I still say get the 215/45/17 size. this size is the STOCK size for a 17" rim. It will be the correct diameter for the car and will give a good footprint for all uses summer or winter. As I tried to tell you above FORGET Discounts erroneous search by model the correct size is 215/45/17 (see the first sticky post in the Scionlife xB wheel and tire section for this info).

 

alright, so this is all i will need, right? Sorry about all the questions, but like i said before, i want to be sure before i buy.

- rims 17"
- tires 215/45/17
- rear hub spacers
- lug nuts, tools, valve stems, ect (I think they come in a kit off of Discount Tire)

 

That is basically a good list. I do not see where you have mentioned the offset or width of your new rims!! You may or may not need or even be able to run hub spacers depending on the offset of the wheels you are getting. If your rims are 7.5" wide with a 42MM offset then a 5-10MM spacer might be good. If they have less offset and are 7.5" wide you might be able to run a spacer, but maybe not. If they are only 7" wide with a 42MM offset you could run 1" of spacer (not a good idea because of to go this far due to stress on the bearings) ...spacers that could be used all depend on the offset and width of the wheels you are using. With my 18x7.5 wheels and the 215/40/18 tires I am running, I can use no more than 5MM spacers in the rear before clearance to the 1/4 panels gets too close for comfort running as low as I am (altho with my combo the brave might run 10MM spacers).

I would suggest getting the wheels and tires, mounting them, and then seeing what clearances are available to determine what if any spacing is needed or desired. Once the tires and wheels are on the car you can look under and see how much clearance there is to the rear axle beam at the forward inside edge of the tire (a 42MM offset would be very close at this point). You can also measure how much clearance there is from the edge of the tire to the 1/4 panel wheel opening to determine how much spacer you can run for a wider stance look. The same procedures can be used in the front to decide whether or not to use any spacing there. Spacers by the way are totally uneeded unless clearance is needed to the inside of the tires to keep them from hitting the car. Beyond obtaining clearance on the inside they are only used to move the wheels outward for a wider stance look. Spacers can only shift the wheel outward not inward. If the combo you have has clearance issues at the outside then different wheels must be purchased with a more negative offset.

 

these are the rims

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...d=008416&ar=45

if im right, which i might not be, i think the width is 7, with an offset of 40.

 

These are certainly 7 inch width. The offset is less clear from this page, very well may be 40MM. The factory supplied 17 inch wheels are 17x7x38MM offset. The wheels you have chosen should be fine and will be exactly like stock with a 215/45/17 tire except they will sit 2MM inboard (assuming 40MM offset is correct). Spacers should not be needed for clearancing but may be desired for appearance. I would not ad spacers to the front (well maybe 5MM max) so that the steering angles (Ackerman effect) will be very close to design. In the rear you can probably add 10MM or more (get the wheels and measure first), but keep in mind that the farther you space them out the more stress you put on the rear wheel bearings. Enjoy your new wheels

 

alright, im gonna just get the rims with the 215/45/17s and check if spacers are needed afterwards. Ill post pics once they are installed, but that wont be till the spring

 

good wheel talk, i'll remember this for my future buy!!!

btw... if you get spacers, can you still use sway bars?

 

Certainly can use sway bars. Spacers are simple big washers that sit behind the wheels over the lug studs to mount the wheel farther out on the suspension. The sway bars mount inboard of the wheel and would not be effected in any way except to maybe increase clearance...it would take a pretty small very wide wheel to interfere (I think small enough that it would not fit over the brakes...perhaps a 12-13 inch wheel).

Spacers are not necessarily the best for durability of the wheel bearings. Every little bit you move the wheels outward (or inward) the more angular stress you put on the wheel bearings. The wheel bearings are engineered to carry the load and side stresses of wheels that hold the center line of the tire in a specific location be it even with the bearing or 1 inch out or 1 inch in or whatever the bearing is designed for. In any case as you move the wheel outward or inward it puts more stress on the bearing. Think about high school physics. the wheel is like 2 levers acting on the bearing. If we move the wheel out we increase the length of the outer lever (distance from the bearing to the outer face of the wheel) , (If we move it in the inner lever becomes longer with the same result) putting more strain on the bearing. Ideally no spacers would be used and the center line of the new wheel and tire would be in the precise location relative to the wheel bearings that the stock (engineered) centerline was with the stock tires. You can see what this relationship is pretty easily, before removing the old tires and wheels point them straight ahead and measure from the center to a spot on the inner fenders(a spot toward the center on the car forward of the struts(front) or springs (rear). Compare that measurement to the center on the new wheel and tire measured to the same spot. the distance should ideally be identical for bearing life. If the new "center" is too far out there is nothing you can do besides different offset wheels to fix it. If it is too far in then spacers can be used to adjust it.

