Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Friday March 29, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
Click here to visit TireRack
Tire & Wheel Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack

Losing traction? Need new tires?
Click here to visit the NASIOC Upgrade Garage...
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC Technical > Tire & Wheel

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 06-03-2010, 06:22 PM   #1
LASERBLUE135
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 154836
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: minnesota
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
aspen white

Default 215/40/17's on bugeye wrx, how bad is it?

I just bought some BBS RK rims for cheap for my car. They unfortunately came with said 215/40/17 tires. Will this tires size have a seriously bad affect on the car. I daily drive it, and don't do anything serious. wheels are 17x7. Thanks for any help.
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
LASERBLUE135 is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 06-03-2010, 07:28 PM   #2
van_dutch
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 198633
Join Date: Dec 2008
Chapter/Region: NESIC
Location: MA
Vehicle:
2004 WRX
Black

Default

Your speedo will be off (about 3mph fast at 60mph) but it won't hurt your car.
van_dutch is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2010, 09:46 PM   #3
Dutch Scooby lover
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 32452
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The Netherlands
Vehicle:
1998 Impreza Turbo
74F FTW

Default

It shortens the gearing, so it will make the car feel a bit more "peppy" (for the lack of a better word)but will not have any adverse effects on the car other then a little more revs for the same speed.
Dutch Scooby lover is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2010, 09:55 PM   #4
bwilliams373
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 210785
Join Date: May 2009
Chapter/Region: NWIC
Location: Portland Oregon
Default

They will look a bit ricey!
Only hondas use a 40 series tire on 17's... especially a 215/40!
bwilliams373 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2010, 11:53 PM   #5
LASERBLUE135
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 154836
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: minnesota
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
aspen white

Default

Thanks for the replies, yep, these definetly look scrawny. I was just thinking they would make the car unhappy. But they were really cheap and I'm dead broke. I've been rolling on the snow tires for too long.
LASERBLUE135 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2010, 12:13 AM   #6
mosc
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 177401
Join Date: Apr 2008
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: Philly
Vehicle:
2015 STi White

Default

You can use em, they won't hurt anything. They're not much protection for those very nice wheels though. An extra sidewall size would certainly help when you get some funds.
mosc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2010, 12:19 AM   #7
EA82TRally
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 73270
Join Date: Oct 2004
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: Edwards AFB, CA
Vehicle:
2002 WRX Wagon
Midnight Black Pearl

Default

You might try a 215/45/17. The Legacy GT wagon that I had in Okinawa had this size on the factory wheels. I don't think that it would hurt and it would give you a little bit more meat(sidewall) between the wheel and the road. Just a thought.
EA82TRally is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2010, 03:49 PM   #8
Concillian
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 4414
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Dublin, CA
Vehicle:
2002 WRX Sedan
Midnight Black

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bwilliams373 View Post
They will look a bit ricey!
Only hondas use a 40 series tire on 17's... especially a 215/40!
What?

235/40/17 on a 17x8 is like the perfect size tire for most WRX.

215/40/17 may have a pretty low load rating for our weights, but there's nothing wrong with 40 series tires if you do it right.
Concillian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2010, 07:09 PM   #9
flyinghighlm
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 156235
Join Date: Aug 2007
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: charleston, sc
Vehicle:
2002 Subaru WRX Wgn
White

Default

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

I like to use this calc when comparing sizes, the nice thing is you can compare multiple tires at once. I have BBS RK's for my wagon with 225/45/17 and thats 0.41% difference than the stock 205/55/16 that my wagon came with. Eventually I will get to put them on the car, still some life in the 16's so I need to kill those first lol
flyinghighlm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2010, 07:21 PM   #10
mosc
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 177401
Join Date: Apr 2008
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: Philly
Vehicle:
2015 STi White

