[Paulk2022]

Hi all,
I'm new here, and my first Subaru (Forester sport 22') is on the way to me.
I am not planning to do any serious rock crawling w it, but some desert trips, and forest roads twice a month.
I know 225/55r18 are not 'ideal'. But, I wonder:
1. How much difference is 225/60r17, given the same tyres. I'm planning to change the orig tyres at some point to geolander 015 or Cooper att that exist even in 225/55r18
2. I can trade in the original rims and tyres and add ~800$ to get geolander and Mayhem Voyager rims 225/55r17. But I'm not sure what quality these are. They seem heavier than original s.
3. Are there still any advantages staying w the original rims - they seem very light and high quality.
4. Should I install pressure sensors (min my country they are not installed)

P. S.: 1. those 2 sizes are the only legal in my country. 2. I'm installing OEM engine, diff and transmission protection

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions
Paul

 

[Mr.AC]

Welcome.
To answer your first question, the difference is bigger sidewall. That gives you two benefits. More "cushion" for better ride comfort and slightly more protection to go over rocks and such.

Yes you can sell them, or keep them if you have room. Most people keep the original wheels and use them for either winter/ or daily driving. The new wheels are used for off roading. That's another option to save less wear on both off road or daily/winter tires.

If in the future you want to sell your car, keeping the oem wheels always sell better. As many people want a car that is all original. Or some people just don't like your choice of wheels.

I'm not too sure about the TPS, you can go aftermarket if you want, but If you want to go OEM, you have to get the TPS system installed then do something with the ECU.. a dealer service guy could tell you more about it. It would be the most expensive route, but if you want to pay that, go for it. Other wise aftermarket is the quick/cheap way.

Guess at the end of the day it would all depend how much money do you want to spend. You can buy All Terrain tires for your 18" wheels and be done with it. Or buy the 17" wheels and AT tires. Then decide to sell or keep your original wheels.

 

[Paulk2022]

Thanks - very good suggestions!
A new and expensive (in IL) car means I want invest absolute minimum, just to be able to do some offroad trips.
From your reply I understand there is no advantage of 18" over 17" wheels, quite opposite, even though the higher trims have 18". On the other hand, the difference in comfort and protection of 17" is also not big.
This leads me to 'change of tires only' solution, and may be even not immediately, later if I see the orig tires are really limiting my offroad trips.
Reg TPS: I think it's a safety feature, and am going to buy an aftermarket. I'm not going to save on it, buying some AliExpress cheap ones.
Any suggestions for good ones?

 

[Natedog]

I would definitely sell/trade the larger diameter rims with the tires, they ride harsher, get sidewall damage easier from potholes or offroad adventures, do it while they are still in decent shape. Shop around maybe you can find used Subaru 17" wheels to buy or trade for.

 

[Menel]

With the size of the brake rotors, it's difficult to go below 17inch. You are correct, for the money, there is not that much difference in 60 vs 55 ratio tires. At least not enough difference to me for the cost.
Sidewall difference is barely a cm. Still stuck on sub 28inch tires.

Upgrading to some dual ply AT tires like Wildpeak AT or Geolandar AT, and Nitto has some AT tires in our CUV crossover size now I think would give the increased durability you look for without breaking the bank unncessarily.

edit: mixed some numbers up

 

[FozzieBalou]

Tire size is all about math.

225/55-18 means

• tire width - 225 mm of the tire, note that this is NOT necessarily the tread width, but the widest part of the tire.
• aspect ratio - 55 - the sidewall of the tire is 55% of the width
• wheel diameter - 18 - the opening in the center as it mounts on the wheels.

Doing the math, this means that the sidewall of the tire is 123.75 mm tall (from the tread to the opening.

The 225/60-17 means that you have 135 mm tall sidewalls. Usually this will mean that the sidewalls will flex more when experiencing an impact, there's more material to absorb that bump. Makes for a smoother ride.

Lower profile tires (that aspect ratio) means stiffer sidewalls and better on-road cornering as the tire flexes less and a harsher ride (possibly, based on tire construction) as less material to absorb the bump.