If I change my wheel size from 175/60 R14 to 215.

Tiny
ANONYMOUS
  • MEMBER
  • 2006 TOYOTA YARIS
  • 9,500 MILES
If I change my wheel size from 175/60 R14 to 215/40 R17, does it have iffect on my speed and does it have a problem on the bearing of the front axels?
Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 AT 8:55 AM

6 Replies

Tiny
DRCRANKNWRENCH
  • MECHANIC
  • 3,380 POSTS
It will make your speedometer read as if you are going faster than you really are. Not by a lot but it will make a difference as the outer circumference is now smaller so the tire spins faster. This won't affect your bearings except maybe in the really long run as they will see more mileage more quickly and may wear out faster, but not very significant.
Remember that your odometer will have more miles on it than the car actually has as well.
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Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 AT 9:02 AM
Tiny
EFE
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Is there any other effect at all?
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Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 AT 9:07 AM
Tiny
DRCRANKNWRENCH
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It may handle a little different ans the suspension geometry will be different and the car will be lower. There is the other possibility of the transmission shifting at odd times because it till think the car is going faster than it actually is, but it should not be a serious issue.
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Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 AT 9:20 AM
Tiny
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So which wheel size shall I put to my car, 17" wheel or 16" wheel and which is lighter?
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Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 AT 9:48 AM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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Wider tires would definitely put more stress on the wheel bearings.

175/60R14
565.6 mm in wheel diameter.
1777.1 mm in circumference.

215/40R17
646.8 mm in diameter.
2032.2 mm in circumference.

2032.2 - 1777.1 = 255.1 mm difference per revolution of the tires.
255.1 = 14.3 % of 1777.1mm

The actual speeed of vehicle when using the R17 tire would be 14 % faster than that shown on speedometer.

Even if you use 30 series low profile, the R17 rims would still have too much difference.

Long time since I last did such calculations so hope I am not wrong with these.
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Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 AT 10:40 AM
Tiny
KHLOW2008
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Closes match would be 205/40 R16.
215/40 R16 be slightly over the 3 % specified limit.
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Wednesday, November 14th, 2012 AT 10:46 AM

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