Default

Your calc is correct but keep in mind the WRX benefits from shorter tires, they help with the gearing. Particularly for the EJ205 models (02-05) which tend to have more lag. Personally, I would be looking at 215/45R17 if I were you. That's the stock size for the 06-07 which comes with 17x7.
mosc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2010, 07:29 PM   #11
flyinghighlm
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 156235
Join Date: Aug 2007
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: charleston, sc
Vehicle:
2002 Subaru WRX Wgn
White

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mosc View Post
Your calc is correct but keep in mind the WRX benefits from shorter tires, they help with the gearing. Particularly for the EJ205 models (02-05) which tend to have more lag. Personally, I would be looking at 215/45R17 if I were you. That's the stock size for the 06-07 which comes with 17x7.

True but the tires are there and what is done is done haha...drive em till they die then look at that size.
flyinghighlm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2010, 07:52 PM   #12
mosc
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 177401
Join Date: Apr 2008
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: Philly
Vehicle:
2015 STi White

Default

Ok? You said they had 215/40R17 on them. Why would you even bring up 225/45R17 if you weren't thinking of new tires and then if you're thinking of new tires why are you telling me what's done is done?
mosc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2010, 08:00 PM   #13
flyinghighlm
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 156235
Join Date: Aug 2007
Chapter/Region: South East
Location: charleston, sc
Vehicle:
2002 Subaru WRX Wgn
White

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by mosc View Post
Ok? You said they had 215/40R17 on them. Why would you even bring up 225/45R17 if you weren't thinking of new tires and then if you're thinking of new tires why are you telling me what's done is done?
I think you are reading into this little much, I apologize for not being clear. MY tires are 225/45r17 and they are mounted on the rims, rims are wraped and in the attic, current tire size on the wagon is a 205/55/16 stocker. They have about 30% life left, once I hit the wear bars then I will put MY BBS RK on. The OP has a 17x7 BBS RK as well.

THE OP SAID 215/40R17, slow down a little and read a bit as I said nothing about that. I was stating that there is another size avialable close to "stock" size and you chimed in with the gearing and the all that fun stuff.

OP - Sorry to threadjack, I am done. Good choice of rims, you may want to consider powerd coating. I had mine down in a color called "magic black", not to shabby on a white car.

Last edited by flyinghighlm; 06-04-2010 at 08:06 PM.
flyinghighlm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-05-2010, 02:55 PM   #14
mosc
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 177401
Join Date: Apr 2008
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: Philly
Vehicle:
2015 STi White

Default

sorry, didn't realize you weren't the OP. Please don't threadjack, for no other reason than it makes it confusing as hell.
mosc is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-05-2010, 09:40 PM   #15
LASERBLUE135
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 154836
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: minnesota
Vehicle:
2002 WRX
aspen white

Default

Well after a few days of driving, these aren't as bad as I thought they would be. They do look amusing though...in low light it basically looks like I'm rolling on bare rims. They will be my shoes for this 1 summer, and after that they should be about shot.
LASERBLUE135 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-07-2010, 07:56 PM   #16
Uncle Scotty
*** Banned ***
 
Member#: 16200
Join Date: Mar 2002
Vehicle:
OK buy Nates beans
westcoastroasting.com

Default

i think a 215/45(or a 215/40) is a MUCH better size for a 17x7 wheel than a 225/45
Uncle Scotty is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
How bad is it to drive on a bent control arm? Prylex3 Brakes, Steering & Suspension 4 03-21-2007 02:42 PM
How bad is it to drive on snow tires in warmer weather??? Farnsrocket Tire & Wheel 4 12-16-2006 11:26 AM
Pic request: 215/45/17's on a wrx sjscooby Member's Car Gallery 5 02-25-2006 08:41 PM
How bad is it on the tranny to treat an auto like a manual? thrillho Transmission (AT/MT) & Driveline 8 06-07-2004 08:23 AM
How bad is it on speakers if... D'sScooby Car Audio, Video & Security 1 09-26-2003 07:58 PM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 10:33 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.