Alternative tire sizes for 2015 Legacy 2.5 Premium

[cuemark8]

Hello. New to this site and new to Subaru.

 

Ok, here is the story. My current girlfriend is a long time Subaru owner. Recently she purchased a 2015 Legacy 2.5 Premium fromance a dealer thay was just off of a lease.

The tires are quite worn on the Legacy and she wants new ones. I shop around places like Tireack and such looking at deals and rebates available.

I found a brand new tire Goodyear makes called Assurance Weatheready. It supposed to be better and the latest generation tire replacing the Assurance Comfortred touring. Right now Goodyear has an $80 rebate on a set of 4 or a $200 on 4 if you use the Goodyear credit card which I have.

 

Here is the problem. It's a brand new tire with limited stock and sizes. The stock size on her Subaru is a 225/55/17 tire on 17x7 wheels.

The $200 rebate seems hard to pass up but the only available tire sizes are a 215/55/17 or a 235/55/17 tire.

 

Will a 235/55/17 tire fit without issues? I know the difference isn't much about 1.6%. That would be minimal speedo error and such.

What are specs for Subaru Legacy? I know a wider tire can be anegative in snow vs a narrower tire. Should I go with the 215/55/17? That would be slightly smaller. Smaller tire is about 1/2" smaller than stock in height. Larger tire about 1/2" taller in height. We in PA where we do have snow. Gaining a marginal 1/4" is good with the larger tire. I like the look of the wider tire and would prefer the 235/55/17 if it fits.

Also warranty is up on the vehicle so it's not a factor now.

 

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thank you in advance.

 

Mark

[Slowbaru17]

Either one in theory will "Fit". I'm not sure about strut clearance in the front with a 235 on the factory 7" wheel, maybe other members can shed some light. I just went through the same thing when buying winter tires for my 17 this week. I decided to go OE Size based on I'm a little OCD when it comes to this stuff. The 215/55 will def work while reading slightly fast on your speedo (approx 3 MPH @ 60) . You could also look at a 215/60R17 which would be slightly taller but keep the width down.

[cuemark8]

I played with a tire calculator. Difference is about 1.6%. It's where I got that info of 1.6%. On a speedo issue it relates to about .9mpg difference going larger or smaller. That's a meaningless variance in my book.

I'd pick another tire but that enticing rebate is exclusive to that model tire. Other models tires are cheaper priced even with the Goodyear lineup but once the rebate is applied this particular tire is significantly cheaper in final cost.

I just worried tire rub. She is 55yrs. Non- aggressive driver. Her daily commute is about 49mi round trip to work. Really no hills, mountains, or even windy roads on her normal route. Car will probably never see a speed over 70mph from her.

 

I came back to edit this post. Of I were to with the slightly wider and taller 235/55/17 tires they would be on mounted on the stock rim, which I have researched to be 17x7.5 ". That wheel width is within the acceptable range of wheel widths for that tire set by the manufacturer. They spec a range of 7"-8.5" as acceptable rim widths for that tire.

[Nitrobucket]

can someone explain to me why one tire is taller than the other? if they both fit a 17" wheel and are 55 sidewall, why would one be taller than the other?

[ammcinnis]

if they both fit a 17" wheel and are 55 sidewall, why would one be taller than the other?

 

"55" is the Aspect Ratio ... the ratio of sidewall height to nominal section width, expressed as a percentage. (e.g. For AR = 55, actual sidewall height will be ~55% of nominal section width.) For a given Aspect ratio, if a wider section width is chosen, the sidewall height (and tire diameter) will go up as well.

[chowser51]

mm/ar/in

stock is 225/55/17 = ~ 26.7" tall

215/55/17 = ~26.3" tall

235/55/17 = ~27.1" tall

 

take the width(in mm), multiply it by the aspect ratio, then double it, then convert it to inches and add to wheel size.

[Nitrobucket]

Thnx