Comments on 275/45/20

[Athlon]

I went to the dealership yesterday for routine maintenance. I don't know why they only now noticed that my tire choice of 275/45/20 was not factory spec and to their liking despite being there like 5 times prior this year your oil change and maintenance in the past year. They tell me this before stating they could sell me the new stock tires in the appropriate size for only $900. I'm running 20x10 wheels all around with Yokohama Parada Spec-X tires. I love the performance I get out of them, I'm afraid I'll lose this if I go up to the stock 265/50/20 size. I like the current look of the sidewall height as well. The Infiniti tech noted that the 275/45/20 size would cause problems for the transmission and worse gas mileage. I asked the tire guys at NTB about it and they noted as long as my ride was not AWD that I wouldn't have any issues. Thoughts?

 

[shadow191]

Are you running the smaller size on all 4 wheels? If so, it wouldn't matter even if you were AWD. If you're RWD and running smaller tires on one end, it still doesn't matter other than it will look strange.

I run 275/40/20 which is even smaller than what you're running. It's intentional and other than the odometer/speedometer reading high, there isn't any negative. It does not impact transmission life at all and doesn't really impact mileage. Yes, your car will be at slightly higher rpms at a given speed, but our cars are geared pretty low so you're not at super high revs. My fuel economy is actually better than when I ran 22"s simply because the wheels are so much lighter. I factored in the incorrect odo when calculating mileage. Plus your car will accelerate slightly faster due to the smaller size.

 

[Athlon]

Yes. I have this size on all four wheels. As much as I wanted 22's, I had to pass on them since I commute and hour to work and back just about every weekday; they would kill my gas mileage. I also wanted a more aggressive look like that of the BMW X5. I feel that I achieved that look. It will look better once I lower it when there is a solution to the dreaded toe/camber issue. Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.