These are fantastic threads. But you all are way beyond me: while you are tweaking the emblems, I don’t know an offset from a headset.
Still, I need your help. I have become convinced that snow tires are a necessary investment in safety so I want to take the plunge, but I have no good local support. I am very sorry in advance for this long post.
But would the group be so kind as to vet this fumbling foray into online snow tire/wheel purchase for a Clarity, for the benefit of those of us who are new to this? I bet I am not the only one.
A lot of this uses
www.discounttiredirect.com [the site redirects most of the links trying to get you to find a local store, but you can click through the tree to proper place].
1. HOW TO GET A WHEEL THAT FITS A 2018 CLARITY....FOR DUMMIES
OEM wheels are alloy, 18x8 5-114.30mm 50 (thanks, Sandroad in “Replacement Wheels That Fit” post #1, more details there). Note wheel nomenclature: diameter(inches) x width(inches) (bolt pattern, # x radius in mm) (offset in mm)
Wheel size: New wheels can be 18” (OEM size) or 17”. Or 19” I guess. This is I think mostly style, plus minor tradeoffs in ride smoothness (cheaper, and smoother ride with 17” wheel) vs. handling (slightly worse for 17” wheel).
Bolt pattern: Not negotiable.
Must have OEM bolt pattern of 5-114.3
Offset: non-negotiable but wiggle room. Must have appropriate offset (or tire will rub fender or stick out), but what the right number actually is varies by wheel width. The factory offset for the 8” wide OEM wheels is 50, so this would be goal for any replacement 8” wide wheels (
?? though I actually see few replacement wheels in this offset range). The appropriate offset for a narrower wheel (for example, 17” [diameter] wheels are often 7” wide) seems to be a little smaller—around 38-40 .
Question 1: When I put in 17” radius wheels on Discount Tire, specified to fit the 2018 Clarity, I get suggested wheels in the width range 7” wide-7.5”. They have a range of offsets that don’t exactly correspond to the width. Same thing with 18” wheels, at 8” wide—a range of offsets, and all much smaller than the OEM 50mm. In general, is it correct that there is some small range of acceptable offsets….and I can 90% trust Discount Tire to offer me only ones that would actually physically fit without rubbing or sticking out too much? Hobbesgsr implies this is so in thread in “Aftermarket wheel compatibility” post #1. I’m looking specifically at the Vision 17x7.5 which have offset 40 (since I can’t find a US equivalent of JCEV’s inexpensive Costco alloy wheels), and user “dana” has actually used them (for both of these, see earlier in this thread “Snow Tires & Rims”).
Question 2: Other threads re. new wheels for spares also have discussions about “centering adapters” or “hub centric rings”, and in addition raises concerns about getting the wrong lug nut shape (so they don’t fall off). These are alarming…robert_alabama’s helpful but hair-raising initial post on thread “Couple of issues I found after I bought a spare wheel for spare tire” nearly makes me want to swear off the whole thing.
Do I need to worry about this if going through something like Discount Tire, or is it generally standard practice to send me lug nuts and/or hub centric rings that fit? I will call them of course, but wanted to know the general principle. Note: per Hobbesgsr in “Aftermarket wheel compatibility” post #3, the relevant OEM specs are “64.1mm centre bore and [lug nut thread] M12x1.5 thread”, while lug nut shape would depend on wheel. If I get a wheel with a bore of 73 mm like the Vision 17x7.5, should I get a set of 73-to-64.1 mm hub centric rings? https://www.amazon.com/Hubcentric-Rings-Pack-Hubrings-Centerbore/dp/B00AAOETG2 [Edit: I see that Discount Tire adds on to the order a $45 "Installation Kit" that includes lug nuts. I wonder if it includes the hub centric rings].
2. HOW TO PICK A SNOW TIRE THAT FITS A 2018 CLARITY….FOR DUMMIES
OEM tires: 235/45-18 , load index; 94 (thanks Sandroad in “Replacement Wheels That Fit” post #1). Nomenclature is (width in mm)/(aspect ratio*)-(wheel diameter in inches). *Aspect ratio is the amount tire extends outwards from the wheel, expressed as a % of the width (so OEM sidewall height = 235mm*0.45 = 105.75mm )
Make: Can be any snow tire, with Blizzaks (e.g. WS80) and Michelin x-ice 3 being frequently mentioned here, but:
Radius: not negotiable: Has to be right radius for wheel selected above.
Width: Not negotiable, but some wiggle room: width has to be in the right range for the wheel above. Specifically, 7” wide wheels are usually best fit by 205-215 tires; 7.5” wide wheels best fit by 215-225 tires; and 8” wheels usually best fit with 225-235. Exceptions allowed. (From
https://www.tyresizecalculator.com/charts/tire-width-for-a-wheel-rim-size-chart)
Question 3: Is this idea of approximate matching of tire width to wheel width correct? Anyway, for winter tire handling, should I be pushing for the widest possible, or narrowest possible, contact (instead of just the middle of the range)?
Outer diameter: So that speedometer stays accurate, new tire should be close to the same outer circumference as the OEM tires. This can be determined at
https://www.discounttire.com/learn/tire-size-calculator. (thanks Sandroad, in this thread, post #26). In this case, a 215/xx-17 tire would have to have an aspect ratio of 55 to give the same outer circumference as 18 inch OEM tires, and therefore to have speedometer be accurate (so full designation would be be 215/55-17).
Acceptable load index/loading: Tire needs to have index in the 90s, as I understand it (OEM is 94) (Richard Kelly, post # 29, this thread)
Question 4: What else have I forgotten? Do I need to buy valve stems (that Discount Tires tags on as an option)?
Whew. But IF you do all this, it seems one can get tires and wheels that will fit.
Thanks for guiding a newbie to this process as I try to get a safe ride, and I hope this guide (which adds nothing new, but assembles data from lots of posts) helps someone else as well.
