BattleRifle's Latest Mildly Freakish conversion

[Rufus Rhastus J]

If my Kia car ever wears out the tires, I will seek a larger in circumference tire than is on the car...most likely the largest that I can fit under the wheel wells but, in the back of my mind, I worry about safety.

[BattleRifleG3]

What areas of safety would you worry about? As long as the tires fit, I don't see anything dangerous to the operation of the car, and the rise in ride height wouldn't be anywhere near what it would take to have any significant effect on rollover.

What you do have to check is the speed rating. The Elantra requires H rated tires, which is on the high end. The speed rating is in mph and way over what you'd normally drive, but it affects handling at slow speeds too. So just make sure you check the rating on your tires and get similarly rated ones.

I recommend a version by Falken if hydroplaning is often a concern. I drive to work on a road notorious for hydroplaning, and these new tires have made all the difference.

[tommy]

well i have ajohn deere hpx 4x4. it came with24'' tires and i just upgraded it to 27'' itp 589's. witch are about 28'' overall.now the thing i noticed is an increase in speed but a slight decrease in take off power . i went from 25 mph to 30 mph.but the best thing is with the smaller tires that came with it when goin top speed the enging would turn a higher rpm than with the bigger tires they seemed to have the over drive affect as for gas mileage increase in the takeoff and go you burn more but on long straight runs like interstate drivin it might save you some money on gas. but it could also shortin the life of your drive train. and end up costin you more money than you saved on gas by havin to rplace a clutch of trnsmission sooner .

[BattleRifleG3]

Clutch will have to be replaced sooner that it otherwise would be, IF it ever does. Transmission wouldn't be in danger unless someone abused it. Engine would actually last longer unless abused. You'd need to adjust the speeds at which you use each gear.

You're just shifting each gear up a little, that's all. Tell ya what, Tommy, I'd love to have such an animal myself as you describe. 24" is the stock size of my car tires, and I took them up a little over 25" with my oversizing. Your change is much bigger, which is great, I'd go for it if I could on my car.

If my Bronco II ever sees the road again and needs new tires, you can bet they'll be a few steps bigger.

[Rufus Rhastus J]

handling is my concern, you just never know when some jerk is gona do something stupid.

[BattleRifleG3]

I really wouldn't worry about that if you inflate to max recommended pressure. You might get your best handling with the higher speed rated tires.

[tommy]

your right about steering or handleing. i found that the gator handles better and steers alot easier than with the smaller tire. don't know why though. i thought the bigger tire would be harder to turn.

[BattleRifleG3]

I have to update on my experience using my new tires, with which I'm still happy. I get the same fuel economy when driving in the 50mph range, but when I go over 60mph, my fuel economy gets lower faster. Part of it may be that the roads are carved up for construction, but I think another factor is that with the raised ride and higher resistance, it really kicks in at those higher speeds.

So I would NOT recommend enlarging tire size in order to improve fuel economy if you typically drive 70mph and above. This leaves the only practical option to be as I suggested earlier, enlarging tires less than the room you have, and lowering the suspension the rest of the way to have about the same ride height as before. Or you could just lower your suspension. But a non-independent rear suspension might not allow that.

More reasons to switch to an Elantra.

[Rufus Rhastus J]

Hummmmm!