What are the widest tires that I can put on the stock wheels?

I want to get 225's, but I'm not sure if they fit properly. also, what size would they have to be? eg. 225/??/17.

Thanks,
- Dante

 

225/45/17 will fit fine

 

225 will fit the stock wheels just fine but you shouldnt go to anything much larger without going to a wider wheel.

 

I'm getting some Falken Ziex ZE-512 in 225/45/17. There great tires and only cost $92 a tire on discounttiredirect.com

 

Are there any downsides to running a wider tire? Or any benefits for that matter?

I was considering 225/45/17 for my new tires b/c they have those cheaper at tires.com than the 215/45/17 of the same tire on tirerack.com.

 

One of the benefits for me is the fact that the tire has a bigger sidewall. This makes the ride "more comfortable" because the added tire makes the bumps relatively softer. Im sure theres other benefits like more traction since more tire but im not sure about those.

 

pro: you get 'more rubber on the road'. con: more 'drag'. both of those may be minimal since we are only talking about 10 millimeters here (width) and 2.25 mm taller sidewall (4.5mm taller tire if i did the calculations right ;P). maybe better braking and at the limit handling but the last two differ based on tire brand/model if size is held constant.

 

Here is a good wheel/tire visual calculator:

http://www.rims-n-tires.com/rt_specs.jsp?postId=906

Just put the stock specs in the left hand side, and your modified one on the right, then scroll down to see the size difference.

 

really good website

 

This tire calculator shows recommended rim width ranges for each tire size.