Stock to oversize tires

[daopi]

I have a 97 XE, so stock tires are 235/70R15. I'm planning to change to 31" tires, but in theory that means 10% bigger and 10% less power, plus ABS system will be confused. This is what I know.

 

As I saw here, most of you guys installed 31" or bigger tires, so my question is what is happening in real life with the power of the car and with the brakes. Is it something I should care or is not a big deal for the car? Don't forget I have an XE, not an SE, so stock means like 28" tires.

 

Thanks!

[csutke]

you will feel a little bit of a difference with the bigger tires, as for stopping i never noticed a difference but thats because i went from 30x9.5 to 31's as thats what was on it when i bought it. a few other things to remember is your ODO will be off by about 10%. but there are ways around that, such as regearing or getting a dash hawk.

[Fukinitupagain]

I have a 97 XE, so stock tires are 235/70R15. I'm planning to change to 31" tires, but in theory that means 10% bigger and 10% less power, plus ABS system will be confused. This is what I know.

 

As I saw here, most of you guys installed 31" or bigger tires, so my question is what is happening in real life with the power of the car and with the brakes. Is it something I should care or is not a big deal for the car? Don't forget I have an XE, not an SE, so stock means like 28" tires.

 

Thanks!

 

I have an SE so my stock tire was pretty well a 31 so there wasn't a difference except for better traction in mud & a louder noise on the road (highway speeds you don't notice it)

[laxman0324]

I have an SE so my stock tire was pretty well a 31 so there wasn't a difference except for better traction in mud & a louder noise on the road (highway speeds you don't notice it)

my 97 SE is rated stock for 265/70 R15, which is about the same size as 30x9.5, just a little smaller

[Simon]

Your brakes will be fine. I don't know why you think your ABS would be "confused". The only way that would happen is if you were running larger tires on one axle, in comparison to the other, or two different sized tires on 1 axle.

 

Either way, with all 4 being larger, your ABS will be fine.

[FUELER]

my R50 couldnt lock up my 32" tires, or engage ABS, if my life depended on it.

[XPLORx4]

If you're using the stock XE 15x6.5 steel wheels, you'll need to replace them with wider wheels (recommend 15x8 with 3.75 to 4" backspacing) to fit 31" or larger tires.

 

Your XE also has tall 4.363:1 gears, intended for use with small tires, so you will definitely feel the difference in reduced acceleration with 31" tires.

 

The ABS system won't get confused at all. The sensors are on each wheel hub. It will just think you're going slower. ABS works just fine on my '97 LE with 32" tires, although to get it to engage, I had to upgrade my front brake rotors.

[daopi]

ABS works just fine on my '97 LE with 32" tires, although to get it to engage, I had to upgrade my front brake rotors.

What kind of upgrade?

[XPLORx4]

What kind of upgrade?

 

This kind:

 

Powerstop Rotors

[90seven]

Unless you're driving your Pathy on race track or speeding down the Lions Back, your stock rotors should be sufficient. As said, ODO will be off a minor bit. Other than that, its really is unoticable. I, personally, am going to revert back to stock wheels and 30s for the sake of better fuel economy.

[XPLORx4]

Unless you're driving your Pathy on race track or speeding down the Lions Back, your stock rotors should be sufficient.

Yeah, stock rotors and pads will be fine with 31" tires. I lost effective ABS functionality for emergency stopping on pavement when I got steel wheels and 32" MTR's, which is why I upgraded.