245/40 R18 for towing?

I'm putting on a Hidden-Hitch soon, and dragging the family and a tent-trailer around the PNW this summer. With what I've read, I'm concerned about dragging the hitch at times as I cannot find the old-style hitches that tuck up tighter than today's models.

 

I need new tires/rims so I can keep my Blizzak WS70s on the stock rims for winter tires. Would I be insane to go with a taller tire for a little more sidewall and ground clearance?

 

I'm not so concerned about performance, this is a daily driver/touring car for me, not a track car.

 

The tire calculator says that with the 245/40R18 my car will ride about 17mm taller, and the speedo will be off by 4.3% (2.6mph at 60mph).

 

I like the wide tire look on cars, hence the 245 width on a 18"x8" rim, but don't want to make a mistake with my size choices.

In case anyone thinks of trying this, see this thread first.

 

In short, it doesn't work....

I had 225/40's on mine with the lower hitch, and also pulled my tent trailer with no problems. Just a few things for you. one, take the tank and battery off the front and put it in the back. when you load up your gear arrange it so the tongue weighs about 50 lbs(enough that it will stay "down on the ball", but not too heavy) and I would put most of your gear in the camper. Also you can get hitches that raise up 2 inches if your worried about dragging there.

My new Draw-tite Hitch is 8.5" from the ground at the stinger and 7.5" at the lowest point on the hitch mount. I did mount the hitch with the bracket above the tow hook, which angled it up a little. The front bolts have two shims, the back have zero.

 

I flipped my stinger around so I have about a 2" lift to the trailer, which makes it ride at about 1 degree high. Not ideal, but was fine at 65 mph. I'll test it further this weekend and get a different stinger if needed.

 

Since my exhaust sits at about 5.5", I'm hoping I'm good, even with stock tires.

how often do you tow? Have you thought about picking up OBX suspension?

I just got the trailer last winter, so don't know for sure yet, but have two trips planned this summer and probably will go on a third. The longest one will be to the Oregon coast, which will be 1200+ miles round trip.

 

I've thought briefly about suspension, but that is a whole lot of research for me to do, not to mention the cost.

I've got a set of megan racing coil overs, not the greatest, but you could try putting them at the highest setting. 50 plus shipping (rears only)... Send me a pm if you want them. Got the set of 4 for 100, but the front bracket is damaged, and was when I got them.

Sounds great, but I'm not ready to play suspension games yet if I can avoid it.

 

I bought some stock tires on 17" (42mm offset) rims from TireRack. I put them on yesterday, and they look like they will work. Poke 1/2" more than stock, but they don't seem to hit.

 

Anyone know of a thread that shows how to check the travel limits of each tire to make sure nothing hits? I couldn't find a good jack point behind the wheel. I guess i could lift the wheel itself, but then I can't spin it...

rather than jacking it up, have you tried backing up on a speed bump? it should compress and you can gauge how much clearance you got.

rather than jacking it up, have you tried backing up on a speed bump? it should compress and you can gauge how much clearance you got.

 

I think you should rethink your idea.

 

Just put a bunch of weight in the back of the car.

I put my turned rotors back on today. While it was on the stands, I tried to jack up the left rear wheel (with the E-brake on hard, and watching out for the floor-jack to come flying out if the wheel rotated on me). I was lifting the car off the jack stands before I could compress the springs all the way, and they whole experiment made me nervous. I still had almost an 1" of travel before the rubber stop.

 

I hit a big speed bump last weekend with the kids in back, and the hitch hit before the wheels bottomed out.

 

Wife went on a diet a while ago, I don't have enough self-mobile weight I can throw in the back easily. : )

I think you should rethink your idea.

 

Just put a bunch of weight in the back of the car.

 

err

 

let me go find 500+ lbs of weight

 

@ zephrant, compressing the suspension on the tire with a jack is dangerous

err

 

let me go find 500+ lbs of weight

 

@ zephrant, compressing the suspension on the tire with a jack is dangerous

 

your mom????

 

lol

jk

 

I think that the hitch is only rated for 250 ish tongue weight. I would think that a neighbor standing on your hitch would be close enough.

 

And the jack Idea is very dangerous.

Just to make sure I understand, the jack idea is dangerous because the wheel can rotate and throw the jack, correct?

 

I've got some dry-set blocks that are 70 pounds each, so I'll pack some of them in the trunk and see what I get.

or it can upset the car, throwing it off jack stands and onto you...

Well I put 8 77# blocks in the trunk tonight (616#) and I think it just bottomed out. I could bounce on the hitch, and still had some give in it (bouncing off the stops I think).

 

I still had a good 1/4" of clearance between the LR tire and the wheel well.

 

Oddly, the left rear is almost a 1/2" lower than the right rear when it is empty. I guess I'll need new struts some day.