Max tire size is 225 55R17

[Taiwwa]

I just tried installing 235 55R17 and it will not fit on §y C-Max.

[ptjones]

Tire standard size is 225/50R17 V93. :)

 

Paul

[obob]

I just tried installing 235 55R17 and it will not fit on §y C-Max.

 

When you say it would not fit, in what way?  While that tire is bigger than standard, people do use snow cables so there is some wiggle room.

[obob]

FYI, I went on tirerack.com to see what tires they would sell for a C-Max.  

 

I tried to cut and paste it but it didn't work so well. 

 

Basically, they only recommend one wider tire 235 40 19 on the front and its not 17"

 

They seem to be open to selling 255 40 17 on the rear. (Though I am in no way recommending this, especially with the 2013 C-Max's tendency to cup.) (This did not cut and paste right so I deleted it below.)

 

 

 

• Optional Wheel Diameter: 15"
  225/60-15
• Optional Wheel Diameter: 16"
  225/55-16
• Optional Wheel Diameter: 18"
  225/45-18
• Optional Wheel Diameter: 19"
  235/40-19
• Optional Wheel Diameter: 20"
  225/35-20

 

Edited March 3, 2017 by obob

[SnowStorm]

Hmmm.... wonder what the LRR characteristics were on this tire.  Hybrid drivers avoid "wet pavement" like the plague and never employ "heavy braking" so these tires should be just fine!  Another story here.  If these things had panned out, you'd also have to select color!  But, oh boy, wouldn't they have looked grand!

 

(Sorry for hijacking - just didn't want another whole thread for this silly post.)

[MaxHeadroom]

Tire standard size is 225/50R17 V93. 

Assuming the thread title isn't a misprint, by coincidence I did just get new 225/55R17 tires by Fedex today.  Ordered from Walmart's website.  LionHart extremely cheapo ones.  ....  The "55" aspect ratio, instead of stock "50" will raise the car by 1/2", actually 5% of 225mm, which is 11.3 mm = 0.44 inches to be exact.

It looks like they will fit OK, and I know I'm taking a chance of rubbing here if they are too big.  I'm about to see when I get them installed in the weeks ahead.

 

The load rating on these is 101 vs. 93 stock, so that's a little extra margin. And these LionHarts have a high speed rating, so they should hold together.  Also a 49 psi max pressure leaves some room.  I'll probably run them at 40 psi for this car, which has a placard on the door jam of 38 psi.

[obob]

Assuming the thread title isn't a misprint, by coincidence I did just get new 225/55R17 tires by Fedex today.  Ordered from Walmart's website.  LionHart extremely cheapo ones.  ....  The "55" aspect ratio, instead of stock "50" will raise the car by 1/2", actually 5% of 225mm, which is 11.3 mm = 0.44 inches to be exact.

It looks like they will fit OK, and I know I'm taking a chance of rubbing here if they are too big.  I'm about to see when I get them installed in the weeks ahead.

 

The load rating on these is 101 vs. 93 stock, so that's a little extra margin. And these LionHarts have a high speed rating, so they should hold together.  Also a 49 psi max pressure leaves some room.  I'll probably run them at 40 psi for this car, which has a placard on the door jam of 38 psi.

 

People have used cable chains on the front so there does seem to be some wiggle room.  Though you may not be able to use cable chains on those tires.  I am interested in how they will work out.

Edited August 4, 2018 by obob

[MaxHeadroom]

People have used cable chains on the front so there does seem to be some wiggle room.  Though you may not be able to use cable chains on those tires.  I am interested in how they will work out.

When I went to install them, they were very skeptical they wouldn't rub.    I turned the wheel with the old (almost bald OEM) tires on it, to get the worst case rubbing condition, and drove one of the front tires up a bit on a curb to compress the suspension some.    Then I measured again and I'm not absolutely sure they wouldn't rub.    I returned them without putting them on.

Man its close with 225/55-17 tires.  I do have a set of snow tires (Mich X-Ice3's) at 215/55-17, on 48 mm offset wheels (OEM wheels are 55 mm), and they fit very well. 

