Over sized tyres on the VE? (just a though)

[ascottaudio]

Ok so please don't shoot me down in a hail of "what a silly idea" ...cos it is only a 'thought"

My last car ..a VU SS ute came with 20 inch wheels with 35 profile tyres. This is actually a size larger than they should have had for the model.

As we all know.. the VE wheels tend to look small ( as the car is bigger than previous models)..so what about "up-sizing" the tyre profile???

My VE has the standard 245/45/18's.. I see that there is a 245/55/18 tyre..(although not common)

Of course there is an up and down side to doing this..like the gearing and speedo is put a bit "out of wack"..but some of these can be adjusted (I had the speedo calibrated on the VU easily..dont know about the VE?)...

Slightly taller gearing would give slightly better fuel economy..and you get to fill out the guards and get a better look with out bigger wheels or as much lowering...

As I said just a thought at this stage..would also need to make sure a lager tyre would fit ok without fouling anything.

 

[kuzman89]

I don't think it would work. For example, you see 4wd's getting around with small wheels but big tyres. I don't think it looks particulary good. Compare that to a jeep with 24's for example and it looks way better.

 

[TinSnips]

You'll likely have problems with roadworthy certs and such - moving more than 15mm either way of the standard rolling diameter is illegal.

 

[UFO]

Slightly taller gearing would give slightly better fuel economy.

Ok, firstly.... Incorrect on this notion.
All you'll be doing is moving very slightly lower down on the rev range (so for instance at 100km/h the engine will be revving slightly less), and this wont have any bearing on fuel ecomony.
It's actually probably a bad thing to change the revs you are sitting at, because Holden have more than likely done a lot of testing and tuned the engine and the gearbox ratios to run as efficiently as possible at certain common speeds (like 60, 80, 110 etc).
Taller gearing will only make the engine work harder to maintain that speed due to the extra torque required to turn the wheels, and stuff up shift points (you will change gears right when you dont want them to change, or not early enough).

I know you said "dont shoot you down".... but seriously man, there are no good arguements for putting bigger wheels on your car. I'm not going to lecture you on ego/roadworthiness/insurance, but its not just a matter of the speedo being way out (which on its own is enough reason to not do it).

 

[discomat]

I don't think it would work. For example, you see 4wd's getting around with small wheels but big tyres. I don't think it looks particulary good. Compare that to a jeep with 24's for example and it looks way better.

personally I prefer the big tyres on a 4x4...

 

[TinSnips]

personally I prefer the big tyres on a 4x4...

+1

I don't like 4WDs that can't perform the job they were built for. You can even take a Rangey Sport off road to a point.. but a Cayenne???

 

[sv6 power]

When i was over in Europe they put to a test a Russian 4wd and the Cayenne, guess which 4wd performed better offroad... the Russian one ofcourse.

 

[Jebadayah]

My VE has the standard 245/45/18's.. I see that there is a 245/55/18 tyre..(although not common)

Are you sure you're not thinking of 255/45/18's? Reason I ask is because my car had these slightly wider (but same rolling diameter) tyres on it when I bought it. I'm guessing the original owner had them fitted for the extra load rating, as the car has a Reece Hitch towbar, but when I replace the tyres I will be going back to 245's cos I don't need the higher load rating.

 

[davey g-force]

The higher profile tyres may fill out the guards better but they would also lift the car up more.

Would look poxy IMO...

 

[Troy711]

I don't think it would work. For example, you see 4wd's getting around with small wheels but big tyres. I don't think it looks particulary good. Compare that to a jeep with 24's for example and it looks way better.

I'm sorry, did you just say that a Jeep with 24 inch wheels looks better than one with 16 inch steelies and 33 inch muds?