I'm a few days away from my 15x8 wheels being delivered to my door. They come with used tires, so my plan was to have a shop swap those tires for my OEM Goodyear tires with only 4k miles on them.

After speaking with a few shops I was told it was unsafe and I could run the serious risk of a blowout...particularly with extended highway driving. However another reputable shop states there are no issues with a stretch.

I need to get some concrete facts on this issue. I daily drive my car about 20-30 miles a day and I'm planning a roadtrip for my honeymoon 5-months down the road. I obviously want what is best for the safety of myself any the occupants of my car. I'm also concerned for the safety of my wheels as they are no long in production and a blow-out would most likely demolish the wheel.

Any links to sites or stories from personal experiences with stretched tires would be greatly appreciated.

 

I drive my car like a crazy person in the turns sometimes. I also drive it over 40 miles a day, drove it on numerous 600 mile trips all with 15x8 stretched tires. I have had no issues at all.

 

I think the main issue is the curbs and potholes. You are more likely to bend a lip if you hit something. That can cause the bead to separate, but that can happen with any size tire.

The tire itself will be fine. You must keep an eye on tire pressures, since low pressures can make the tire wear more on the edges and sidewall (if stretched), but again, that can happen with any size tire.

Just be smart--keep an eye on things and you'll be fine.

 

how u figure a stretched tire size?. i mean i have read numorous thread about stretche tires etc..but being there so many different tire size how do u guys figure this out.. noob at it sorry. help me..

 

as long it's a moderate stretch you shouldn't have anything to worry about. it's not like your trying to put a 165 on a 8" tire.... are you?

 

I don't think the 185 would be that large of a stretch, but just to be safe I'm going to go with a little wider of a tire and hope for the best when it comes to tire rub.

 

Well I have a 205/40/16 on a 9 inch rim and they are stetched out quite a bit and I ride 30 miles one way to work everyday and no issues.......

 

how about a 205/50/15 for the sportmax.is that considered stretched?

 

check out the new falken fk452 tires ...ive got toyos with a 205-40-17 and i drove from cali to kansas with no probs beside my rubbing issue with my car packed to the brim with my stuff.
www.fk452.com
www.falkentire.com

 

how do u figure what is a stretched size for certain size wheel?..

 

Yeah, that's a stretch, but that's the best wheel size for that tire IMO.

 

Go to TireRack.com and look at any specific tire. They have a "specs" section that list all the details for each size tire (load rating, diameter, section width, etc.). This also includes the recommended wheel width range. If your wheel is wider than the tire manufacturers recommendation, then that's a stretch. I assume that if the tire fails and you have the wrong size wheel, the warranty will be void. YMMV