NOW!! Real world!! Many aftermarket wheels will not precisely duplicate this relationship. We may want to run wider wheels and tires than will allow this relationship for looks. We may even want to space our wheels out close to the fenders for a certain look. We might even want to increase the camber for a certain look (this also increases stress on the bearings). The bearings are overdesigned to some degree. How strong are they?? I personnally would not want to push the envelope for a look. Losing a wheel at speed does not sound like fun ...neither does having a bearing grind up with the resulting damage to brakes, spindle, etc. IMO 5-10MM of spacing beyond the factory center point will likely not cause a bit of trouble, I do not know what the breaking point is but this discussion is "food for thought". You must consider that 10MM is nearly 1/2 inch. The total wheel width is 6-7.5 inches so 1/2 inch is a fairly large amount of changes across this small distance. Do as you like but I won't space big nor add radical camber as I need durability and reliability on my daily use car.

 

i just put 215/40/18's on my box and have no problems at all. its at stock height for now, im wondering if a 2 inch drop is going to affect it but for now its smooth sailing.

also i would recommend going through ebay. i just got my set for $695 mounted and balanced, shipped to my front door and those were 18s.

p.s. what color box are those going on?

 

envy green

 

I love my 215/40/18's...they ride almost as smooth as the factory 17" wheel and tire combo. I drive my ride dropped about 2.5 (maybe even a little more) inchs on 18x7.5 wheels with a 42MM offset and have no rubbing issues except when turning the steering full right or left. A the full mechanical limit of steering my fronts rub ever so slightly on the inside...no one drives at full lock anyway

 

Murbyrne, The correct tire size you want is 215/40/17s. 215/45/17s are fine if you do not plan a drop, rear spacers or upgrading to the softer Monroe rear shocks. I had rubbing issues with 1.5 inch drop, 10 mm rear spacers and Monroe 5987 rear shocks. The outter edge of the rear tire would rub when you hit deep dips.
205/40/17s are not weight rated for the xB PERIOD. Check with Tire Rack on that.

 

I just got those tires... They're sooooooo nice. Love them. Good choice!

 

Rubbing like you describe is dependant on the offset of the wheels and the spacer you installed. A 215/ 40 and a 215/45 are identical width wise (215MM is in fact 8.46 inches), the 45 series is simply a little taller (therefore larger in diameter retaining speedo accuracy). Clearance to inner and outer wheel houses would be nearly identical. Vertical clearance is not an issue unless you are bagged and can drop the car to near zero ground clearance. The factory 17x7 inch setup is a 38MM offset wearing a 215/45/17 tire. It should not rub thru any possible suspension travel, a 215/40/17 on the same wheel would have nearly identical clearance on the inside and the outside. If you change the effective offset to 28MM by adding 10MM spacers I would bet rubbing is possible if not likely. A 7.5 inch wide rim at 38MM offset would nearly rub with no spacer. A 7.5 wide wheel with a 42MM offset almost rubs on the inside with a 5 MM spacer making the effective offset 37MM it clears pretty well inside and out altho at low drops it is close on the outside (rear) the same 42MM offset 7.5 wide rim in the front (with no spacer) rubs at full lock when turning and will hit the fender of you are aired out or going lower than about 2.5 inches or so (might rub during suspension compression with a lesser drop). It is critical to have enough (but not too much) positive offset to avoid rubbing the inside of the outer wheel lips. Too wide a tire will effect his relationship as well. Widths of 205-225 work well with the correct offset wheel in 127 and 18 inch diameters without modding the body or doing any spacers. You really can figure out what the clearances will be without taking into account the wheel width, the tire size and most importantly (the thing most people leave out of many discussions) the wheel offset. Once again the offset is defined as http://www.reliabletool.com/products/offset.htm

 

The rubbing issues I experienced were due to the fact that the tire was too tall and had nothing to do with the width. I have the same exact set up now except for the tires. My 215/35/18s have the same offset as the 17s but have yet to rub even with the larger 1/2 inch rear spacers. The taller tire was also too close to the rocker for my liking. I couldn't even fit 1 finger in there to clean. They did ride nicer but I had to remove the spacers till I got different size wheels/tire combo.

 

The clearance by the rockers is normally a bit small. My 215/40/18's are 1.5% larger in diameter than a 215/45/17...so maybe 3/10ths of an inch bigger. I am dropped about 2.5 inches when I ride normally. Clearance at the front of the tires to the rocker is about 3/4's of an inch and gets smaller as I go lower. I am at an effective 37MM offset (42MM wheels with 5MM spacer). If I spaced out any more front clearance would get tight indeed. I can not space out farther without wheel opening modifications, my rears touch the forward edges of the rear wheel openings when I put the car full down on the air.