Snow Tire Question (Does the tire co. know what they are talking about?)

Dataman · Dec 13, 2003

C'mon, I need someone who knows about changing wheel sizes.

I purchased a pair of 15" wheels off a 97 mustang. I believe the tire size is suppose to be 205/65 r15

I have an 03 GT. Obviously the tires on right now are 245/45 r17.

I bought the wheels with the intent of swapping out wheel/tire set in the winter. A plus, is that the 15" tires are cheaper.

I've called a couple of places and they've said they don't recommend putting a different size wheel on because my ABS will not work correctly. If this is true, wouldn't that screw up the cars that go from 16" to 17" or 18 inches?

I have seen numerous postings of people putting different size wheels and tires on with no mention of ill effects to ABS.

The tire place said that winter tires only come in a height of 70,75, or 80, which they claim would make a major impact on ABS.

Please Please Please someone help me cut through the BS. (Please don't suggest putting Blizzak 17" on my existing wheels)

Dataman · Dec 13, 2003

Dataman said:
I purchased a pair of 15" wheels off a 97 mustang. I believe the tire size is suppose to be 205/65 r15

I have an 03 GT. Obviously the tires on right now are 245/45 r17.

I bought the wheels with the intent of swapping out wheel/tire set in the winter. A plus, is that the 15" tires are cheaper.

I've called a couple of places and they've said they don't recommend putting a different size wheel on because my ABS will not work correctly. If this is true, wouldn't that screw up the cars that go from 16" to 17" or 18 inches?

I have seen numerous postings of people putting different size wheels and tires on with no mention of ill effects to ABS.

The tire place said that winter tires only come in a height of 70,75, or 80, which they claim would make a major impact on ABS.

Please Please Please someone help me cut through the BS. (Please don't suggest putting Blizzak 17" on my existing wheels)

I want to get tires this weekend BUMP

Dataman · Dec 13, 2003

Dataman said:
I purchased a pair of 15" wheels off a 97 mustang. I believe the tire size is suppose to be 205/65 r15

I have an 03 GT. Obviously the tires on right now are 245/45 r17.

I bought the wheels with the intent of swapping out wheel/tire set in the winter. A plus, is that the 15" tires are cheaper.

I've called a couple of places and they've said they don't recommend putting a different size wheel on because my ABS will not work correctly. If this is true, wouldn't that screw up the cars that go from 16" to 17" or 18 inches?

I have seen numerous postings of people putting different size wheels and tires on with no mention of ill effects to ABS.

The tire place said that winter tires only come in a height of 70,75, or 80, which they claim would make a major impact on ABS.

Please Please Please someone help me cut through the BS. (Please don't suggest putting Blizzak 17" on my existing wheels)

BUMP

02zincgtvert · Dec 13, 2003

There are a few things to consider. The main thing is to maintain the overall height of the tire. HOWEVER I would not use a 16" wheel on the back and a 17" on the front. Either get a set of 245 45 r17 blizzak ws-50 snows all around or get a set of say 225 50 or 55 16"s all around on steel or v6 mustang wheels.
The taller tire profile on the back 16 to reach the same overall height to match the front 17" tire will cause the car to feel weird around turns. I would not do it.

Dataman · Dec 13, 2003

02zincgtvert said:
There are a few things to consider. The main thing is to maintain the overall height of the tire. HOWEVER I would not use a 16" wheel on the back and a 17" on the front. Either get a set of 245 45 r17 blizzak ws-50 snows all around or get a set of say 225 50 or 55 16"s all around on steel or v6 mustang wheels.
The taller tire profile on the back 16 to reach the same overall height to match the front 17" tire will cause the car to feel weird around turns. I would not do it.

What about my main concern? Will changing wheel size cause problems with my ABS?

02zincgtvert · Dec 13, 2003

Dataman said:
What about my main concern? Will changing wheel size cause problems with my ABS?

What they are concerned about is that the different size wheels may cause the abs to have problems because if the overall height of all the tires is not the same (within a certain percentage) the abs or tcs will go nuts because wheels will be spinning at different speeds. If you figure out the right 16" tire size and profile, probably like a 225 50 or 55 16", you can get the overall height close enough so as not to matter. Do a search and find one of those calculators that will tell you the overall heights of different tires and sizes if you enter the rims size, tire width and profile.

Just remember that they may also warn you against putting the 16"s on the back
for the other reasons as well. If you want to do it, figure out the size you need and just bring the wheels to the place and tell them what size tires you want mounted on them, and put them on the car yourself. Give it a shot, you could always get two more wheels and tires if you thing the handling is weird.
Plus, having four good snows makes a world of difference when turning and braking. It can make driving your car in the snow fun.

edit: 100 pounds or so of sand or kitty litter in the trunk makes a worlds of difference.

speed545 · Dec 13, 2003

Dataman said:
What about my main concern? Will changing wheel size cause problems with my ABS?

Not at all!!!!!!!!!!
The only winter i had my car in the snow i ran on 215\60\16 and abs was working just fine. And i cant imagine why changing tire size would screw up ABS, the sensor is not attach to your wheel. The only problem i can figure is will your disc fit in a 15" wheel.

02zincgtvert · Dec 14, 2003

speed545 said:
Not at all!!!!!!!!!!
The only winter i had my car in the snow i ran on 215\60\16 and abs was working just fine. And i cant imagine why changing tire size would screw up ABS, the sensor is not attach to your wheel. The only problem i can figure is will your disc fit in a 15" wheel.

Um, abs ( or tcs, for that matter) sensors measure the difference between the wheel speeds to determine whether it needs to act. If you have tires of a different height they spin at different speeds. If you had tires on the front of the car that with an overall height an inch taller than the front wheels, the abs or traction control would get improper readings all the time, causing an error. If you have 15" or 15" tires of the sane size all the way around, you will get no errors. If you figure out a 15" or 16" tire with the same overall height of the front 17" tires, you will also not get an error.

speed545 · Dec 14, 2003

02zincgtvert said:
Um, abs ( or tcs, for that matter) sensors measure the difference between the wheel speeds to determine whether it needs to act. If you have tires of a different height they spin at different speeds. If you had tires on the front of the car that with an overall height an inch taller than the front wheels, the abs or traction control would get improper readings all the time, causing an error. If you have 15" or 15" tires of the sane size all the way around, you will get no errors. If you figure out a 15" or 16" tire with the same overall height of the front 17" tires, you will also not get an error.

So the important thing is to make sure the 4 tires are the same height?? If you put 4 winter tires that are 1 inch taller than your summer ones, but all 4 of them are the same, you wont get any problem with ABS, correct?

02zincgtvert · Dec 14, 2003

speed545 said:
So the important thing is to make sure the 4 tires are the same height?? If you put 4 winter tires that are 1 inch taller than your summer ones, but all 4 of them are the same, you wont get any problem with ABS, correct?

Yep, that should not cause any problems. It would make your speedo read a little off, but not by much.

Snow Tire Question (Does the tire co. know what they are talking about?)

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