# Non OEM tire sizes

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/non-oem-tire-sizes/25397>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [January 23, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/non-oem-tire-sizes/25397 "2009-01-23T17:54:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SIXMOONS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@SIXMOONS](https://community.cartalk.com/u/SIXMOONS)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/non-oem-tire-sizes/25397/1 "2009-01-23T17:54:52Z")

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Will I damage my vehicle, a 2003 Cadillac Seville, If I install 4 225/60R16 tires instead of the OEM 235/60R16 tires? The 225’s are less than 1/2 inch in diameter smaller than the 235’s.

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**Author:** ![Pontiacura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pontiacura](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Pontiacura)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/non-oem-tire-sizes/25397/2 "2009-01-23T18:07:40Z")

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Other than your speedo reading a little fast and your odometer clicking off miles at a minutely faster rate, no.

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**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 7:11pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/non-oem-tire-sizes/25397/3 "2009-01-23T19:11:03Z")

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You’ll lose about 40mm of contact patch so your car’s absolute grip won’t be as good as it would be with the wider OEM tires. But unless you’re autocrossing this thing, it won’t be really noticable.

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**Author:** ![the\_same\_mountainbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@the\_same\_mountainbike](https://community.cartalk.com/u/the_same_mountainbike)\
**Post date:** [January 23, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/non-oem-tire-sizes/25397/4 "2009-01-23T20:15:55Z")

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Also, your handling will suffer and you may scrape the bottom on those parking lot speed bumps.

And your car will look weird. No offense meant by this, but it is a point to consider. Smaller tires will affect the car’s looks.

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**Author:** ![Whitey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/whitey/32/24680_2.png) [@Whitey](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Whitey)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/non-oem-tire-sizes/25397/5 "2009-01-24T00:07:13Z")

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SIXMOONS, may I ask why you don’t just buy the right size tires? Is there a particular reason you are considering smaller tires?

It would have to be a compelling reason to convince me it is worth it.

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**Author:** ![CapriRacer](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/capriracer/32/22_2.png) [@CapriRacer](https://community.cartalk.com/u/CapriRacer)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/non-oem-tire-sizes/25397/6 "2009-01-24T11:47:54Z")

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This is going down in load carrying capacity and that increases the risk of a load related tire failure - which sometimes has tragic results. I recommend not doing this.