Running large diameter tires - anyone doing it? how large?

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Originally Posted by Tommyskillz

Im about to put on some 225/35/17's
Anyone do this yet? its very very close to the same diameter as stock

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Don't listen to these curmudgeons. They're all jealous.

Seriously, I suppose they have a point though. Not many members have tried 17s. Top_Fuel is on the right track - post up some specifics on what you have in mind, and we'll respond with a pages-long debate on it.

For rims, the bolt circle diameter is 100mm with a 56.1 bore. Stock rims are offset around 46 (I think...)

Have a look at these threads for inspiration:
Wheels, Tires, Brakes & Suspension Sticky Index (look here for good info)
Wheels: What Else Fits the Mirage? (With photos)
Choosing Fuel Efficient 15” Wheels and Tires

And before you buy anything, read this:
Fuel Efficient 15-Inch Wheels and Tires


And be careful modifying - it'll empty your wallet.

I personally think the 17 would set off the car and Im worried because i live in Michigan with the worlds largest potholes lol
I just need to get some type of tire that will make this car look great. It has really nice 15in wheels on it now that we hand picked at the dealership out of all the choices. But 175/55r15 is just way to slim and small

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tommyskillz

I personally think the 17 would set off the car and Im worried because i live in Michigan with the worlds largest potholes lol
I just need to get some type of tire that will make this car look great. It has really nice 15in wheels on it now that we hand picked at the dealership out of all the choices. But 175/55r15 is just way to slim and small

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Personally, I wouldn't go any larger than 16" rim because offsets and rim widths are going to become critical if you don't want rubbing which would then require a larger investment. You'll get some more road noise and ride quality will suffer. But if those aren't factors for you then go big or go home!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tommyskillz

I personally think the 17 would set off the car and Im worried because i live in Michigan with the worlds largest potholes lol
I just need to get some type of tire that will make this car look great. It has really nice 15in wheels on it now that we hand picked at the dealership out of all the choices. But 175/55r15 is just way to slim and small

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Concerning 225/35r17 tires - My former Honda CR-V had 205 tires, & my present Subaru Forester has 215 tires. I cannot image putting 225 tires on a Mirage even if you can match the outside diameter perfectly. My CR-V & Forester use 16" tires. My cousin has a Chevy Colorado with 15" tires. I think 17" tires look silly on a Ford Escape!

One forum member added 195 tires to his new Mirage, and he was very unhappy with them (rubbing issues). He went back to 175 tires. I am not saying you can't make wider tires work on a Mirage. My prior economy car had 12" tires. They were 145SR12 tires, & it made that car awesome in snow. Thus, 14" & 15" tires seem plenty big enough to me. If you go with 16"+ tires (lower profile tires), you are expecting the suspension of the car to make your driving experience enjoyable for you. I'm not sure the suspension of a Mirage is its most redeeming quality? There needs to be a balance between ride and handling. I think 14" & 15" tires offer that for a Mirage.

If you are unhappy with 165/65r14 tires, 175/65r14 tires are a nice alternative. If you aren't crazy about 175/55r15 tires, 185/55r15 tires are a good option to consider.

I really feel the best tire choices come down to these 4 sizes. 175/65r14 & 185/55r15 are 23" outside diameter tires. They are within 3% variance of the factory size tires. They are a more common size found on smaller cars, & these two sizes offer many tire choices. These two sizes match each other perfectly! The same cannot be said of the 14" and 15' factory tires.

I don't expect everyone to agree with me. I just think the Mirage was designed for 165/65r14 & 175/55r15 tires. If you would like to go a little larger, 175/65r14 & 185/55r15 tires are good choices to consider. Several affordable tire choices exist in those sizes, & those sizes will fit without issue on existing rims.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tommyskillz

Im about to put on some 225/35/17's
Anyone do this yet? its very very close to the same diameter as stock

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Have you actually shopped for 225/35r17 tires?

Tonight, Walmart offers

165/65r14: 3 to 4 tire options, which is typical.
175/65r14: gives you 110 tire options to look at.
225/35r17: 0 options came up.

Simpletire.com has a huge inventory of tires. They offer one 225/35r17 tire. By the way - they have 159 tire options for 175/65r14 tires.

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Originally Posted by Wallythacker

As luck would have it I found alloy rims that I really like, 15"

Now, the unexpected bonus. Bridgestone Ecopia 422 Plus !!! Exactly the tires I want to run.

185R55/15, 23' diameter, only 3% larger than stock, nope, not this size
185R60/15 23.7" diameter, 6% larger diameter, nope, not this size either

185R65-15, 24" diameter, a full 10% larger

Does anyone think I'll get away with this combination without having any rubbing?
There will only ever be myself and my daughter or myself and my partner in the car.
I plan on putting the VW spring in the big which are proven to increase the ride a about 1.5"

But it's the front I'm worried about with full lock turning.

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For what its worth I ran a 25 inch diameter tire, 175/80 R14, its about 11% larger than stock. 3 corners didn't ever rub and one did due to manufacturing/assembly tolerances of the various plastic wheel well pieces. It rubbed about a 1/4 x 1/2 inch hole into a plastic piece in the wheel well on full lock over certain relatively low speed off camber bumps. It made contact in the lower rear portion of the wheel well, not the top but it felt very close by hand. Your 185/65 R15 tires are about 24.5 inches in diameter but are wider than mine by about half an inch. If the guy with 185R70-14 didn't rub you might be able to get away with a 185/65 R15 but it should be very close.

You might find this tire size calc handy.

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

Very few people on this forum are running wheels larger than 15" in diameter. The main reason is that they're just more challenging to fit on these cars without running into fitment (rubbing) issues. If you lower your car (which most guys with larger wheels usually want to do) then you end up making larger wheels even more difficult to live with.

Maybe you can use my setup as a model on the willtheyfit.com website to determine what 17" setup might work on your car. Here is my current wheel/tire...

Wheel: 15x6.5
Offset: 40mm
Tire: 185-55-15

This tire will clear the rear fenders...but there's not much room. See this post for pictures:

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...ll=1#post75535


This post shows how the same wheel/tire looks on the inside of the tire...

https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...ll=1#post48177

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eggman

And be careful modifying - it'll empty your wallet.

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And empty it 3 x faster if you own 2 Mirages!

Not you,

It was some other dude and the thread was about 175/65R14 so the chap was running those slightly bigger tires (than stock) on the same stock wheels. And the Stealership could not figure out why the CVT was making problems and after he blurted out that he had upgraded the tires to this non-standard size the Service Manager said they would invalidate his warranty claim on the CVT transmission based on the fact that he had installed non-standard tires.

This was a thread from about 6 months ago I think. And the whole topic of the thread had been 175/65R14