205/45/17 Second Thoughts

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I bought some 17 inch rims for my Saab 9-3. It has 15 inch rims now with 195/60/15 tires, but I wanted a little better handling.

The 17 inch rims should take 205/45/17 tires to achieve the original diameter. I looked at some 205/45/17 tires today and was a little surprised by the profile.

I'm thinking now that I should maybe go with 16 inch rims with 205/50/16 tires, or just stay with what I have.

Any opinions?
 
Originally Posted by ET16
I bought some 17 inch rims for my Saab 9-3. It has 15 inch rims now with 195/60/15 tires, but I wanted a little better handling.

The 17 inch rims should take 205/45/17 tires to achieve the original diameter. I looked at some 205/45/17 tires today and was a little surprised by the profile.

I'm thinking now that I should maybe go with 16 inch rims with 205/50/16 tires, or just stay with what I have.

Any opinions?

Just my opinion, but if you wanted better handling, before buying new rims, you could of tried increasing the PSI in your 195/60/15 tires. The 205/45/17 will give you better handling because of the stiffer sidewall, but increasing the PSI in your original tires has the same effect. Either way handling will be better, but the ride will be harsher.
 
A 205/45 17 will be much more responsive due to the lower profile. Less flex through the sidewall means quicker changes of direction and more stability when cornering hard, and depending on the tire, more absolute grip. Plus, the wheels probably look better on the car ...

However, I hope your roads are in good shape. The tire will give a much harsher ride, as that is a very short sidewall, and, meaning not much rubber protecting your wheels ... you are much more likely to damage a tire / bend a wheel with those 17's.
 
Oh yeah, you'll get better handling alright!
As well as slower acceleration, worse fuel economy, increased road noise
crazy2.gif

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15130598/upsized-wheels-tires/

Enjoy!
 
Originally Posted by geeman789
A 205/45 17 will be much more responsive due to the lower profile. Less flex through the sidewall means quicker changes of direction and more stability when cornering hard, and depending on the tire, more absolute grip. Plus, the wheels probably look better on the car ...

However, I hope your roads are in good shape. The tire will give a much harsher ride, as that is a very short sidewall, and, meaning not much rubber protecting your wheels ... you are much more likely to damage a tire / bend a wheel with those 17's.


Exactly. That's why I'm having second thoughts. I guess it's all a trade off.
 
What does the tire selection in size 195/60/15 look like?

You can greatly improve handling just by going with a more sporty tire, assuming sporty tires are available in this size.
 
unless you can afford good lightweight wheels as noted performance can suffer + when you hit that pothole + damage your rim because the rubber band tyres could not protect it you might be sorry. if you want to play you gotta pay, all depends on your priorities + wallet.
 
I would not consider 205/45R17 to be low profile.

Tires have come a long way, and the car will ride just fine. If you bought decent wheels, you're not going to bend or crack one, either.
 
Originally Posted by geeman789
A 205/45 17 will be much more responsive due to the lower profile. Less flex through the sidewall means quicker changes of direction and more stability when cornering hard, and depending on the tire, more absolute grip. Plus, the wheels probably look better on the car ...

However, I hope your roads are in good shape. The tire will give a much harsher ride, as that is a very short sidewall, and, meaning not much rubber protecting your wheels ... you are much more likely to damage a tire / bend a wheel with those 17's.


This
 
Originally Posted by benjy
unless you can afford good lightweight wheels as noted performance can suffer + when you hit that pothole + damage your rim because the rubber band tyres could not protect it you might be sorry. if you want to play you gotta pay, all depends on your priorities + wallet.


I'm just going with OEM Saab wheels. The 9-5 has the same offset as my 99 9-3.
 
Originally Posted by ET16
Originally Posted by benjy
unless you can afford good lightweight wheels as noted performance can suffer + when you hit that pothole + damage your rim because the rubber band tyres could not protect it you might be sorry. if you want to play you gotta pay, all depends on your priorities + wallet.


I'm just going with OEM Saab wheels. The 9-5 has the same offset as my 99 9-3.

If they're OEM wheels you'll be fine. 17 is the new 15, and tires are better than ever.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
I would not consider 205/45R17 to be low profile.