 

Here is the diff in height (radius) change with the possible tire options:

225/50-17:  Zero, baseline original.

215/55-17: 1/4" taller, really should have a diff offset tire, something like 48 mm instead of the stock 55 mm.  This works, great for winter.

225/55-17: 1/2" taller, probably not a good idea after all.  Very close to rubbing the inner plastic fender stuff, may indeed rub.

 

I'm guessing snow chains would add about 1/3" in radius, likely about all she'll take.

[fbov]

If your 215/55-17s are on a 6.5" wide rim, your offsets are functionally equivalent. My Ford steel 16x6.5 wheels have a -50mm offset, and fit perfectly with 215/60-16 snows.

 

Once upon a time, the rear axle pushed while the front axle steered. Most wheel offsets were positive because there were no technical issues, and people liked deep-dish wheels. Ever seen "chrome reverse" wheels? Lots of flexibility because the bearings transmitting torque were mounted in a solid axle. 

 

Enter FWD, and now the bearing wants to be near the plane of the tire. Offsets become large and negative to accommodate a mounting flange that's a lot farther outboard than in RWD days. I have lots of Volvo wheels my kids can't use on their newer cars (my last car was a 1994 Volvo 940.).

 

Have fun,

Frank

[MaxHeadroom]

if your 215/55-17s are on a 6.5" wide rim, your offsets are functionally equivalent. My Ford steel 16x6.5 wheels have a -50mm offset, and fit perfectly with 215/60-16 snows.

 

Offset is measured from the center of the wheel and has nothing to do with the wheel width.  

 

Your 50mm offset wheels work well because they are 5mm  less than the OEM wheel's 55mm offset, which means your tire tread moves 5mm outward, which exactly matches the (225-215)/2 mm = 5 mm tire width difference when using non-OEM-size 215mm tires.  ... I used 48 mm offset wheels with the 215 mm tires, so my tires actually stick out (toward fender) by an extra 2 mm, which is very small.  Actually, the small 2 mm outward movement makes the tires look like they fit better in their anyway, so the 215 mm tires are fine with 48 mm offsets that come on many 17" wheels like I have.

[fbov]

 

Offset is measured from the center of the wheel and has nothing to do with the wheel width.  ...

You can look at it that way. The problem is the "center of the wheel" is defined as the plane that's half the distance between the rims. The offset datum is unrelated to rim width, but you'll find it very hard to measure without measuring the rim's width, too. 

 

 

...

Your 50mm offset wheels work well because they are 5mm  less than the OEM wheel's 55mm offset, which means your tire tread moves 5mm outward, which exactly matches the (225-215)/2 mm = 5 mm tire width difference when using non-OEM-size 215mm tires.  ... I used 48 mm offset wheels with the 215 mm tires, so my tires actually stick out (toward fender) by an extra 2 mm, which is very small.  Actually, the small 2 mm outward movement makes the tires look like they fit better in their anyway, so the 215 mm tires are fine with 48 mm offsets that come on many 17" wheels like I have.

I don't want to argue, but you asked a simple question, so I gave you the simple answer. We are using different criteria. You have only preserved clearance on one side.  

"...so my tires actually stick out (toward fender)..."

 

To match the OEM tire location in the wheel well (equal change on both sides):

Add (or subtract) half the rim width difference from the OEM wheel offset when moving to a wider (or narrower) rim. 

Example:

I went from 7" to 6.6" rims, a 12.7 mm change. 

Half that is 6 mm (rounding to integers)

I have 55 mm offset so 49 mm is equivalent, and Ford makes them 50mm. 

 

The one thing we can agree on: 2 mm difference in offset is not a significant change. 

 

However, I have purchased tires whose marked section width was actually the tread width, making for a 20 mm difference. Clearance didn't matter with these because they were also 50-series tires in an era when 70-series "wide oval" tire were "high performance." Times change. 

 

HAve fun,

Frank

Edited August 22, 2018 by fbov