o trust me, she'll notice the tread pattern...and she'll defenetly notice i changed wheels for summer...silver to black wheels isn't that unnoticeable..

i did think the potenzas would probably be a better option, seems a bit more reputable in my mind(could just be i worked for bridgestone/firestone for almost 2 years so im partial to them)...but the nittos are cheaper(by a bit)..and they're both assymetrical...and i do like i can rotate the bstone as i please...i dont particularly like the only front to back rotation of directional tires(unless you breakdown and flip)...i personally like to do the proper rotation(where you cross the non-drive axle's tires as you go front to back)...

 

So...i managed to find 2 free tires that will fit the wheels(continental contitouring contact) and will try them on for a bit to see how well i like the ride...)
i just have to roll the fenders before install...(maybe thursday...)
I also hope the ABS light doesnt come on n such because they're slightly different size...(already had 2 installed 205/50/17, and the "new ones" are 225/50/17)
but they're both worn out, so im hoping they wont be so far off to set the ABS light on...granted the old ones are worn too tho)

i also got a free set of used spline chrome lugnuts...but i traded them...for brand new spline red ones(identical, but chrome/anodized red in color)

figured they'd look better than chrome with the red stripe on the wheels...

i'll make sure to put up pics if i end up doing it...

im trying not to have to buy $500+ worth of tires since i may be selling the car soon......but on the bright side if i do i'll "inherit" my wife's 09 jetta...so maybe i'll hang over in vwvortex....then again maybe i wont go there since i'll end up like here...stock car and dreams of a modded one...(and an empty wallet)....lol..
o well...i can dream right..?

 

so, first thing in the morning i come into work and i get a set of tires to install....guess what tires came off..?
2 more conti touring contact 225/50/17...(they're slightly chopped tho)
but anyway now i have a matching set of 4 old free used tires...yay!....lol
the "new" tires are 1in(2.5cm) taller and 1in(2.5cm) wider than oe 205/50/16's...
if/when i buy new tires, i already decided i'm getting 215/45/17's bridgestone potenza re760 sport's tho...figured theese tires are free, so i'll see how they fit and ride..(im hoping they're not too different than the ones i got free)

does anybody know, will theese tires(225/45/17) fit under the oe suspension?...(i'm guessing it'll be a tight fit, but they'll go in with no issues besides needing the fenders rolled)

most likely i'll be installing thursday anyway...but figured i'd throw out the question today anyway just in case..

 

From what I recollect over 215 rubs in some form or fashion.
Tire Rack had P Zero Nero size 215/45 17 at $99 in a close out deal.

 

HMM...hope they fit then...

either way...here's a teaser...
225/50's mounted and the lugnuts in place to see what they'd look like against the black with red stripe...

even tho i see the wheels all the time, i always think the stripe is wider...maybe i'll clean them really good someday and make the line wider with a paint stick/marker or something...if it ever flakes or chips...it's red behind it anyway...lol

 

YEAH....they fit...
i didn't realize i accidentally grabbed 2 sized 225/45/17 and 2 sized 225/50/17...
but the 50's rub on the strut on the front but the 45's fit perfect...with the car in the air...we'll see when driving
the 50's fit on the rear with about 1/8in(~3mm)...again...we'll see when driving

i started trying to roll the left front fender and i already cracked the paint and flaked it some......now there's 3 spots i need to paint fix...(provided i dont make more if i do need to roll the fenders more....tho im 90% sure i do...@ least the rears)

EDIT:

just drove it around the block...ANY little bump and the rear tires rub on the fender...after driving i touched the rear fenders and they were HOT and the paint is mostly rubbed off the flat edge of the fender...(i probably got a 1st degree burn from touching them...)

..but the fronts are PERFECT...no rubbing on bumps or turns

also...added pics...
i probably will take them off for now tho till i get the fenders done...(i'll start trying now, but may not get finished today since it's the 1st time im doing it...and i'd rather not chip the paint all over the place...

RE-EDIT: well rolled only the rear fenders...figured w/e and now there's almost no paint left on the fender lips...i went all caveman and wrapped a rag around the biggest hammer i found and started smacking at the lip until its now all the way as flat as i can get it to the rest of the fender...
took it for another drive and found it still rubs minimally only on hard turns, or hard bumps or hard takeoffs...it doesnt seem to be the fender tho, i think it's the liner in the fender...gonna go verify now...

ONE MORE EDIT: i removed the plastic liner at the end of the rear bumper, and they fit almost perfect now on the rear...only on super bumps it rubs im honestly not sure where and it seems to me more so on the left side than the right...im guessing it's still somewhere on the fender but i can't pin point it rt now...now i'm gonna give it a good wash and go home...
ill put a pic or 2 of it up in the morning from outside of the shop
i even had to bend the bracket

i'm gonna call this..."MISSION: FREE WHEELS AND TIRES"....
and i consider it ACCOMPLISHED!!

