Going from 17" --> 18" wheels -- does tire tread life suffer?

TheRox · 11-13-2010, 05:17 PM

Hey guys,

I was wondering if one is going from 17" all seasons --> 18" all seasons/or performance...does tread life decrease on 18" because they are larger diameter and lower profile? ie, is tread less deep?

cxc511 · 11-13-2010, 09:56 PM

Given the same model tire, going from a 17" to 18" should have the same tread depth and life expectancy. If you check out any tire on the TireRack website, there is a tab labeled specs that provides data including tread depth for each size tire. For example, the Potenza RE050A RFTs on my car would come new with 10/32" in the 225/45/17 or 225/40/18 fitment depending on rim size.

Of course switching from all season to performance tires will likely result in less tread life due to the composition of the tire.

11-13-2010, 05:17 PM	#1
TheRox Colonel 127 Rep 2,312 Posts Drives: 6mt Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Here and there iTrader: (2)	Going from 17" --> 18" wheels -- does tire tread life suffer? Hey guys, I was wondering if one is going from 17" all seasons --> 18" all seasons/or performance...does tread life decrease on 18" because they are larger diameter and lower profile? ie, is tread less deep?
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11-13-2010, 09:56 PM	#2
cxc511 Private First Class 14 Rep 109 Posts Drives: 2007 E92 328 6MT Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Erie, PA iTrader: (0)	Given the same model tire, going from a 17" to 18" should have the same tread depth and life expectancy. If you check out any tire on the TireRack website, there is a tab labeled specs that provides data including tread depth for each size tire. For example, the Potenza RE050A RFTs on my car would come new with 10/32" in the 225/45/17 or 225/40/18 fitment depending on rim size. Of course switching from all season to performance tires will likely result in less tread life due to the composition of the tire.
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