Hey all,

It's time for some tires and I have two questions:

1. Right now, I have 215/70/16 for my 2009 outlander. I want to increase the width to 225. Mitsu dealer said that a 225/70/16 would fit fine. My question is what about the spare tire. Would that little difference have any effect if I needed to put the spare on? I have read that some people think it would be a problem? I was not thinking of changing the aspect ratio, but just running straight 225/70/16

2. Since the stock tires are P (passenger), does that mean I can't use a LT tire (light truck)? I got Nokian LT winter tires for the outlander. The 225/70/16 I am looking at for my all seasons are an LT tire.

Could you tell me if I need to run a P tire or would an LT tire be ok? If it is ok, what would the difference be?

Thanks a lot!!!

 

You can use a LT tire. I bought a set of Bridgestone Duelers and they handle extremely well. The only downside is that they are heavier, so gas consumption will go up. I went from 28mpg @ 72mph to 24mpg @ 70mph. Next set, I'll be going back to passenger...no real reason to use LT for my usage.

You can use a small "donut" spare if you need to. Spares are not meant to be driven long distances anyway...just long enough to get to a tire shop. What will happen is you will be overworking the differential...it will heat up faster and more due to the amount of compensation it will be doing. If you are really worried about breaking main components, you can always put the spare on a rear wheel, then bring the good large wheel to the front. If you are 2WD, this would be the best. If you are 4WD, you will still be working the rear diff out, but saving your front, which normally does the majority of the work anyway. ...that's my view on it.

 

I changed my stock tires to 235/70 r16 All Terrain Goodyear Silent Armour.
And yes you will lose mpg if your tires are bigger and heavier.
I lost about 5 mpg on the highway.

 

I run 235/70/16 and changed the spare to the appropriate size temp tyre at a cost of $50. It wont matter what position you put it on.The speedo is now spot on and fuel consumption has not changed. Most people forget about fact that the original tyres are 6% too small and give an incorrect fuel reading. If you do the maths you will find that you are better off with the taller tyres and the ride is better.

 

I guess that is what is the concern? Is the spare that comes with the Outlander perfectly matched to the 215/70/16 in terms of rpm? Or is it just something to throw on for an emergency? If so, I can't see how throwing the same spare on when you have 225/70/16 would make that much difference? Am I wrong?

Also, like you said, if I put the spare on the back regardless and leave it out of 4wd, then that wouldn't be an issue right? I'm not too knowledgeable on this stuff (i.e. differentials, etc)....

So would going up to a 225 from a 215 drop the mpg (even though it really isn't that aggressive of a tread - I am thinking of getting Michelin LTX MS2)?

On that topic, anyone has experience with the LTX MS or LTX MS2?

Cheers!

 

I changed my stock tires to Yokohama Geolandar H/T-S G051. Very well made tire, it seems to be more quiet than the stock G033 and it handles better especially in the rain. Plus I like the tougher/more agressive deep thread pattern of it lol Oh, and the MPG is about the same as with the OEM tire (honestly I do not see any MPG loss). Anyway, go to tirerack.com and check out customer reviews. I think that for the price it can't be beat, and I did a lot of research before buying it.

 

One other question,

Does anyone know if a full size spare fits in our spare tire holder underneath? I'm guessing no, but I thought I'd ask. I can't check it until late this week since the gf has the outie.

I can't seem to get my hands on the LTX MS, so I may up it to the 225/70/16 LTX MS2.

thanks!

 

I tried with no luck (215/R65-16 stock rim and tire). The whole carrier needs to drop down about 2-3". I wish the Outie had a tire carrier like my Monty Sport.

 

Thanks....

One more question. I basically was told that I would ahve to replace my OEM tires (Yokohama geolander 99H speed rating) with a tire of equal or greater speed rating (only a few have this). is this true? Basically every tire I find that is 215/70/16 is 99S (lower speed rating).

SHould I ignore this advice?

 

No you don't have to replace with the same speed rating. I replaced the H rated Geolanders (130 mph) with T rated (118 mph) BF Goodrich Long Trail Touring tires and have done plenty of highway miles with no problems. Even an S rated (112 mph) would be fine as long as you don't exceed that speed.

However you do want to replace the tires with ones that have at least the same load rating. The Geolanders are rated at 99 (1709 lbs) so you don't want to go with a tire that's any lower. A higher rated tire is fine.