Tires have come a long way, and the car will ride just fine. If you bought decent wheels, you're not going to bend or crack one, either.



A 205/45 is not low profile ... really ?

You must live where there is no winter, and the " paved ... " roads are still sort of smooth ... not pot holed and weather cracked from spring thaw.

I worked at a German car dealer, and we would see 5 - 6 cars PER MONTH come through with bent wheels, mostly oem, and sidewall bubbled tires, all with low profile tires ...


Buyer beware ...
 
Originally Posted by ET16
I'm thinking now that I should maybe go with 16 inch rims with 205/50/16 tires, or just stay with what I have.
Any opinions?


16' rims and 50 sidewall is all you need for the streets to get that sporty feeling on your nice sedan car.
I would stay in the safer side of comfort and rim protection.
You 'll notice a drastic difference from 195/60/15 going into a 205/50/16 setup.No need to go to the extremes and add more weight on your wheel hubs with the 17"s.
 
Originally Posted by Panos
Originally Posted by ET16
I'm thinking now that I should maybe go with 16 inch rims with 205/50/16 tires, or just stay with what I have.
Any opinions?


16' rims and 50 sidewall is all you need for the streets to get that sporty feeling on your nice sedan car.
I would stay in the safer side of comfort and rim protection.
You 'll notice a drastic difference from 195/60/15 going into a 205/50/16 setup.No need to go to the extremes and add more weight on your wheel hubs with the 17"s.


In retrospect, I should have gone this route, but I've already bought 17s and now have to deal with sunk costs. I can still sell the 17s, of course.
 
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
There are still some good tires made for the size 195/60-15
smile.gif

Yeah, but none of them are particularly high perfomance. I am not seeing any summer tires in this size, and not even UHP A/S on TireRack.

However, if the OP is able to mount 205/55 tires on his 15" rims, then there are several UHP summer options available, for example Yokohama s.Drive. This ought to firm up steering response quite a bit.
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
There are still some good tires made for the size 195/60-15
smile.gif

Yeah, but none of them are particularly high perfomance. I am not seeing any summer tires in this size, and not even UHP A/S on TireRack.

However, if the OP is able to mount 205/55 tires on his 15" rims, then there are several UHP summer options available, for example Yokohama s.Drive. This ought to firm up steering response quite a bit.



The Vredestein Sportrac 5 is available in 195/60-15
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted by ET16
I bought some 17 inch rims for my Saab 9-3. It has 15 inch rims now with 195/60/15 tires, but I wanted a little better handling.
The 17 inch rims should take 205/45/17 tires to achieve the original diameter. Any opinions?
Get larger diameter tires. From another thread, I wrote:
My 2008 Hyundai Accent & 2013 Elantra now have bigger wheels/tires & I love them. Both the Accent & Elantra now have 55,000+ miles total distance traveled on the larger set-ups. The Accent tires (from 14inch to 15inch wheels) are 2 inches taller than standard. The Elantra tires (from 15 inch to 17 inch & 18 inch wheels) are as much as 2.7 inches taller than standard..... The 17's can have aspect ratios(AR) up to 55. I've had AR's of 45 on the 18's, but they should handle 50's. My recommendation is to get several sizes & types of wheels, so you can have fun, changing your wheel style, say when you change tires. If you like distance traveling a lot, keep your aspect ratio between 45 & 65 (& drive careful on the 45's). 40 aspect ratio & lower are only for local travel, only on smooth roads & watch like a hawk for potholes. My recommendations of different wheel sizes is because I buy used wheels/tires, can easily afford the various sizes AND drive gently. If you don't drive gently, you'll put more strain on your suspension components, which is a good way to make long term friendships with car repairmen.

With the bigger wheels/tires tho, snow chains won't fit. So keep your old wheels/tires ready for snow.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by ET16


In retrospect, I should have gone this route, but I've already bought 17s and now have to deal with sunk costs. I can still sell the 17s, of course.



I would just keep the 17's , maybe put on a SLIGHTLY taller tire, like a 215/45 -17 ( 24.6 inches tall) or a 205/50 -17 ( 25 inches tall ) , and see how it feels ...
 
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