Using different size tires

Tiny
EDGAR456
  • MEMBER
  • 2008 SATURN VUE
  • 3.5L
  • 6 CYL
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 165 MILES
Hi, so I have a new set of 4 225/60/r16 tires and I would like to know if it is okay if I put them on my car which calls for 235/65/r16 without causing any damage to the vehicle?
Thursday, May 17th, 2018 AT 2:57 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,452 POSTS
Running the numbers shows that there is a 5% size difference in those tires. Now on an old car with none of the computer mess the new ones have I would probably look at the load range and if it was okay I would run them. However, this is an 2008 which will have more electronics like ABS, TPMS and the rest using the wrong sized tire could cause issues in those systems. Especially the way the ABS is programmed. It is also possible that those tires are not load rated for the heavier Vue. For that you would need to look up the exact tire to see if it is or not.
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Thursday, May 17th, 2018 AT 6:36 PM
Tiny
HARRY P
  • MECHANIC
  • 2,292 POSTS
Speaking from experience, it will cause the wheel speed readings to differ slightly. At highway speeds, the ABS computer will see it as slipping wheels, and cut the engine power until the condition is corrected. Trust me, it is no fun coasting down to forty mph on the highway in a seventy mph zone. How do I know this? My wife's 2006 Vue had that happen when the tire people installed the wrong tires on the back of it (I did not check their work either). We got out on the highway, in the leftmost lane, going seventy five mph, and all of the sudden, with no warning, the throttle quit working until it slowed down to somewhere around forty mph. That is an experience that I do not need again.

So in short, stay with tires that match in size and load rating all the way around.
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Thursday, May 17th, 2018 AT 7:47 PM

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