255/45/17

[Fern]

I been through thr tire section of this site and still cant figure out if this combo will fit in the front of a chally.
I am pretty sure I want to go with the new year one rally's. My questions are

will this fit on the front and do I need a 8" or 9" rim?

I know a lot of people here go with the 245/45/17 tire, but its hard to find one that has a load rating over 98. and the 255 tire is only about 1/2" wider. Can anyone with the 245 tire see if there is 1/2" clearance

[blown motor]

A 255 will work fine on an 8" rim

[dodj]

I have 255/40/17 tires on the front mounted on a 9" rim, 5" backspace. Nitto NT05's. They said not to put them on 8" rims. Not exactly the same as you are looking at, but close - 8" may be fine for a 45 profile? I have 1/2" or better clearance to the fender or frame. Some members, like 72blunblu, have 275's up front and make it work so 255's should be no problem. Backspace needs to be in the 5" area though. Give or take a 1/4" maybe.

[cudazappa]

It really depends on the tire you choose.  When you start getting into the Z-rated tires some have ULTRA stiff sidewalls.  My 245/45s were a TIGHT fit on my 8" fronts.  A 255/45 will have more sidewall flex than a 245/45 (slightly taller sidewall).  Check the recommended wheel widths before purchasing.

If you go with 9" up front, you want the backspace in the 5" - 5.25" range (0 to +7mm offset)

[Killer_Mopar]

For what its worth....

I am running 255/45/R17s Nitto 555s on a 17x8 w/ 4.5 bs on the front of my challenger. With factory wheel lips, they rub. The drivers side rubs on the frame as well. Keep in mind, I cranked the torsion bars down a little so it sits 1-2" lower. Anyhow, the tires rubbed on the stock fenders so much that they would catch and bend it. I rolled the fenders with Eastwood's tool and was able to reduce the rubbing to just barely touching when turning and hitting a bump. If you go over 4.5 bs, I would imagine they would rub on the inside more, but that would only be at full lock. Also keep in mind that every car is going to be slightly different....

[cudazappa]

I had that same problem with my 275/40 17s.  Solved it with a rear sway bar and more negative camber.

Doing some front end work soon, will be adding even more negative camber.  Also putting on new fenders have to see how everything lines up again.

[72bluNblu]

The 255/45's should fit on an 8" rim, but 9" would be better.

As far as fitting, as others have already mentioned I run 17x9's with 275/40/17's on my car with 5" backspace. Initially they rubbed slightly on the passenger fender lip, only when turned and going through a dip (like pulling into a parking lot). After a little fender lip trimming and increasing my camber to -.9 degrees I don't have any rubbing on the fender, and I've never had any issues with the frame or even the fender on the driver's side. I'd love to have a little more backspace, but there isn't much room with the inner tie rod end. On my car, I think about 5.125" of backspace would be absolutely perfect, but I was fortunate enough to be able to correct with some additional negative camber, which doesn't bother me as I run the same size tire all the way around, so I can rotate tires.

Some of it will depend on your car, they're not all the same, and even an 1/8" can make a difference. A 255/45/17 will also be slightly taller than a 275/40/17, a little less than a 1/2" depending on the tire manufacturer. Depending on how low your car is, the height may be more important than the width. I know on my car the 1/2" taller tire, even though its narrower, might give me some rubbing issues.

[Fern]

Why is nothing ever easy.  I am going to put a cheap tire on my 14" rims that would have the same size as the 255/45/17 and see if it rubs.  Well this work ?

[72bluNblu]

Why is nothing ever easy.  I am going to put a cheap tire on my 14" rims that would have the same size as the 255/45/17 and see if it rubs.  Well this work ?

Umm. Probably not. Unless you've got a 14x8" rim with the same backspace as your planning on running. I'm not aware of any. You could replicate the height, but that only matters if the backspace puts the tallest part of the tire where it's actually going to be.

I'd guess that you could figure out the backspace to put the outer face of the tire in the same place, but even then the sidewall bulge on the 14" tire would be VERY different from a 17". And you wouldn't know if it would rub on the frame or interfere with the tie rod end. None of the 14's I know of have enough backspace to check the inside clearance issues. You could space them out to check the outside if need be, but that's only half your clearance.

[diyhemi.com]

Get a wheel and tire measuring tool for $50 and call it a day. I have one, works wonders