Police Interceptor tires 225/55/R17 or 235/55/R17 on Cougar?

[Steve428]

I'm sorry if this has been posted somewhere. I searched for about 10 minutes, and couldn't find the answer. I have the ability to score some used tires that are in great shape, that came off of a squad car (newer Crown Vic). The reason I get them for cheap is because the city replaces all 4 tires if one goes bad, so that leaves the other 3 good tires up for auction. But, they auction them off in sets of 4, if that makes sense. The Crown Vic tire size is 225/55/R17, or 235/55/R17 (I can't quite remember). Does anyone know if these would cause interference with the fenders when placed on a stock Cougar Zn 17 inch rim? I think the stock cougar 17 size is 225/45/R17, so I'm just worried about the extra 10 mm causing rubbing or interference. THANKS!!!

[sonza68]

The stock 17s were actually 215/50/17. The width shouldn't be a problem, but the diameter may be. Nominally, the radius of those tires is 0.64-0.86" larger than the stock 17s. I don't know if that would be an issue or not, but they are enough taller than stock that I would probably pass on them.

[Steve428]

Thanks! I figured out that the interceptor tire is 235/55/R17. At $50 a piece though (for a $300 tire), it's tempting to just try them out. I guess it wouldn't be worth it to damage the Cougar, just to experiment with unknown tires. I'll let ya know if I try them, and how they work out.

[Turbo Zetec Tour]

you will almost certainly rub with those tires as they are 1.7" larger in diameter plus the extra 20mm tread width.

btw, the middle number of a tire size (55, 50, 45, etc) is not a mm measurement. it is the percentage of the tire width for the side wall. so a 55 series tire has a sidewall height that is 55% of the tires width. so a 235/55 has a sidewall height of ~5.1" while a 215/55 has a sidewall height of only ~4.7".

also, for future reference, if you are ever wondering about a tire size compared to stock, use this site.
Tire size calculator
simply put in the 2 sizes to compare them.

[nadthomas]

And lets not forget how those would look as well. Even if you did squeeze those under the cougar, it would sit like a truck. The factory 215/50/17 tires already make the car look like its sitting high.

[Steve428]

Yeah, I'm sure they'd look pretty ridiculous on there, but I was just going to use them as a winter tire. Sounds like they'd be pretty likely to rub pretty bad, or just not work, whatsoever. I think I'm going to just pass on them. Thanks for all the info and responses!