Benefits of 17in wheels over stock 15in

W

wheelman

Joined
Mar 9, 2012
Messages
461
I can buy 17s from a Ford fusion for my focus. The tire size would be 235/50R17
From the factory my focus has 195/65R15.
I'm trying to decide if I would get better handling and grip from the 235/50R17 or could I go to a wider lower profile 15in tire? What do you all think?
 
Keep the 15's and better tires if you want better handling.

Another idea is to get 16" wheels with the tire size 205/55-16 which is a very common tire size. use the 16's for summer use, and keep the 15's for winter use and snow tires, if winter/snow is something you have to deal with.

The Fusion's tire size is too big for your Focus.

Bigger wheels and no-profile tires are fragile, ride worse, and get worse gas mileage. I see no upsides.
 
You won't have enough space for a 15" tire that's wide enough to equal out the stock wheel diameter. You'll end up hitting the struts on the focus.

With all things being equal, the tire response will be better and (usually) more/better performance tire options. However, the increase of rolling mass going to a larger wheel will be felt during acceleration and braking and the decrease of sidewall will negatively affect ride quality.

Stock 17" tires for the focus are also 215/50r-17. Your speedo will be off a bit and you might rub the inner fender liner with a 235 at full-lock turns.
 
If the 17" wheels are from a Generation 1.5 Fusion (2010-2012), the proper tire size would be 225-50-17.

For Gen 2's, that size is correct.

The 235 is going to throw the overall diameter off by over 5%, where as the 225 would keep it to a little over 3%.
 
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As others have said, the 17" wheels have no real performance benefit though they do have performance drawbacks. Big wheels like that are about cosmetics not performance. In SCCA we see plenty of people making fast time of the day on stock size wheels. Of course they have R compound tires, which is where it's at for performance.
So...
If you want handling & grip, put performance tires on the stock wheels.
If you like the looks / cosmetics, get whatever you want (17" wheels or whatever).
 
So would you guys just stick with the 195/65R15 size and get a performance tire of that size? Or get a wider lower profile tire still in the 15in size?
 
Answer to the topic question:
Minimal. with major drawbacks

I put a set of yokohama S.drive tires on my 2007 focus it handled like a golf cart on rails after that..
Nowadays there are many tires superior to those.
 
Rand said:
Answer to the topic question:
Minimal. with major drawbacks

I put a set of yokohama S.drive tires on my 2007 focus it handled like a golf cart on rails after that..
Nowadays there are many tires superior to those.
Click to expand...
Currently the car has the continental conti pro contacts. I just want a more planted feel. My dart had 225/45R17 and that felt pretty nice.
 
I ran 205/60r15 tires a while back when the oem size was 195/65r15. I really liked that combo. 60 series has been a sweet spot for me between handling and comfort. It leaves me room to shift between the two with minor pressure adjustments. Assuming the 205 has clearance to the strut, Id give that a thumbs up.
 
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wheelman said:
Currently the car has the continental conti pro contacts. I just want a more planted feel. My dart had 225/45R17 and that felt pretty nice.
Click to expand...

The ContiProcontact is mainly used for OE tires to be cheap and get CAFE numbers.

You might like the Sumitomo HTR AS P03 or the Falken ZE960

How important is snow/winter performance? :unsure:
 
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