'08 450h

Hey everybody....NOOB here!
I just picked up an 08 450h (creative screen name huh!?) and I want to upgrade my wheels and tires (getting rid of runflats) very soon. I've been doing some reading to figure out what size/offset I should go with, however, with the 450h especially, this can be hard to find a clearcut answer to. I highly doubt that I will drop my car at all so I'd like to go with 19's at LEAST to hopefully avoid the "jacked up" look. My biggest concern is that I don't want any rubbing issues. I'll most likely go with a staggered setup. Thanks ahead of time for any feedback.....

Stormforge

Welcome to CL! Since you got a 450h, I guess I should give you a hand, eh?

Our 450h has the following wheel specs:
18x8 wheels with 245/40/18 tires, offset +45

To fit 19" staggered rims you would need:

Front: 19x8.0 ET42, 245/35/19
Rear: 19x9.5 ET42, 255/35/19

The size above would guarantee no rubbing, closest to OEM specs. Whether you can find the wheels you want with these offset and tire size, that's a different question. Note that there are other wheel/tire size that are different than what I posted that will also fit.

Use the wheel calculator below to determine if the particular wheel/tire combo you want will work for you. OEM size on the left column, aftermarket size on the right column. Note the comments that pop up at the bottom to see if the wheel/tire size you want is OK or not.

http://www.wheelsmaster.com/rt_specs.jsp

Good luck!

rominl

iTrader: (4)

going 19s without lowering the car won't help with the jackup look imho. with the lower profile tires, i think it just "shows" the gap even more

for sizes, even 9+38 245/35 and 10+43 275/30 won't be an issue, specially if you don't lower

Stormforge

agreed with rominl, you'll get the jacked up look with the 19s. if you don't want to lower, rominl's suggestion will work too

'08 450h

Thanks guys....after doing some more research, I think I'm going to go with 20's. Could I run a 20x8.5 front and 20x10 rear with 245/35/20 and 275/30/20 with no rubbing issues?? (with conservative offset of 42 front and rear, and again...no drop) The wheel calculator said that suspension and wheelwells will be ok, but the fender may be a problem...I just don't want ANY issues with rubbing, thanks guys!

Stormforge

Using the calculator for your front 20x8.5 with + 42 offset and 245/35/20 tires:
speedometer: When speedometer reads 60mph (96.6km/h) actual speed will be 62.5mph (100.6km/h): 4.2% faster.
suspension: 100% clear (leaves even more room than OEM)
fenders: Package will stick out 3 mm (0.1'') farther. Acceptable for most cars.
wheelwells: Will fill out the wheelwell by extra 14 mm. Make sure that you have enough room under the fender. If not, consider lower profiles or smaller rims.


Now using the calculator for the rear 20x10 with +42 offset and 275/30/20 tires:
speedometer: When speedometer reads 60mph (96.6km/h) actual speed will be 61.9mph (99.7km/h): 3.2% faster.
suspension: Package is 12 mm (0.5'') closer to suspension/brakes components. Acceptable for most cars.
fenders: Package will stick out 18 mm (0.7'') farther. Make sure that you have enough room under the fender. If not, consider narrower tires or higher offset.
wheelwells: Will fill out the wheelwell by extra 11 mm. Acceptable for most cars.


Assuming you don't want to lower, but want to make sure there is no rubbing with the fenders, you only have 2 options: go with higher offset or reduce tire width. Your tire selection will work if the offset was +45. Or if you keep the +42 offset, you'll need to go with 265 instead of 275 for the rear (as an example). Note: when looking at tire size, you also need to make sure that the speedometer variance is as small as possible. Try to get this at 2% or under (IMHO). Trying fiddling around with different tire sizes and see what comes closest to zero variance in speedo AND has positive comments about fitment.

If you want to fill out as much gap without lowering, I'm not 100% sure your wheel package will work. Rominl might know.

'08 450h

Thanks Stormforge...very helpful stuff. Honestly, I'm not looking to fill as much gap as possible without lowering because from what it sounds like, it's next to impossible to have your cake and eat it too!!
I just want a marginally smaller gap than stock, with 20's and no rubbing. Simplicity is the best route for me.
So long story short, I would be ok going with those tire sizes and a +45 offset front and rear, right? Again, thanks for your help...

Stormforge

yeah, as long as the offset is high enough, you should be ok. i'd run the +45 offset through the calculator again just to be sure. and with +45 offset, you definitely have a wider selection of tire size that will work - whether or not it is the "proper" tire, that's a different story

'08 450h

It said I should be good in all respects with those numbers....Now all I need to do is decide on wheels and tires!!?!?!

How much stock should I put into that calculator? Should I assume the feedback will apply to a 450h?? It seems to give blanket statements that apply to "most vehicles."

Much props to you guys....I feel better now and thanks again

Stormforge

the calculator should be fairly accurate, it will work for most cars. you should be fine, don't worry. if you got an exotic car or some rare collector's car, then i'd be more cautious in using the calculator. good luck on your wheel/tire selection!