What? Dealer said what about wheels and tire sizes???

[17Civ]

So I have a 2017 Civic Sedan, touring edition. Car came with 215 50R 17s...great. I've been looking for winter tires and wheels as I would like to just have a set that I can swap out during the winter season. I attended a dealer sponsored 'questions and answer' thingy after work this week. I asked them what size wheels I can run on my car. I was told that I should stick with the 215 50R 17s because if I don't I'll screw up the CVT and void the warranty. Really? That same line (LX) come with 16s, the Si comes with 18s and you can get 19s. Why can't I use 18's or even 19's on this vehicle? "...cause you'll screw up how the CVT operates and void your warranty." Said dealer quoted me $1400 for a set of Honda wheels alone. OMG.

I don't buy that answer. Several online tire vendors 'recommend' 15" wheels with the appropriately sized tires for a winter set. The dealer couldn't even tell me the offset of the factory wheels and tires.

SO I'm asking the Civic group and specifically any Honda techs what can and can't I run on my specific vehicle without voiding the warranty, screwing up my CTV?

17Civ

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[Mikeybc]

I'm using 15 inch Steelies with 205/65-15's... purchased from the dealer. That dealer is full of shite, dishonest or ignorant !

 

[360glitch]

I’ve never heard of anything like that before.

 

[mis3]

I bought a new SI which comes with 18-inch all-season. I asked Honda Canada and 2 Honda dealerships, they all told me that I should not downsize to 17-inch because of the size of the front brake calipers.

I found that strange because many SI members here did the downsize. I called a 3rd dealership and they were OK with the downsizing and actually price-matched the wheels and tires for me. They also guarantee fitment to give me a peace of mind.

I found Honda salesman surprising ignorant. I actaully know a lot more about the Civics than them, a lot more. Also, the whole car shipping experience was frustrating. Honda makes great vehicles but their salespersons are so lacking.

 

[dmitri]

what can and can't I run on my specific vehicle without voiding the warranty, screwing up my CTV?

Can't think of any way that going an inch up or down in wheel size could do anything to the CVT. If you have another dealer you can go to, I would do it in a heartbeat. Actually, before that -- see if you can talk to someone else from that dealership; maybe it's just that one guy who has all this special knowledge...

 

[BarracksSi]

I attended a dealer sponsored 'questions and answer' thingy after work this week.

Wish I lived near you so I could attend their next Q&A and tell them how full of shit they are.

 

[17Civ]

Can't think of any way that going an inch up or down in wheel size could do anything to the CVT. If you have another dealer you can go to, I would do it in a heartbeat. Actually, before that -- see if you can talk to someone else from that dealership; maybe it's just that one guy who has all this special knowledge...

I talked with one of their Honda techs and he stated changing tire sizes would only screw up the TPS sensors. However, no one there could tell me what offsets I can use for wheels. Tech said just to try and see what fits.

 

[dmitri]

Tech said just to try and see what fits.

Oh man...

 

[orangeclockwork]

The rule of thumb for any car, new or old, is to keep same circumference size.
You can play within +/- 3% offset, so if you downsize your rim you will have to find de appropiate tire size to keep that relation unchanged.
For a 245/50/17 an equivalent wheel would be 195/70/16 (+0.38% variance)

 

[BarracksSi]

The rule of thumb for any car, new or old, is to keep same circumference size.
You can play within +/- 3% offset, so if you downsize your rim you will have to find de appropiate tire size to keep that relation unchanged.
For a 245/50/17 an equivalent wheel would be 195/70/16 (+0.38% variance)

There are outlying cases, such as changing circumference for shorter gearing (common in dragstrip/autocross), but yes, the general rule is to stay as close to stock circumference as possible for regular driving.

The bigger point of this thread, though, is that the dealer was either purposely misinforming its customers (OP, how many people were at this Q&A session?) or had no reliable knowledge of how their own cars worked. Either way, they came across as idiots.

This really isn't anything new, but it's such an annoyance. I don't understand how people directly involved with the sales and support of a product don't know anything about it. People who sell vacuum cleaners know more about them than people who sell cars, yet misinformation about vacuums doesn't create the opportunity for car accidents.

 

[Giltibo]

For DX to Touring Trims: 205/60-15 , 215/55-16, 215/50-17, 235/40-18 sizes are acceptable.
For the Si the 17"s and 18"s (not sure about the 16s)
For Type, only the 18"s and OEM 20"sizes fit.

 

[DusanUsan]

Folks, do not want to create new thread but I have this wheel size possible for Europe Civic Hatch 1.5T

235/45 R17 93V
215/55 R16 89H

The car comes with R17 but still cannot decide if for winter should go 16 or stay with 17. The 235/45 is super expensive here in Czech republic for superb quality tires, however for 16" I will save around 20 dollars on each tire - which is nothing, but will need to buy new rims as well.

The main reason I do not know is ride quality in the winter and risk of aquaplaning with 235 tire - but superb quality tires should be ok, right?

 

[BarracksSi]

Folks, do not want to create new thread but I have this wheel size possible for Europe Civic Hatch 1.5T

235/45 R17 93V
215/55 R16 89H

The car comes with R17 but still cannot decide if for winter should go 16 or stay with 17. The 235/45 is super expensive here in Czech republic for superb quality tires, however for 16" I will save around 20 dollars on each tire - which is nothing, but will need to buy new rims as well.

The main reason I do not know is ride quality in the winter and risk of aquaplaning with 235 tire - but superb quality tires should be ok, right?

I went down to 215/55-16 for my winter tires. No traction problems yet, although I've only driven in light snow (no blizzards in my area yet this year).

I used 195-width winter tires on my EP3, too, and it didn't weigh much less than our cars do.

 

[MidnightMonolith]

This!

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