christcorp

I've seen a lot of posts on tire recommendations, but I couldn't quite find this topic.

According to online specs and probably the owner's manual, (Internet is usually faster at finding information), the original spec size for tires on my 2007 ES 350 is 215/55R17.

I bought this ES 350 recently from a dealer and didn't pay much attention to the tires other than they had plenty of tread on them and they were Cooper Tires. My question however, is I noticed that they are 225/50R17 instead of 215/55R17. I know the physical differences of the tires; e.g. The 215 is a little taller; the 225 is a little wider; etc.... My question is basically; is there any performance, safety, comfort, etc... differences having 225/50R17 instead of stock size 215/55R17? Thanks.

MikePA

No, no, no. Your speedometer will read 1.7% too fast.

igzy

What Mike said, and as long as they are within 3% it is ok...

christcorp

Excellent. Thanks guys.

greenchile

Doing the math on the tire sizes:
215/55R17 = 8.5" Wide X 26.4" Diameter
225/50R17 = 8.9" Wide X 25.9" Diameter

So the tires you have on now are about 3/8" wider and 1/2" shorter overall. I don't think the width is enough of an increase to matter but make sure the tires don't rub on anything in the wheel wells when you've got the steering wheel turned all the way to one side or the other. If that's fine and you don't mind the speedometer reading slightly high, which you'll probably never notice, then that seems just fine. The only effect might be a slightly rougher ride because of the lower profile tire with less sidewall to absorb some of the road surface variations. I saw a thread in here somewhere that people were putting 225/55R17 tires on to get a better ride and look than the stock size. There didn't seem to be any issues with that off-size either.

MikePA

No need to do the math. Click Here

greenchile

Oh sure, go and find a nifty tool that does the math for you. But then you don't know how or why you got that answer.

MikePA

'How and why' for converting metric to inches? I learned that in junior high school.

greenchile

Ok smarty-pants, why do we buy tires that contain millimeters, inches and percentages all in the tire size?

MikePA

Sometimes 'we' don't. Sometimes 'we' buy tires for a truck that have sizes like 33 X 12.50 R 15.

What's your point?

For an even better site, that doesn't require a calculator, click here.

greenchile

But I like using my calculator.

What was this thread about before Mike and I hijacked it?

christcorp, did you get a satisfactory answer?

christcorp

Hee hee. I think I said thanks about a page ago. Lol. The first letter in forum stands for FUN. So all is good.