17" rims on an AWD GT?

[vikefan7]

Can anyone think of any problems with putting 17" rims on an AWD GT? Tirerack has a pretty good deal on a set of rims and Continental snow tires that I'm looking at. I want to get the Blizzaks, but at 18" it would be another $200 or so. So, I'm thinking if I can put 17" rims on I could take a look at the Blizzaks in 17 and save some money and still get the Blizzaks.

Thanks for the help.

 

[ceric]

As long as the wheel has the similar offset (44mm) and sufficient width (7.5"),
and the diameter of the tire stays similar (+/-2% or less), you should be OK.
A taller sidewall reduces the corner handling. With winter tires, corners should be
taken with caution anyway.
Besides, 17" makes it even easier to install chains if you have to.
Chain/cableLink will scratch the 20" easily, therefore, no recommended in my manual.

 

[vikefan7]

Do you think if Tirerack brings up a tire/wheel combo for my vehicle I can trust it?

 

[ceric]

I think tirerack.com "roughly" match the offset and width.
You need to make a call by yourself.
The bolt-pattern, however, should work exactly for CX9.
You might want to pay more attention to wheel width.
Wheels that are too wide will get scratched by pot holes and curbs easily.
And, personally, it does not look too good to me.
Our CX9 wheels are of width 7.5", OE.

I bought a set of wheel/tire combo for my ex-BMW from tirerack.com 5+ years ago.
They fit perfectly.

 

[xarthan]

I was thinking about putting on 17" steelies for winter, haha but haven't found any. 17" blizzak with rims shipped to me are ~1300, might jump on em.

 

[vikefan7]

I would actually do that if they had any steel wheels in 17's or 18's. Haven't been able to find any.

 

[Bajan Loch]

I installed 17" Hankook iPike RW11 winter tires with alloys on mine, see picture.

 

[xarthan]

not bad, 18 vs 17 on tirerack for blizzack is about 200 dollar difference. I might get the 17"

 

[vikefan7]

Looks good. I think I'm definitely going to go with the 17's now. It doesn't look as bad as I thought it would with only 17's. Thanks for the pic. How much did you pay for the Hankook's?

 

[Bajan Loch]

The 17" Hankook iPike RW-11's were C$680 in Toronto.