Fitment of Winter Tires on Stock Rims: X-Ice 3 215/55/17

[hyper4mance]

Well, after Sandy kicked the Eastern side of the US, there are weather reports saying the Northeast is going to have snow in a few days... just what we need while power is getting restored. Anyways, so I posted in another thread that I was going to put in X-Ice3 on the stock rims (215/55/17) and many people had questions whether they would fit. @pastuch & @ScionFR-S

Short Story: Yes

There were no issues in vertical travel. I have 3 speed bumps in my complex and I tested going 18 mph over one of them and no rubbing. They do rub when the wheel is turned fully locked, but even still its not as bad lowered cars. This was completed on STOCK suspension. There will be issues if you lowered your car. As usual, attached are some pics below.

[dsgerbc]

Thanks for the info.

<rant>
For some reason 2/3 of my browsers want to show these pics side-by-side, instead of one under the other.
Jezz, how wide of a monitor does one have to have to see all that w/o scrolling.
</rant>

[hyper4mance]

lol 24" and a 23". I even tried to scale it down to Y axis of 640. Sorry, I'll try a smaller size reso next time.

[dsgerbc]

Originally Posted by hyper4mance

lol 24" and a 23". I even tried to scale it down to Y axis of 640. Sorry, I'll try a smaller size reso next time.

It's not the pic size. Some browsers stack attached pics sideways.

[ScionFR-S]

thats still a really tight fit, maybe ill go for the generals 50 profile first and then try the michelins next time. i should order these soon, i was thinking of waiting until cyber monday but i dont think they will have crazy sales with the generals they are cheap as it is ya know , what do you think ???

[Jayde]

4x4 style!

[hyper4mance]

Originally Posted by ScionFR-S

thats still a really tight fit, maybe ill go for the generals 50 profile first and then try the michelins next time. i should order these soon, i was thinking of waiting until cyber monday but i dont think they will have crazy sales with the generals they are cheap as it is ya know , what do you think ???

50's in whatever brand won't have a problem. I guess it depends on $$, ice performance, packed snow perf, and slush perf. All i remember in the research I did was the generals packed good performance for its price, but being this is a rwd car I opted to spend a bit more for the michelins.

[Khyron686]

That's mine on 215/50/17 which is still oversized (should be 215/45) and it works great. Aren't you worried about snow and ice buildup in the wheel wells? You don't have a lot of room... Have to admit the extra ground clearance is good.

[hyper4mance]

Yeah I thought about the buildup but I'm hoping the snow/ice will rub off while moving. I guess I'll find out when snow falls. My main concern was the tire rubbing against the plastics in the wheel well since I couldn't find anyone else who was running 55's.

[pastuch]

Thanks so much Hyper. The photos and everything are exactly what I was looking for. I drive to the ski hills in Quebec a lot so I'm going to stick with 50s.

[wparsons]

I'm running 205/50/17 on mine (on stock wheels), and everything clears by a long shot.

[Lorico]

Is is insanely awesome! I definitely wouldn't do 55's maybe 50's

[hyper4mance]

I haven't been on the site in a long time, but got a PM question via email and figured I'd share it with everyone.
The question: I'd like to know your impressions of driving with tires of that size for the season. I got a set myself thinking it wouldn't be so bad so long as I don't turn full lock. @Harlock

After driving on it a few years, I've turned it full lock a several times. I'm pretty sure its just rubbing on plastic so no big deal. The tires are not marked or cut in anyway the last time I checked and its at low speeds anyways. I've replaced the stock springs with RCE yellows and it rubs only on medium/hard bumps. Again, not a big deal to me since the car or tires arent visibly damaged.

As for driveability, they are green tires, meaning low rolling resistance for supposedly better gas mileage. I'm coming from summer hankook rs3's so there is a noticeable difference in grip and sidewall stiffness (turn in response). It does make for a slightly plusher ride than the summer tires, but with that big of a difference in height its not surprising. If you are currently on stock tires you won't gripe about this as much, but even stopped turning 90 degrees onto a road, the tires tend to loose grip and screech without trying to be an asshat and purposely gunning it everywhere. I might just be too used to the rs3's . Overall for late fall/winter tires I feel confident in them. I've done trackdays in the rain so I know what the limit feels like and I can't complain about them. They disperse water well and feel predictable (when not hydroplaning... lol), NJ had a sprinkle of snow earlier this week and the roads were wet - no issues going 75-80. Ice and slush obviously there are limits to any tire's capabilities, but I'll always have a set of summer and winter tires.

[ktBonefish]

I was really confused reading the first message talking about hurricane Sandy. I thought they were already naming them that again. Then i realized this is an old thread...