Just purchased a 2001 outback and was thinkin gof getting some snow tires for my commute to Aspen. Looking at the tires it currently has a noticed that it was running 235's instead of 225's is this a bad thing???

 

Thanks!!

Check on the door sill and in the owner's manual for the correct tire size, I think it is a 225 tire. If the 235's on the car have the same aspect ratio (60, 65 etc) then these tires will have a larger overall diameter and your speedometer reading will be off. You will be going faster than the speedo indicates as the speedo counts wheel revolutions based on a certain diameter.

 

The wider tire will also cause a slight disadvantage in snow as a wider tire has more contact area and will not cut through the snow as well. If you plan to be driving in heavy snow going to a narrower tire but with the same rolling diameter works well.

 

A simple visit to www.tirerack.com will help you find the correct size based on the year and model.

 

Glenn

 

Just purchased a 2001 outback and was thinkin gof getting some snow tires for my commute to Aspen. Looking at the tires it currently has a noticed that it was running 235's instead of 225's is this a bad thing???

 

Thanks!!

Check on the door sill and in the owner's manual for the correct tire size, I think it is a 225 tire. If the 235's on the car have the same aspect ratio (60, 65 etc) then these tires will have a larger overall diameter and your speedometer reading will be off. You will be going faster than the speedo indicates as the speedo counts wheel revolutions based on a certain diameter.

 

The wider tire will also cause a slight disadvantage in snow as a wider tire has more contact area and will not cut through the snow as well. If you plan to be driving in heavy snow going to a narrower tire but with the same rolling diameter works well.

 

A simple visit to www.tirerack.com will help you find the correct size based on the year and model.

 

Glenn

thanks for the info!

they are a little wider but i was wondering if down the road i may be doing any damage to the drivetrain?

It shouldn't have any negative effect on your drivetrain if you have slightly larger diameter tires. You would experience rubbing in tight turns or bumps if they were a lot wider than stock. Your odometer will be slightly lower, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Your gearing will change slightly, making you slower off the line but lower RPM's at highway speeds. But the difference is probably so slight that it doesn't really matter.

 

This site is very helpful for calculating tire size differences:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

Just plug in the width, sidewall ratio, and wheel size and it will compute your speedometer inaccuracy if you have larger than OEM tires. OTOH, speedometers can sometimes be inaccurate to begin with, usually reading a little higher than true speed.

 

Steve

It shouldn't have any negative effect on your drivetrain if you have slightly larger diameter tires. You would experience rubbing in tight turns or bumps if they were a lot wider than stock. Your odometer will be slightly lower, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Your gearing will change slightly, making you slower off the line but lower RPM's at highway speeds. But the difference is probably so slight that it doesn't really matter.

 

This site is very helpful for calculating tire size differences:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

Just plug in the width, sidewall ratio, and wheel size and it will compute your speedometer inaccuracy if you have larger than OEM tires. OTOH, speedometers can sometimes be inaccurate to begin with, usually reading a little higher than true speed.

 

Steve

 

Good Deal thatnks!