Upsize Tires from 225/65-17 to 235/65-17?

[Biro]

The title says it all. It’s late October 2025 as I type this and between now and Spring of 2026, I’ll be replacing the OEM Yokohamas G91A’s on my 2024 CX-5 Select.

I've been thinking about a slight upsizing from 225/65-17 to slightly wider 235/65-17. Tire Rack says the wider tires will fit without any problem. But I’d like to know if anyone has upsized like this and noticed any particular upside or downside as a result. Handling? Braking? Fuel mileage? Anything that comes to mind.

There are a number of tires I am considering, including the Goodyear WeatherReady2 and Pirelli Scorpion WeatherActive as all-weather options… or the Continental CrossContact LX25 and Pirelli Scorpion AS Plus 3 as all-season options that still do well in winter.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lazy2.5]

I looked online, and it says that the 2024 CX-5 has 17x7" wheels.

I would not put 235 section tires on a 7" wheels. It will fit, but you're not going to get the added width, or any sort of advantage at all from doing so. Stick to 225.

 

[N7turbo]

They will work, but you're at the limit of tire width vs wheel width, so just know that handling will get softer and less "planted" and "responsive" feeling compared to the same tire on a wheel that is an inch wider. Personally I think Mazda was right in sticking with 225 for the 7" wheels.

 

[Lazy2.5]

They will work, but you're at the limit of tire width vs wheel width, so just know that handling will get softer and less "planted" and "responsive" feeling compared to the same tire on a wheel that is an inch wider. Personally I think Mazda was right in sticking with 225 for the 7" wheels.

7" is actually narrow even for a 225, let alone a 235 width tire.

The Mazda 6 uses a 7.5" wide wheel for a 225 section tire. I wonder why they went narrower on the wheel for the same width with the CX-5.

 

[N7turbo]

I agree.

 

[GFrosty]

Probably not worth the negatives. I've done it, both in a + change and a - change from the 225 stock fitment. I've done much the same on my own CX-5.

Example:

• Yours -- 225/65-17 to 235/65-17; +10mm tread width; +0.5" diameter, +0.2" sidewall height.
• Mine -- 225/55-19 to 235/55-19; +10mm tread width; +0.7" diameter; +0.2" sidewall height.

235 over 225 does give 1cm (0.4") greater tread surface width. There is that. But it's only about 0.2" per side, over the 225 width. I think they look a little better, but I also don't think that added width of tread results in improved handling or grip, at least not noticeably.

There is more-sluggish acceleration due to the increased tire diameter. And there is a noticeable sloppiness in the handling, particularly when cornering, due to the added diameter and sidewall height. Probably not worth the slight tread width gain.

The details ...

I've done this slight "upsizing" on my 2016 CX-5, with the factory 19" rims. Same width rims, so adding 0.7" more height from choosing a 235/55-19 tire meant that handling was noticeably more sluggish than the 225/55, and cornering was as well. Your suggested bump from 225/65 to 235/65 on your same 17" factory rims would likely result in both of these same effects (relative to the same tire in a 225/65 fitment). That taller tire (greater diameter) also resulted in noticeably slower acceleration. Not huge, but noticeable.

If with the 235's you also went to a 17x8.5" tire, you'd regain most of that handling loss. But that wouldn't address the somewhat slower acceleration.

My current tire is in 235/50-19 sizing. It's about the same difference from the 225/55 fitment that the 235/55 was, but the other way ... shorter. It's about 0.4" shorter than the factory 225/55-19. And there's a noticeable improvement in acceleration, along with a noticeable improvement in cornering sharpness, over the factory 225/55 and the prior 235/55 I had.

In short: IMO, at least in my 19" example, the acceleration and handling (cornering) differences are real, though something I could live with. My next set of tires, though, if I stick with the factory 19" rims, I will select a tire in the standard 225/55 fitment. More choices anyway, in the factory size.

In your case, on the 17" rims, if you stick with the factory 17" rims then I would bet you'll notice much the same handling and acceleration differences. A wider rim choice, say to 17x8.5", would negate most of the handling "hit" from going to a slightly taller tire. Though it would still be taller, resulting in a slight but noticeable hit on acceleration.

 

[Biro]

Probably not worth the negatives. I've done it, both in a + change and a - change from the 225 stock fitment. I've done much the same on my own CX-5.

