Non-Viper tire question

[rcdice]

Perhaps some of you guys with more tire knowledge than I could help with the following situation. I'd appreciate any advice and sorry for this being a non-Viper question on the Viper board.

My wife currently drives a MB CLK 430 vert. Stock size tires on the car are:

Front 225/45 ZR 17
Rear 245/40 ZR 17

Question is: I have a set of four Pirelli 215/40 R 17 SNOW tires from her Lexus we sold, can I safely mount those on the CLK?

Tires would be on for 3-4 months with about 500 miles a month driven. Perhaps use a pair for the front and buy new proper size for the rear? Any adive would be appreciated as I'm getting the "when are you putting snow tires on my car?" question daily now. Thanks.

 

[GTS Dean]

Wow - hope it isn't too late to answer.

I would put them on. You *might* have a little trouble getting the bead seated on the rears if the rim is wider than the front one, but I doubt it.

 

[Luke@tirerack]

Perhaps some of you guys with more tire knowledge than I could help with the following situation. I'd appreciate any advice and sorry for this being a non-Viper question on the Viper board.

My wife currently drives a MB CLK 430 vert. Stock size tires on the car are:

Front 225/45 ZR 17
Rear 245/40 ZR 17

Question is: I have a set of four Pirelli 215/40 R 17 SNOW tires from her Lexus we sold, can I safely mount those on the CLK?

Tires would be on for 3-4 months with about 500 miles a month driven. Perhaps use a pair for the front and buy new proper size for the rear? Any adive would be appreciated as I'm getting the "when are you putting snow tires on my car?" question daily now. Thanks.

not only will it be a problem with the rear wheel being wider than the front causing traction control issues (read rear brake pad replacement in under 500 miles)the tires do not have enough load capacity to be considered safe and they are over 1" shorter than the OE tires

 

[carguy07]

I just bought my 2nd set of wheels/snow tires from Tirerack. It works so well to have a summer and winter set. The old mount/dismount thing was ******* the tires and wheels, and keeping the salt off of your aluminum wheels is a big plus.

I ordered my latest set on Dec 23rd. Luke had them on my doorstep at 10:00am the next day. Made Christmas eve and day much safer. Thanks Luke!

 

[AviP]

I had a Supra with 225 from and 255 rear. I mounted snow tires that were 215 front and 215 rear on it with no problems. The short answer is that if the load ratings are within the specs of your car and the recommended rim width is in the correct range for the snow tires, you should be fine. And you will be amazed at the snow traction improvement.

 

[rcdice]

Thanks for the replies. Just before you guys jumped in, I went ahead and ordered a wheel/tire package from TireRack. Couldn't be happier. They suggested and I bought:

Four Mille Miglia Bello aluminum wheels in 16x7.5
Four Bridgestone Blizzak 215/55QR 16

The car normally has 17" wheels and slightly wider tires. The snow tires have a higher side wall so the overall diameter of the tire is the same so the speedo will read accurately. By going with 16" vs. 17" the cost is held down.

I agree, having a second set of rims so I can do the change over myself will be great. Package was shipped from IN, I'm in OH and received the next day. Great value, great company to deal with. They even included Mercedes center caps.

Anyone interested in buying a gently used set of 215/45 R17's? Cheap.