I just bought a 06' TSX that currently has 2 front tires that need to be replaced and the two rears are almost out as well. Right now, they have 215-50-17 stock size mounted on the OEM rims.

Unfortunately, I checked on discount tires and tirerack website and the selection for tires of this size are not very great. However, my choices of tires expands greatly when I look at tires of size 225-45-17.

Basically, my question is would changing the tire size from 215-50-17 to 225-45-17 be okay without changing the stock rims? If they can be changed, how would this affect handling, mpg, speedometer, etc?

Sorry this sounds like a novice question but would love all the advice I can get before making a purchase. Thanks!

 

225/45/17's will fit on your factory wheels, but they are nearly 2% smaller in diameter. This will make your speedometer and odometer inaccurate. It will also effect handling slightly. Its still within a safe margin for the car, though. There may be a very small change in fuel economy, but it won't be significant (you will have to calculate for the 1.93% difference in diameter, when looking at your fuel economy).

 

Wouldn't 235/45-17 be a better size than 225/45-17 (assuming the stock wheels are wide enough)? Shouldn't be a hard size to find tires in, Audi's come with that as a factory size (or mine did anyway, before 18s went on the car).