Example:

• Yours -- 225/65-17 to 235/65-17; +10mm tread width; +0.5" diameter, +0.2" sidewall height.
• Mine -- 225/55-19 to 235/55-19; +10mm tread width; +0.7" diameter; +0.2" sidewall height.

235 over 225 does give 1cm (0.4") greater tread surface width. There is that. But it's only about 0.2" per side, over the 225 width. I think they look a little better, but I also don't think that added width of tread results in improved handling or grip, at least not noticeably.

There is more-sluggish acceleration due to the increased tire diameter. And there is a noticeable sloppiness in the handling, particularly when cornering, due to the added diameter and sidewall height. Probably not worth the slight tread width gain.

The details ...

I've done this slight "upsizing" on my 2016 CX-5, with the factory 19" rims. Same width rims, so adding 0.7" more height from choosing a 235/55-19 tire meant that handling was noticeably more sluggish than the 225/55, and cornering was as well. Your suggested bump from 225/65 to 235/65 on your same 17" factory rims would likely result in both of these same effects (relative to the same tire in a 225/65 fitment). That taller tire (greater diameter) also resulted in noticeably slower acceleration. Not huge, but noticeable.

If with the 235's you also went to a 17x8.5" tire, you'd regain most of that handling loss. But that wouldn't address the somewhat slower acceleration.

My current tire is in 235/50-19 sizing. It's about the same difference from the 225/55 fitment that the 235/55 was, but the other way ... shorter. It's about 0.4" shorter than the factory 225/55-19. And there's a noticeable improvement in acceleration, along with a noticeable improvement in cornering sharpness, over the factory 225/55 and the prior 235/55 I had.

In short: IMO, at least in my 19" example, the acceleration and handling (cornering) differences are real, though something I could live with. My next set of tires, though, if I stick with the factory 19" rims, I will select a tire in the standard 225/55 fitment. More choices anyway, in the factory size.

In your case, on the 17" rims, if you stick with the factory 17" rims then I would bet you'll notice much the same handling and acceleration differences. A wider rim choice, say to 17x8.5", would negate most of the handling "hit" from going to a slightly taller tire. Though it would still be taller, resulting in a slight but noticeable hit on acceleration.

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much.

 

[Lazy2.5]

You're not actually going to get a 235 tire to fit any wider than a 225 would, on a 7" rim. I'm willing to bet that the tires contact width and overall diameter would be almost the same.

Ideally, you would want a 8" wide wheel to properly accommodate a 235 section tire.

Now, assuming you have the NA engine, I can't see why on earth you would "need" the additional width of a 235 tire. Especially not if you have AWD. Maybe if you tuned the vehicle, I could see that.

 

[forties]

Just to play divisive advocate, I would not get worried about 10mm of tire width difference.

In the past I've seen one brand's 235 which was the same width as another brand's 225. Go look at actual measured widths versus sidewall number claims and one can see how that works.

If you're talking about a tire with a shorter sidewall, then I might start worrying more about wheel widths, but not with a 65. Something like a 35 aspect ratio is a different animal to a 65 with less leeway.

I wouldn't worry about steering response unless I was doing timed competitions. If its my street cruiser on street tires, yes I would buy the 235's if they were way cheaper than the 225.. no big deal. Unless you are Mario Andretti or have a bad case of OCD you're probably going to be 100% fine with the cornering on a slightly narrow wheel. Just ran across this thread and thought I'd throw another opinion in.

 

[N7turbo]

People underestimate the effect of wheel sizing in relation to the tire. You can't just slap on bigger tires and not feel some side effects. Tirerack tested this and found the best responsiveness and lap times came when wheel width was increased in relation to the tire size.

The Miata community also knows this very well. Especially those that run in SCCA.

I realize most here aren't after faster lap times. But that doesn't mean the information can't be used in our decision making.

Us CX-5 drivers need to find a balance so we can maintain the handling we bought these cars for but still keep acceptable ride quality. Everyone's priorities are different there so use this information to guide your decisions.

TLDR; it affects the "jinba ittai".

My own experience: even though I upsized to 245's, my steering response is way more nimble than with the 225's. It feels much lighter. Part of the reason is my wheels increased to 9", and the other is that they are flow formed and weigh 6.5 lbs less, each. If I had done that on the stock, heavy 7" wheels, the result would have been a sloppy mess.