Greetings,

I am trying to put new tires on my Aspen and I wanted to know if anyone would know if I go with 305 50R20 instead the factory 265 50R20, would that cause any rubbing inside the wheel wells?

It seems that there is space available around the wheels. I did some research and the 305s are about an inch bigger that the 265s in overall diameter.

I appreciate any comments on this issue.
Best Regards
Rod

 

This is a really bad idea for a number of reasons. Your wheel is a 20" x 8". A 305 tire width needs a rim that's 8.5"-11" wide, so you're running wheels that are too narrow for this application.

Even if this did work, you'd be throwing your speedo off by around 5% due to change in diameter. Also, you're wanting to keep the same aspect ratio (50), which means a larger sidewall. Subjectively, the stock tires should look and ride better than what you're thinking about.

You need to go to a 10" rim if you're going to do this. Make sure you check to make sure there won't be any issues with clearance, etc. if you decide to go for it.

Good luck.

 

Why on earth would you want 305's? That's a HUGE tire (rear Corvette Z06 size tires). Not to mention, it will most assuredly rub up front. If you want to buy new (wider) rims and replace them frequently at like $400+ each (and have horrible wet traction), have at it.

I had 305/40/20s on my 99 Lightning and it was worthless in the rain...never had traction and the rear tires were always burning themselves up. Not a good investment. Might be a little better on a 4WD SUV though.

 

The width of the rear wheel likely wasn't the reason your Lighting sucked in the rain. It's a function of horsepower, light rear end, and tire compound.

 

Wider isn't necessarily better. The fact that it had a ton of low end torque, wide tires with little tread (what 305's have much tread?), and it had 4.10 gears is why it spun like crazy. However, even hwy cruising, it still hydroplaned and slid on wet pavement. My Tbird with 275's does as well.

 

So what size did you decide to go with?