I have the 16" wheels on my 1LT. Will a 225/45 tire fit in the wheel wells OK? On the stock rims? May use them for snows and get an aftermarket wheel...something that looks like a torq thrust or something classic. Would prefer a 50 series tire though, if possible...any suggestions?

Jim

Hi Jim. A 225/45/16 would be quite a bit shorter than your stock tire, and only about 10mm wider overall. The added width is not a problem, but I don't think you want to go down on height. The sidewall would be over half an inch shorter, and well over an inch shorter overall. It would throw your speedometer off 5% and not help with mileage either.

As far as the wheels, we've had several customers choose the Euromax 612 because they are styled similar to the Torq Thrust. It's hard to get the dished look of the classic due to the high offset required on the HHR.

Perhaps a 225/50/16? I am reallynot into the "rubber bands on rims" look. Need some sidewall showing for me!

Jim

Your stock 16-inch tires are 55 series, so why go down to a 50-series?

You can fit a 225/55/16, no problem. Sidewall would just a slightly taller than stock by about 2/10ths of an inch. Ans also wider by that amount per side.

Wow, Just the info I was looking for! Thanks a million. I have seen a few threads on the stock Firestones that are unflattering. I would like to go with an aftermarket, classic style, stock size, chrome rim. An extra 10mm of width would be cool, then use stock rims for winter tires of stock size. 225/55/16 in a nice looking/performing/comfortable tire would suit me fine. Any feedback on tire brands? I am biased against anything with "stone" in the name and Uniroyals (past bad experiences). I like Michelin/BF Goodrich/Yokohamas/Kumho/Pirrelli/Goodyear and a variety of others. I usually check out the tirerack.com, etc. Thinking of a set of American Racing rims.

Jim

Oh ya, while I am at it, will there be any clearance issues if I drop it 1.5-2"?

Jim

You mentioned that you check out Tire Rack. If you look into the specs on any tire, they have the data that may help you decide on a different size. The important one to compare to your stock is the REV / MI to keep the speedometer and odometer as close as possible.

There's a lot of user feedback and looking at things like wet weather performance ratings, etc. should help you decide what best suits your driving and climate.

As for brands, it really is getting confusing anymore. Many of the old US brands are now owned and produced by others. For example: Firestone = Bridgestone and B F Goodrich and Uniroyal = Michelin.

As for possible rubbing, especially with a drop, the biggest issue will be the rear fender lip at some point. If the offset deviates much from the stock 42 mm (less than 42 will shift the tire/rim outward) or the tread width gets wider, the more likely having to get your fenders rolled.

Did not see a calculater on their site so I did it myself. This is what I came up with.
Stock 215/55/16 = 25.31" high (total dia.)
225/50/17 = 25.85" high
225/55/16 = 25.74" high
They recommend staying within 3% which is about 3/4 of an inch. There are not many 16" chrome rims I like on the site so I checked the 17's too. I am kinda partial to the Montegi Racing DV5's 17X7...wish it was a 16", maybe another brand. Lots of time though, gotta let the bank acct. recover lol

Jim

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

this may help. on same note anyone have an idea of widest tire possible. maybe 235or245?

that would make a 235/50/16 almost a perfect match at .2%.....but will they fit....with 2" drop???

Jim

Thanks for the link btw

Jim

a 235/45/17 is also a nice match...but again...will the HHR take the width of a 235?

You threw some different wheel and tire sizes out there. The tire answer will depend on wheel size and offset. The 235 width in any tire is going to be a tight fit on an HHR with a drop. Proper offset will be critical. If you are serious about wanting a wide tire AND the drop you will most likely need to roll the lip in the back.

Most 235/45/17 tires look better on an 8-inch wide wheel. That size can look funny on a 7, of course this depends on the actual tire and sidewall construction, but in general you would use that size on a wider wheel.

225/55/16 hard to find...and the wheel size calculater is fun too! I don't really want to roll the lips on the wheel wells.

The 225/55/16 is a fairly common size, you should be able to find several tires to choose from. Are you looking for a specific kind of tire?

Not really, a nice summer radial that is decent in wet/dry and a smooth sidewall without all those stupid little sipes around it.

I just put a set of 225,45,18 on yesterday. lots of room and clearence :twothumbs will show photos later:cool:

I just put a set of 225,45,18 on yesterday. lots of room and clearence :twothumbs will show photos later:cool:

Do you have different rims than the factory ones in your pics? :confused: I'm trying to figure out how you fit a tire meant for 18" rims on the factory 17" rims. :confused:

Yes , I also put 18" rims on the ROD! I am putting the photos on members photos under "HHR ROD" CHECK THEM OUT

Nice rims. :thumb:

nice ride too

I lowered mine and had 245/40/18s and had to roll drivers rear fender, and front tires rubbed if i turned hard left i recently bought new tires again and went with 235/40/18 and no problems, probably to low profile for your taste though.

yup, profile is a bit too low....but the important part is that a 235 fits without having to bend the metal. Are you using the stock offset and width rim?

So, It's come down to 2 sizes. 235/50/16, harder to find but prefered for me, or a 235/45/17, I would like a bit more sidewall, but would settle. For rims, hmmm, a 7.5 or 8 inch width? I don't mind a bit of bulge in the tire. Offset/Backspace, who knows??? I don't want to alter the sheet metal. Suggestions????

hmmm...bump.
What is the stock backspace...34mm?

hmmm...bump.
What is the stock backspace...34mm?

