheel smaller than stock your gearing will get shorter, which will have an oposite affect. Acceleration will improve and staying above 6K will be easier. If you make the overall diameter of the wheel/tire larger or smaller than stock, your speedometer won't be 100% accurate.

The two sizes you are choosing from are really close, so these changes won't be very noticable. Just so you know, niether of the sizes you are deciding between will give you a stock overall diameter, both of them are out of spec with stock. If you want your overall diameter to be the same as stock, you will want 205/45-17 tires. There isn't anything necessaraly wrong with the size you chose, I just wanted to point it out in case you didn't want to deal with anything I mentioned above....