Profile is the same because the stock 215/55-17 and a 235/50-17 have the same 26.3" diameter. Sidewall stiffness isn't directly related to the 50/55 component. It's the load rating of a tire that will tell you about sidewall stiffness. Stock 215/55-17 DWS's have a load rating of 94, the 235/50-17's are 96. But Yokohama S.Drives in the stock size are 98. My winter tires are 98 in the stock size, but I run 225/55-17's which are 101. Both are 55 series, but one is stiffer.

OP, you can basically run 3 sizes on your stock 17" wheels and not have issues with the speedo.

215/55-17 (stock 26.3")
225/55-17 (26.7", +1.5% or so)
235/50-17 (stock 26.3")

A 245 shouldn't be run on a 7" wheel. A 225/50-17 would fit, but it would increase the already huge fender gap.

I'm in a similar situation. I have an '03 Sport Sedan with 17" stock wheels (7" wide). I need new tires, and wanted to get something with longer tread life than my Yokohama S. Drives. I was hoping that If I went with 235/50/17 General G-MAX AS-03, the extra width might make up for the traction loss, since the G-Max is UHP All-season vs UHP Summer for the S Drives. What are the upsides and downsides of such a switch? I live in S. CA, so I don't really need inclement weather tires.

(PS I did do a forum search for the last hour, but didn't find the details I wanted)

I recently purchased Hankook ventus s1 noble 2 as they are 50k mile tires. I was also looking at Falken Azenzis pt722 a/s, hose are a 60k mile tire. Read ratings on the web for Falken and TireRack for the Hankooks. Both have really good reviews for handling.

btw i have 235/45/18.

The ventus s1 noble2 are hankooks newest tire. How do you like them? I was going to get them but they were so new hard to find. I got hankook ventus v2 concept h437. They are very quiet hug the road. And with all the snow we had in NJ they were great! 10 inches of snow didnt faze them.

I am in socal so no snow and rain is few and far between so i cant comment there. They handle great on dry pavement and the steering feels easier around corners. They arent as quiet new as the kumho ecsta 4x i had before, when they were new. They are relatively quiet though, except tar strips are kind of loud. Tire rack has a test done on them and rated them 1st in their class. I dont drive that crazy and am looking for a longer lasying tire. If they do that the i will be happy. Only time will tell and theyve been only 1 week. I got the s1 noble 2 for $830 otd with road hazard.

Thanks hankook are good tires! I saw that tire rack review. They rated them better than general os a3. Thats the tire I had. Couldnt find the noble 1 anywhere. The ventus v2 are good too. I will get the noble 1 this spring. I also noticed hankooks brake better.

I just put new 235/50/17 Michelins on my stock 17" rims ('05 G35 Sedan), it looks and rides great.