The stock offset (not backspacing; that's different) is 42 mm.

oops...my bad...got my terminology mixed up...Kinda settling on a 235/50/16. There is only a 0.2% difference in diameter. So, I am looking for suggestions on rims...width and offset. I don't mind a bit of sidewall bulge, 8" wide rims perhaps?? But the offset has really got my head spinning. I don't want to bend the fender lips, so I would like the extra width to go inboard if possible, without rubbing suspension. That would mean LESS offset, right????, or is the + in +42mm offset mean that it is going to the outboard side of the rim, meaning I need more offset.....OOWW, my brain hurts,,lol

Jim

Hmmm. found this
http://www.1010tires.com/WheelOffsetCalculator.asp
Looks like an 8" rim with a 45 mm offset will put an extra 3mm on the outside and 9mm on the inside...??? right? Will that work?

I'M RUNNING 20 X 8'S ON MY 2007 HHR BY AMER RACING. WITH NITTO TIRES AND ITS BEEN LOWERED WITH EIBACH SPRING KIT BY THE DEALERSHIP.:hhr:

ok question i have a LS WITH 16" HUBCAPS i was just going to lower the ass of my HHR. I think it's 1.6" and I was going to put 235/50/17 on my car will that be ok or will that be to wide of a tire.

Should work , I did 225, and didn't lower yet

Well here goes... I have 16" stock steel wheels at current and want to put some red Wheel Vintique Smoothies on it with white walls. I have talked to a tire store (Pete Paulson, est. 1961) who said that I can (and he has) put 235/70 whitewalls on a 16" wheel on a HHR. I used a wheel calculator and it said that conversion would make my spedometer reading 14.4% too slow or read 60 when going 68mph! In addition, my car has been lowered with Goldline springs (1.75 in the front and 2" in the rear). My question is, has anyone ran a 235/70 tire on a 16" or even better on a lowered one? Anyone see any problems with this configuration. Thanks for all your help and any advice!!!

Well here goes... I have 16" stock steel wheels at current and want to put some red Wheel Vintique Smoothies on it with white walls. I have talked to a tire store (Pete Paulson, est. 1961) who said that I can (and he has) put 235/70 whitewalls on a 16" wheel on a HHR. I used a wheel calculator and it said that conversion would make my spedometer reading 14.4% too slow or read 60 when going 68mph! In addition, my car has been lowered with Goldline springs (1.75 in the front and 2" in the rear). My question is, has anyone ran a 235/70 tire on a 16" or even better on a lowered one? Anyone see any problems with this configuration. Thanks for all your help and any advice!!!

I have 225-45-18's on my HHR. That is the tallest tire you can get with out it hitting on the bottom of the Strut on the front.
I did a check on one of the tires size calculator sites and it says the 235-70-16 is an unrecognised size and it is about 1.75 taller so there is no way it would fit even if you could find that size.

I put in the wrong size on there. (garbage in-garbage out) The tallest tire you can get on the front is 26" tall, the 235-70-16 is 28" tall.

Curly, thanks for the help. You mentioned that 26" is the tallest you can go... that was based on the car being lowered already right?
If so and I were to go back to the stock springs I should be able to go taller with the tire right? Does anyone know the tallest side wall height you can get with a 215/?/16 set up if the car is stock. I'm trying to acheive the tallest side wall height as possible to get more whitewall. Does anyone know if I could I go with a 215/65/16? Thanks again to all.

Lowering doesn't affect strut clearence, thats a fixed dimension...just measure the inside of your rim up to the bottom of the strut spring seat..that'll tell you how tall you can go, only way to get past that is with wheel offset and you can't do that without hitting the inside of the fenders....

IGOTAWOODY got it right. Lowering has nothing to do with the tire hitting the strut. 26 is the tallest you can co up front with out hitting the strut. My car has been lowered and there is no problems with body clearance.

IGOTAWOODY got it right. Lowering has nothing to do with the tire hitting the strut. 26 is the tallest you can co up front with out hitting the strut. My car has been lowered and there is no problems with body clearance.

even with a 6in wide rim and tire to match the width of the rim? 26 in max?

You can't change the distance from the balljoint to the bottom of the strut by raising or lowering..its fixed, all you do by lowering is change the distance from the lower spring pad to the upper strut mount.....unless..( and this may be an interesting mod) you can go with a longer LOWER strut that raises the lower spring perch up higher and use a shorter spring..hmmm..pretty much like a bagged unit.OR go with a narrow coil over unit, that may or may not give you the extra room you are looking for.

I have an 06 2LT with the stock chrome 17" wheels with the 215/50/17. I can get a deal on a set of 245/45/17. The size looks close to the stock size according to the calculator. Any opinions is this size will work. Thanks, Mark

I have an 06 2LT with the stock chrome 17" wheels with the 215/50/17. I can get a deal on a set of 245/45/17. The size looks close to the stock size according to the calculator. Any opinions is this size will work. Thanks, Mark

The height should be OK but that is a wide tire and you may have to use spacers and have issues hitting fenders. Especially when lowered.
My tires are 225-45-18 which are 25.97 tall and just barely clear the bottom of the strut when using .217 spacers. The tires will hit inner fender well when making a full lock turn.
The 245-45-17 is considerably wider 9.6 vs 8.85 so it may not work.