275/40/17 on an 8" Rim

[NvrDun71]

Is there any problem or safety issues running a 275/40/17" on a 17" X 8" Rim. I know most tire charts recommend at least a 9" rim for a 275, however I know it has been done before. Any opinions or anyone currently running this setup ?

[vintageracer]

Because of the tire section width of a 275/40 tire, you will fiind this size tire difficult to mount on an 8 inch rim. This size tire is made for a 9-9.5 inch rim. I recently purchased a set of BBS 17x8 inch wheels and 2 of the four 8 inch wheels had 275/40's mounted when purchased so it certainly can be done.

As far as safety goes, I cannot comment how or if safety would be compromised. One thing I am sure of is if you wore a pair of shoes that were 1 size to small you would not be able to walk/run as well as you would with the correct size shoes. Given this fact, I would probably mount a 255/50-17 instead of 275's on a 17x8 inch rim. This is what I did with all four of the 17x8 BBS wheels I purchased and the tires, wheels and car look much better.

[crazyfireman]

I currently have them on the rear, easy to mount look great. I originally had them all the way around!!! can you say 4X4!

[dhardison]

Here's a pic of a 275/40/17 on a 17x8.5 BBS wheel (5" bs).
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/275-8.5.jpg

Same tire/wheel combo mounted on my friend's '77 Disco Nova.
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/fr_rich.jpg

Here's a 275/40/17 on 17x9.5 (5" bs) TTII on my '70. Unfortunatley they wouldn't fit, not enough backspace. My friends 17x8.5 BBS with 275/40s fit GREAT.
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/DSC01113.JPG
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/DSC01115.JPG
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/DSC01116.JPG
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/DSC01116.JPG

[NvrDun71]

Here's a pic of a 275/40/17 on a 17x8.5 BBS wheel (5" bs).
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/275-8.5.jpg

Same tire/wheel combo mounted on my friend's '77 Disco Nova.
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/fr_rich.jpg

Here's a 275/40/17 on 17x9.5 (5" bs) TTII on my '70. Unfortunatley they wouldn't fit, not enough backspace. My friends 17x8.5 BBS with 275/40s fit GREAT.
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/DSC01113.JPG
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/DSC01115.JPG
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/DSC01116.JPG
http://www.danhardison.com/275s/DSC01116.JPG

Thanks for the Reference pics Dan. Yea If I could find an 17 X 8.5 rim I think that would be money. So the 5" BS seems to be a good match with that tread width and rim size?

[dhardison]

Thanks for the Reference pics Dan. Yea If I could find an 17 X 8.5 rim I think that would be money. So the 5" BS seems to be a good match with that tread width and rim size?

Yeah, 5" BS is good for a 8.5" wheel, but not enough for a 9.5" wheel. Art least on a 3rd-gen Nova anyway.

[NvrDun71]

ttt....any other opinions out there on this?

[BonzoHansen]

My opinion? No. All the manufacters I have checked with say 9"-11". They know.

[USAZR1]

I ran 17x8 OZ Mitos w/275's on the front of my former 85 Corvette but not sure I would do it again. 17x8's are really too narrow for that width tire,IMO.

My car has 17x9 fronts with 275/40's.

[Damn True]

It depends on the actual section width of the tire. What's printed on the side of the tire rarely matches the actual measurement.

That said, an 8" is pretty narrow for a 275/40. Unless the manufacturer says it's ok with their particular tire I wouldn't do it. They rigorously test that kind of thing for liability purposes.

[MonzaRacer]

convert the width number to inches by dividing by 25.4 so a 275 is 10.83 in. the rule is to max tire over size is 2 inches and on 8's it is almost 3 so if you go 8.5 your very close, 9 would give flatter foot print and give better traction. A narrow rim makes a tire taller but crowns

[MonzaRacer]

Convert the width number to inches by dividing by 25.4 so a 275 is 10.83 in. the rule is to max tire over size is 2 inches and on 8's it is almost 3 so if you go 8.5 your very close, 9 would give flatter foot print and give better traction. A narrow rim makes a tire taller but crowns the center too bad.
Cool rule is a 255 is 10 inches wide respectivley.
Figure Goodyears, Bridgestone/Firestone, BFG,some Michys, Nittos are full width tread.
Kuhmo, Yoka,Sumitomo,Falken,Cooper,and most others tend to have a crowned edge as the tread/belt package is not as wide.
A lot of people keep bragging on Kuhmos but after selling them for a year I am not impressed in any of them.
Figure just about ANY tire built for someone is going to be a compromize, if they are a true manufacturer then you tend to get full width tread/belt section.
I have a former coworker/friend who has a 92 Civic with a turbo Integra engine and it has Kuhmos and he said they have less traction than his bald Fuzions (which are entry level tires not high line so people will bash them if comparing to true high line tires but for the cash they do work well).
I for one will never run a Goodyear cause if you ever see one on a balancer you wont believe the amount of "hop" they have. After working at a Gy dealer for a year I mounted tons of tires and wonder how anyone can even drive those square things! I mounted a generic entry level 13 in "Firestone " house tire (made in Firestone plants) on a betn rim and it perfectly straight!!! Straight, square shouldered and this totally impressed me on BF/FS tires.
anyway here is a link to "test fit tires to wheels" http://www.rims-n-tires.com/info_specs.jsp?text2=Sample%202:%20Honda%20Civic%2 0wheel&sw2=165&ar2=70&bd2=13&rd2=13&rw2=5.5&et2=40&text1=Sample%201:%20Hummer%20H2%20wheel&sw1=315&ar1=70&bd1=17&rd1=17&rw1=10.5&et1=10&pageTitle=Wheel%20/%20Tire%20Size%20Calculator%20/%20Comparer.
good luck on your fitment.
Lee Abel