Tire decision for 04 M45

[THT]

I'm thinking about putting a set of SSR wheels wrapped in Toyo T1R rubber on a soon-to-be-purchase 2004 M45. The wheels are 8.5" and 9.5" wide which would necessitate 255/40/18 and 275/40/18 tires. Will either of these cause rubbing as they're just a tad larger than the stock 235 width tire?

[szh]

I'm thinking about putting a set of SSR wheels wrapped in Toyo T1R rubber on a soon-to-be-purchase 2004 M45. The wheels are 8.5" and 9.5" wide which would necessitate 255/40/18 and 275/40/18 tires. Will either of these cause rubbing as they're just a tad larger than the stock 235 width tire?

I know that people have put wide wheels on these model years, but I would be very careful and check the offset of the wheels you are looking at. Please do a fitment test if you can!

The reason I say this is because I had the occasion to check inside the front wheel well to see if I could fit tire chains. With the stock 18x7.5" wheel, with 245/45-18 tires, the spacing between the tire and the suspension components was just under 0.5" ... no room for the tire chain and no room for a larger diameter tire or larger wheel width, etc.

You would need to decrease the offset quite a bit for a wider wheel, and then be careful about fender rub in that situation.

Z

[THT]

I know that people have put wide wheels on these model years, but I would be very careful and check the offset of the wheels you are looking at. Please do a fitment test if you can!

The reason I say this is because I had the occasion to check inside the front wheel well to see if I could fit tire chains. With the stock 18x7.5" wheel, with 245/45-18 tires, the spacing between the tire and the suspension components was just under 0.5" ... no room for the tire chain and no room for a larger diameter tire or larger wheel width, etc.

You would need to decrease the offset quite a bit for a wider wheel, and then be careful about fender rub in that situation.

Z

The set I'm looking at have an offset of +26 so a good bit lower than the stock 35.

[szh]

The set I'm looking at have an offset of +26 so a good bit lower than the stock 35.

Okay, good!

Then, you just need to check the "under the fender" clearance or roll them if you need to.

Z

[THT]

Okay, good!

Then, you just need to check the "under the fender" clearance or roll them if you need to.

Z

Okay, so the wheels changed due to availability. I'm now looking at 18x8.5 +32 (255 width) and 18x9 +38 (265 width). Think they'll still work? According to an offset calculator, the front wheels will lose 10mm of inner clearance and extend out 16mm while the rear wheels will lose 22mm of inner clearance and extend out 16mm.

Modified by THT at 8:01 PM 4/24/2008
Modified by THT at 8:14 PM 4/24/2008