I am looking at buying some winter tires for an old Toyota. Don't know much about it, but want to make sure I don't get stuck with something that is of no use.
Is it recommended (or possible) to put a tire 170 mm wide on a wheel that currently has a 150 mm tire on it?
TIA/b
It is possible, though it is dependent on the width of the tire. Generally it's better to put too wide a tire on a rim than too thin.. If you're looking for winter tires (I'm assuming you mean snow tires) you should get thinner tires, not wider.
-Bruce
You need to know how wide your wheels are and the range of wheel widths recommended for the specific tire you're looking at to answer that question.
You sure you don't mean 175mm and 155mm? Sounds to me like you want to put a 175/70R13 on a rim that currently has a 155/80R13. I know on VWs those are the two factory tire options for many 80s models and I don't believe the rims changed, FWIW. If the rims are 5" wide or wider this should generally be OK.
nate
Generally you can go a bit wider, but for snow tires, tall skinny is best.
A wider tire has less psi on the footprint and will get up on top of the snow and float very easily. A narrow tire will cut through the snow and keep your steering control much better.
Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT'sb wrote:
That is of course exactly why we buy snow tires in the first place. :)
"But seriously, folks"...
Depends.
A range of tire widths will fit most rims (the nominal sectional width of the rim should be stamped on it somewhere). Allowable fitment is usually determined with lookup tables. See tire-manufacturer websites or your favorite dealer.
Wheels that can use 155-mm-width, 13-inch-diameter tires could conceivably be as narrow as 4 inches. I think you're not supposed to put 175's or 185's on a rim less than 4.5" wide. Without knowing model and year and preferably the aforementioned rim width, it's hard to say what you've got or could put on it.
Knowing make, model, and year as well as rim width, the lookup tables can also alert you to wheelhouse interference issues at extremes of steering angle and suspension travel. These can pose additional limits for size and aspect ratio of tires. Remember to allow room for chains, if you are talking about real winter, aside from other reasons not to go with really big tires in such situations.
Yep, the conventional wisdom on winter tires for road use is that they should be narrower than what the same car (especially in the hands of a performance enthusiast) would use in warmer weather. See for instance
Tire shops can also advise you on whether you need an all-out winter tire of either the studless or studdable varieties, or a modern all-season tire and (and perhaps a set of quality chains in the trunk just in case) would be a better match for your situation.
Whether you're, er, stuck with a 155 tire or can go up to a 175 or
185, you can find at least some name-brand winter tires, as well as all-around tires, in sizes that will fit your rims. Then, if you do decide to buy a serious winter tire, you get to decide whether to buy new rims for your three-season tires and dedicate these to the winter tires.Best of luck,
--Joe
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