Wider Tires?

[Errol Ikalina]

Hi guys,

Just bought a certified pre-owned 2013 hybrid se with 18" wheels, I was wondering if anyone has ever put on wider tires? not rim size. Is this possible with the hybrid?

 

Thanks.

[Griswald]

You can DO anything...but wider tires will give more friction which will lower efficiency.

 

These are efficient vehicles, not performance vehicles.

[Errol Ikalina]

Griswald thanks for the reply, believe it or not I know what kind of vehicle I bought. I'm already getting a significant amount of savings compared to my 2014 Honda Pilot, went from 18mpg to 42 so the reduced fuel efficiency after putting on wider tires is for me negligible.

[acdii]

Without changing rims, wider tires will decrease the handling on the car, and they may also rub. The car is perfectly balanced with stock 18" wheels and matching tires. It would also impact more than just handling and MPG, but the car sensors also look for specific readings from the wheels and any change to them can affect the overall performance of the car from braking to EV mode.

[Errol Ikalina]

acdii thank you, I was kind of fearing what you just wrote. Oh well I guess I'll stick with what it came with, it looks good already as it is hehe.

[acdii]

Yeah, these are hybrids, and modding them is something to leave to the experts(Ford). LOL

 

 

Shoot half the time even Ford doesn't know whats wrong with them.

[Waldo]

Without changing rims, wider tires will decrease the handling on the car, and they may also rub. The car is perfectly balanced with stock 18" wheels and matching tires. It would also impact more than just handling and MPG, but the car sensors also look for specific readings from the wheels and any change to them can affect the overall performance of the car from braking to EV mode.

 

Ok, I'll bite, what the heck are you talking about? Assuming the overall diameter is the same, what kind of hybrid-specific sensors will notice wider tires?

 

I do agree though that generally wider tires on the same wheels won't improve handling and can often hurt.

Edited April 28, 2015 by Waldo

[acdii]

I doubt overall diameter could be matched, that would affect speed sensors. The wider tread on the ground might affect wheel bias during cornering, if the car uses any of those inputs for stability control. With how sensitive these cars are, anything is possible.

[Waldo]

The difference between tires with the same size printed on the sidewall is already pretty big, you can easily get a wider tire that will still have an overall diameter within that range. That's the range that Ford designs to, usually around 2-3%.

Stability control will only be affected when you're actually pushing close to the limits, and even then the systems are calibrated to allow some variation, after all not every replacement tire out there will offer exactly the same grip as the OE tire, heck even the OE tire after 2-3 years won't have the same grip as it did when new.

[acdii]

Im just looking at it from a different perspective, wider tires on stock rims. The footprint will be different than stock.