Thinking of changing to 55 Ratio 17" tyres

[andy85]

With the stock 17R45, im not too happy with the comfort levels. Really looking at the 55 ratio.
Anyone running these?

[Adrian2627]

I wasn't aware H6 Libertys came with 17" unless they were Outbacks. You might want to make sure you do actually have 17" wheels. If they are 18s You could use the standard Outback 17" wheels which run 215/55-17 tyres. These will improve the comfort slightly but the handling won't feel as sharp. It will affect your gearing and speedo slightly but with the way subaru speedos underread it will actually be more accurate. If you do have 17s the only way to really do what you want legally is to go down to 16" wheels.

[andy85]

I wasn't aware H6 Libertys came with 17" unless they were Outbacks. You might want to make sure you do actually have 17" wheels. If they are 18s You could use the standard Outback 17" wheels which run 215/55-17 tyres. These will improve the comfort slightly but the handling won't feel as sharp. It will affect your gearing and speedo slightly but with the way subaru speedos underread it will actually be more accurate. If you do have 17s the only way to really do what you want legally is to go down to 16" wheels.

The Bspecs have the 18s... Mines just the standard H6.

Its turning out to be her car now so im rarely in the driver's seat. All i want now is to have a more comfi ride hehehhe

Wife didnt want the black interior. Keeping the Ivory interior immaculate is no easy task hahahah

On paper i think it should work because outbacks n libertys are identical

[smythie]

yeah the 3.0 R (i.e non spec b) was 17" only. The Outback however has a different setup under the car to get them the additional ride height.

To answer your first question I have gone from the 215/45R18's on mine to 225/50R17. The improvement in ride was quite noticeable. The sidewall height of the 225/50 is just under 6mm less than 215/55 (which I guess is what you were looking at with your reference to 55 series) and 16mm greater than the 215/45. On 7.5" wide wheels with a +48mm offset I haven't had any issues with rubbing either.

Don't forget to ask around for prices on the tyres you are looking at in 225/50 and (the size I assume you are referring to) 215/55. I didn't look at 215/55 at the time but found that 235/45 (midway between the 225/50 and 215/45 in sidewall height) was cheaper than 225/50 in 17".

Only thing I would recommend you take a look at is the regulations in your state regarding the maximum change in rolling diameter that you can legally make without needing to get an engineer's certificate for the vehicle. In NSW that change is 25mm. Going from 215/45R17 to 215/55R17 will mean a nominal 43mm difference in diameter.

Hope that helps