I currently have 255/55 R18 tires on my SUV. I have found a set of 4 studded tires that are 255/35 R18 and want to know if this will be problematic for my vehicle.
I know that my speedometer will be off but could there be other problems?
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If you plug those tires into an online tire size calculator you'll see that there is a pretty big difference in diameter (roughly 4"), which equates to about 2" of ground clearance. That would be my big concern.
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Sure ground clearance is an issue but dlu has covered this and you are aware of speedo error. Tyre diameter is just like gear ratio. Big diameter is like a tall diff which makes takeoff slower, makes the engine last longer and to a certain extent increases fuel economy. Small diameter has the opposite effect. Experiments with tyre diameter are a cheap way to anticipate performance with a changed diff ratio.