 

new pics...from after a good wash n dry and then when i got home...and again from this morning when i got to work..
it was too dark last night when i got home after getting dinner to take pics...i did get one night pic...but since all i have is a phone, it came out all grainy..(included for whom it may concern)...

enjoy!

 

Hey Nekkidlad,

The car looks great man, very impressive for free.

You typed 225/45/17 if that's not a typo then you have removed any doubts I have about 215/45/17 on 17x7 ET 42 working with the Swifts.

Thanks for that.

 

no typo...as it sits rt now in the pictures there's 225/45/17 on the front and 225/50/17 on the rears...
i do hope to eventually buy 215/45/17 summer UHP's tho....so the free tires were really just to see how the car sits and rides w/ the 17's...

the rears rub very lightly on big bumps, but w/ 215/45/17 im sure they won't and it'll be golden

 

on me tonight buddy.

 

Holy beefy tires, Batman! Nice

I had 215/40-17 on my 17x7 +43 summer wheels, lowered on Tein S-Techs. They rubbed in the rear over bumps...but only after I added +15 spacers (net offset of +28). After seeing this thread, for sure, I should have gone with 215/45.

Side note: For those of you afraid to roll your fenders...don't be. I did the ol' heat gun + wooden baseball bat method. Get that paint and fender HOT, then roll 'er out a little at a time, and your paint will stay in-tact.

 

oh man...not again....(i know it's not literal but still...lol)
after i got home last night i went out to dinner with my wife and we had a bottle of wine...then got home and split a 6pack... and had some more wine...
wasnt hugely drunk...but dont feel like doing it again tonight......but thanks anyway..lol
and i already have plans to go dr nking saturday night...at my wife's boss's friend's bar, he just opened a bar and this weekend is the grand opening...(drinks on the wife's boss's tab!)

Yeah i tried that, didn't work....on the driver's fender(xept i used a hammer handle...lol) i still chipped the paint....and then i was like..."let me see if i even need to roll them at all...ok no i don't...sweet...but w/e i already chipped the paint"...lol now the lf fender is rolled slightly for about 1in
and then on the rear i was like w/e...theese are going on...i love the look...they're staying on!... so i went all caveman and beat them up w/ a small sledgehammer(4lb/~8kg) wrapped in a rag

i had to fold the fender over all the way so im pretty sure the paint would chip anyway...

ps thanks!

 

Looking good lad! I'm a fan of bigger tires. Lo-pro's are for SUV's...lol. Throw some tire shine on them for the hell of it and make them old tires look new. I wish I could come up on some free wheels and tires. Wheels been on my list for about 6 months now. Just gonna have to use some tax return money i guess.

 

^^thanks..i had new wheels on my list for like 4yrs now(since i bought the car) along with a bunch of other stuff to do too...lol...
i like the beefy look the tires have...almost no gap from tire to fender on the rears...
however the fronts still have a huge gap but o well...no $ for springs rt now...and maybe they wouldnt fit if lowered...
the wheels are matte black, and they looked very matte until i washed them, now they have a pretty good shine/gloss to them even tho they're matte....
im thinking if i put tire shine on, the tires and wheels will just kinda blend together...(maybe good, maybe bad....but it'll wash off after a few washes or rains anyway, so maybe i'll try and see how it looks when i remount the tires..)

i did some researching online out of curiosity and found the 205/50/17's the 2 wheels had on when i got them, are almost exact height match to the 225/45/17 i have on the front rt now....
so i might remount the 205/50 for the front and put the 225/45's on the rear and see if i have less rubbing(there's still some rubbing on larger bumps w/ the 225/50's on the rear and they dont fit on the front at all, they hit the spring bucket on the strut)...if it still rubs then maybe i'll justy rotate the 205/50's to the rear and hopefully eliminate rubbing alltogether, since it's just a little taller than OE size and not as wide as the 225/45 or 225/50...

and starting yesterday i started thinking maybe wingless would look nice too...
every other time i've ever thought about wingless i thought it wouldn't look good...but for some reason now i think it may look good...so maybe i'll try that too sometime soon for kicks and grins...and if i dont like it, ill put it back on...

for now tho my main concern is getting a new TOB(with clutch kit) and trans rebuild, and while they're off maybe ill make or buy some solid front and rear engine mounts...

 

so i went ahead and swapped the front tires to the 205/50/17 and moved the 225/45/17 to the rear...
now it's perfect...no rubbing and still almost the same look...
the only thing i dont like is the rear tires aren't as meaty looking..(but now they dont rub...) but also the gaps around the car are more even...not almost flush on the rear and huge gap on the rear...
there's a bit of a gap on the rear wich makes the front one look smaller...
didn't put on tire shine on but maybe i'll do that tonight...just didint feel like washing the car after swapping the tires and doing an alignment...