17" Rims And Tires On Aerio Sx?

[suzukiTony619]

Hello Everybody,

I am new here, purchased a 2005 Suzuki Aerio SX 2 weeks ago. Simply loving this car. The only thing that bothers me from my friends is that the wheels look too small for this body frame. I am thinking of going to 17" rims and tires. The combo I want to use is a 17" rim on 205/45 series tires. I also want to lower the car using lowering springs. What would be the ideal combo to use to lower the car and put 17" rims and tires on? I had great success with this combo on my prior 2003 Honda Civic Coupe. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated!


Tony

[Aaron Gilbert]

I agree that 15" wheels look rather small on the SX body. 205/45/17 is the wrong size. You want 205/40/17. The former is 3.5% larger than stock, while the latter is 0.07% larger than stock. I'm not an expert on rubbing, but I have read that 17" and lowering can cause problems, depending on the wheel offset and wheel width. Generally you want +38-45mm offset, but I'm not sure what's ideal for a 17 x 7 wheel (most common in 17" I think?). I'm using a 15 x 7 wheel with +42mm offset, but don't ever plan to lower the car. Oh, and congratulations on the new car, and welcome to the forum!

[suzukiTony619]

Thanks Aaron, I feel welcomed already! This is a great forum.

Thanks for the info, I guess 16x7 rims and 205/45 series tires with lowering springs might be the best bet. I tend not to like 40 series tires due to dented rims in my past experience. Maybe 45 to 50 series is what I want to aim at. I want to lower the car about 1.5 inches to reduce that wheel gap and have better lower center of gravity. It felt great on my Honda Civic. Dont get me wrong, I am no racer but enjoy taking in some turns! Thanks again Aaron.

Please feel free to give more suggestions and comments on a very good rim and tire combo if lowered 1.5 inches. Thanks in Advance!

Tony