Hi, I am planning on buying an X-Type very soon, I want to change the alloys. I'm thinking either 19inches or 18inches. It will either be a sport model or an SE model. I do not want to do any modification at all to the arches or anything like that. Will 19 inch alloys (235/35/19) fit straight on without rubbing or touching anything etc. Or will I be safer to go for 18s. I love wide tyres by the way..

 

Monz, running 235's will almost always result in rubbing issues, especially if you are looking at running 19 inch rims. The X-types have a very small wheel well and the factory tires barely fit in there. Stepping up in sizes only makes it that much more likely you are going to have issues. I know my 225's are just able to tuck into the wheel wells. They are 1 step up in width from the factory size, but the same in sidewall ratio and rim size.

Wish you luck.

 

Really..? I'm glad you say that cos I phoned alloy-wheels.com and the guy said it should be fine, only when you move towards 20s you get rubbing etc. I wasn't too sure cos I didnt think he actually tried it on an X-Type. Do you know for sure if it will start rubbing with 19s?

 

MOnz, the problem in this case isn't the fact that you are running 19" rims. The problem is the fact that you are running 235's. The 225's just barely miss the body work as it is. The 235's are even wider and will lead to your rubbing issues. Now, having the 19" rims does tend to lead to more rubbing issues because you can only drop the sidewall so far. But, if you drop down to say 225/35R19's, then you may be fine.

So, it is a tire width issue, not a tire diameter issue. Granted, you will find that you can't change the tire diameter too far from the factory size without having rubbing issues too. There's lots of stories here from guys trying to step up in rim size and having major issues. 18's using the 225/40R18 tires seems to be the biggest you can go and not have rubbing issues. Anything bigger and you are tempting fate. I'm sure if you are really good with figuring out offsets and have a shop that is willing to order in a few different rim sets for you, you can make it work, but most shops are not that forgiving.

If you do go with those rims, have the guy that you phoned send you a written statement (verbal is not good enough in this case) that if you do have a rubbing issue, they will accept the tires/rims back and will give you a 100% refund. I bet you will find that he will change his story very quickly. That should tell you the type of person you are dealing with. But, until you see that sheet of paper, I wouldn't order. They will tell you just about anything to get you to buy the rims.

 

True that. I just got a set of 18x8" with a 35mm offset and with 225/40/18 test fit, I can just barely get by. With that offset and the change to 8" from factory 7" width, the backspacing is the same so no rubbing on shock tower, etc. If you try going to a 235 width tire, you may run into problems without doing a bunch of work rolling fenders, cutting liners, etc. I've seen pictures of X's on 20's but I'm not sure the run anything but in a straight line on perfectly level pavement. Look for 225/35/19 at most.

 

I run 235/40 18s with no rubbing issues and Im lowered on H&R springs... I have rolled fenders though, so without that youd be rubbing like crazy.

 

Every alloy website i've been to offer, 235/35/19 on 19inch rims and 225/40/18 on 18 inch rims. I didn't know you could get 225 on 19inches. Sorry, i'm not familiar with all these measurements and stuff. How would I go about looking at 19 inches with 225/35/19, As when i look online the only tires I can select with them are 235??

 

MOnz, go to http://www.tirerack.com and then look up tires by putting in your own tire size. I know there are like 25 tires in the 225/35R19 size range. The big trick with running a tire this size is the rim width is going go have to be very close to the tread width and it is possible that based on the available rim widths, you may have to go with a slightly narrower rim to allow the 225's to fit properly (ie, too wide of a rim with too narrow of a tire can lead to the bead of the tire getting pushed off of the rim on a mild cornering maneuver, leading to rapid deflation of the tire). So, do some talking with the local tire shops and see what they say. I run into the opposite problem with my truck in that I tend to run too narrow of a rim for the width tire. In this case the bead sits at a funny angle and any flexing in the tire can cause the bead to break its lock on the rim.

 

You can also visit www.1010tires.com and access their offset calculator. It's a great tool when you are going from stock (like 17x7" and 52mm offset) to a wider rim. You can see how the offset of a wider rim will affect your clearances as well as calculate what offset you actually would need to to at least have clearance of the strut tower.

 

Blimey! I didnt know there was so much to it. I've had a look at both the sites. I think I will be better going for the safer and easier option by getting 18inch rims with 225/40/18. Thanks for all your help guys....!!!

 

i got 235/45/17. & they are rubbing like hell ...BTW my baby JAG is lowed

 

Yeh I think I may just go for the safer option - 18s on 225. By the way, your car is lukin SLiCK... especially in the fog.

 

I believe that is actually sand monz87! Isn't it MeeMo? Anyways, the 235s are probably not as big a problem as the 45 profile at that width combined with the lowering. The tire is just going to be too tall.

 

sand? im talkin bwt the sky which is foggy...rite?

 

MOnz, actually in Meemo's picture, the "fog" is actually part of a sand storm. He is over in the middle east. So, that is not uncommon.

 

yup thats right thermo ,,,,, sand storms are common here in saudi arabia but the day i toke the picture that was the worst sand storm i ever saw it was so bad even the news chanels coverd it


. thanx dude