Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires 17s on SVT with no drop ?

Is it absolutely necessary to lower the car at the same time as you get 17s ?

The tire size would probably be 205/40/17, I was wondering if it would be horrible to get rims, and then when I can afford it in a month, drop it then. SVT btw.

Thanks

No, you don't have to lower it for it to look good. Don't get that tire size though! You should get at least 215/45/17's.

Here's a couple of pics of my Enkei 17" RS-5's for you on stock suspension:

Dude, you helped me so much with those pics. Mine is a T-Red too, and I was actually going to get RS-5s. Thanks a lot, it looks great !

I think eventually I will drop it, but it looks just fine.

Why not that tire size ? I like really low profile and I live in a 50+ degree environment, even during the winter. (AZ)

I know you like the "low profile" look, but check out a Cougar w/ OEM 17" rims, its running a P215/50/17 instead of the P215/45/17 that most of us run. I mean its only a 5% difference but it would fill in the wheelwell a bit more and unless you autocross your car seriously your not going to notice the difference IMO and what the heck, it may ride a bit better and don't most of "ride" our cars anyways By the way, currently I'm running the stock suspension with the common P215/45/17 and I am going to lower it...sooner or later

With 205/40/17's your overall wheel height would be 23.46 inches compared to stock height with 215/50/16's of 24.46. This would result in your speedometer being off by about 3mph @ 70mph (faster that is).

Personally I don't think it would look all that good having that low of a profile on a car with no drop. The would seriously look like rubberbands around those wheels. You're also giving up quite a bit of tire to the 215's 225's. The Contour seriously needs as much rubber on the road as it can get. 3000 pound cars don't do too well on skinny tires.

Oh yeah...one more thing. 205's on 7" wheels will give you that Euro look (sidewalls angling inward). My 215's are virually verticle, mind you they are Kumhos which are fairly narrow to begin with though.

Thanks guys, im reconsidering right now. I havent made any final decisions, but now im leaning toward 215s.


The tire is still a good deal skinnier than stock right ?

Don't forget to check load ratings. I think a 205/40-17 or 215/40-17 may not have a sufficient load rating for the car.

Do a search about tire sizes over the last three months. I know I was part of a discussion about this in the recent past, and think (but am not sure) that some extremely low profile tire combos don't safely support the weight of the car.

OBTW, I have 215/45-17's on OZ Superleggera's, no drop for my car....yet.



FWIW,

TB

Man, you guys are really helpful. Thanks a lot. I have now decided 215/40/17 is the size for me.

Also, your black svt with those rims =

Don't go with 215-40-17. I'd recomend 215-45-17 or 225-45-17. I'm running 235-40-17 on a 2K SVT.

If you're not gonna drop, go with 225-45-17 to fill the wheel wells nicely.