Caution: Michelin Primacy 18" to Michelin X-Ice 17"

[mikeymaverick]

The Original Plan
I have a '23 Lariat with 225/60 R18 Michelin Primacy A/S tires and I put on 225/65 R17 Michelin X-Ice Snow Tires and wheels from Tire Rack. I went with the smaller OEM size to save money. They bolted on easily and fit well. Tiresize.com and TireRack.com both show that the Primacy is only 0.1" taller than the X-Ice and is 0.3% difference in circumference. (Primacy circumference: 89.9", X-Ice circumference: 89.5"). With this small of a difference, I didn't anticipate there being any noticeable issues with the size difference or the speedometer being off.

My Concern
My first concern started when looking at the two tires standing next to each other off of the truck. You could clearly see that the Primacy tire was taller than the X-Ice. When I used a tailor/fabric tape measure, the circumference of the Primacy (with 5,900mi) was 91.25" and the brand new X-Ice was 89.5". In other words, the X-Ice measured correctly but the Primacy was 1.35" larger in circumference than it should have been. Does a Ford spec Primacy have a larger diameter than non-Ford spec Primacy tires?

Noticeable Difference
When I compared my indicated speed with the Primacy to a GPS, they matched up. Now, with the smaller, circumference X-Ice tire, there was a noticeable difference between the indicated speed, and GPS speed. Is it safe to assume Ford takes the tire size of the various models of the Maverick into consideration when calculating the speed/odometer? Or, are all Mavericks calculated the same and some indicate a higher speed while others indicate a lower speed?

Some Benefits
One benefit of a smaller wheel is that it is essentially the same as gearing the truck lower. This makes it easier on the truck to both accelerate and stop since the radius of the torque arm is shorter. The trade-off is that your odometer starts counting up faster than it should. Granted, it's only a 2% difference in this case (about 20 miles per 1,000 traveled). If I had to do it over again, I'd spend the extra money and just get the 18 inch X-Ice tires and wheels. If you were already have 17 inch wheels, this likely won't affect you. But, if you are downsizing from an 18 inch wheel, this may be something to take into consideration.

Warranty
Does anyone know if changing the tire size can affect the warranty? I can understand how going up in tire size may since it adds additional strain to the driveline and especially the transmission. But, I would think that going down in size would be fine.

Table to Help
With the new X-Ice tires being smaller in comparison than expected, I calculated 1.92% difference in speed. For anyone else who may have made this same tire change, I put this table together to drive the correct speed and not annoy other drivers. The "Actual" column shows what your truck will be traveling at when indicating the speed in the left column. The "Corrected" column shows what speed you would need to indicate to travel the speed in the left column. Hope this helps!

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[hdave]

It’s a small difference, I think you’re reading too much into it.

 

[mikeymaverick]

It’s a small difference, I think you’re reading too much into it.

You're probably right. I was mostly just surprised by the large size of the factor Primacy tires. No sites indicated that they should be that large.

 

[mdsalemi]

"To save money"? Why that makes no sense. If your car--any car--(particularly a modern car) came with one size tire, that's the tire size you should replace it with. If you replace it with something larger or smaller, for whatever reason, expect some kind of consequence.

I don't need snow tires here, but if I did, or if I need to replace my tires before the lease is up in 24 months, then the same size tires is what it gets.

 

[hdave]

"To save money"? Why that makes no sense. If your car--any car--(particularly a modern car) came with one size tire, that's the tire size you should replace it with. If you replace it with something larger or smaller, for whatever reason, expect some kind of consequence.

I don't need snow tires here, but if I did, or if I need to replace my tires before the lease is up in 24 months, then the same size tires is what it gets.

no that’s wrong.
He replaced it with an OEM size which is perfectly fine.
And a lot of people here go with larger tires as well with no issues.

what OP is talking about is the oem tires not having the size stated according to specs.
I think it’s a combination of variances from different manufacturers as well as general variances between different tires of the same.

either way it’s minimal and he has no warranty issues going with another oem size.

 

[1929]

Unable to read the red font.

 

[surfstar]

17" wheels and tires are great - lighter, cheaper, more sidewall

OP - I tend to overthink and over-research things, but you're on another level. I do appreciate the data and your attention to detail

Don't worry about the slight difference, or use Forscan to adjust.
The overwhelming majority of new vehicles are delivered without being spot on between indicated speed and actual. We've noticed that they are usually ~2mph slower than the speedo reading. Haven't bothered to verify the odometer.

 

[tom_tucker]

Last night, my Michelin X-Ice 17" ripped through some pretty decent snow covered roads and ground blizzards. Only 4/10 on the pucker factor meter, but still gnar.

She was able to pass many/all cars including 4Runners. I'm able to go 35-55 on the State road and maintain 50-60 mph on the US highway up to 70 when the road cleared up (still moderate/heavy snow falling).

I had the same tires with an AWD Subaru and they feel the same, except more wobble on the tracking. You have to provide steering corrections and not as confident as AWD.

Still, I'd say proceed with caution even though AWD will be even better. You'll be passing many cars. Just be careful doing it.

 

[dadd75]

no that’s wrong.
He replaced it with an OEM size which is perfectly fine.
And a lot of people here go with larger tires as well with no issues.

what OP is talking about is the oem tires not having the size stated according to specs.
I think it’s a combination of variances from different manufacturers as well as general variances between different tires of the same.

either way it’s minimal and he has no warranty issues going with another oem size.

It has been mentioned on this blog that OEM tires don't have the same tread depth when buying a new vehicle, that you would get buying new from a tire distributor for the same tire.

 

[hdave]

It has been mentioned on this blog that OEM tires don't have the same tread depth when buying a new vehicle, that you would get buying new from a tire distributor for the same tire.

Yeah for sure, but its not a huge enough amount that you'd ever worry about replacing with the exact OEM tire size.

 

[imboden013]

The Original Plan
I have a '23 Lariat with 225/60 R18 Michelin Primacy A/S tires and I put on 225/65 R17 Michelin X-Ice Snow Tires and wheels from Tire Rack. I went with the smaller OEM size to save money. They bolted on easily and fit well. Tiresize.com and TireRack.com both show that the Primacy is only 0.1" taller than the X-Ice and is 0.3% difference in circumference. (Primacy circumference: 89.9", X-Ice circumference: 89.5"). With this small of a difference, I didn't anticipate there being any noticeable issues with the size difference or the speedometer being off.

My Concern
My first concern started when looking at the two tires standing next to each other off of the truck. You could clearly see that the Primacy tire was taller than the X-Ice. When I used a tailor/fabric tape measure, the circumference of the Primacy (with 5,900mi) was 91.25" and the brand new X-Ice was 89.5". In other words, the X-Ice measured correctly but the Primacy was 1.35" larger in circumference than it should have been. Does a Ford spec Primacy have a larger diameter than non-Ford spec Primacy tires?

Noticeable Difference
When I compared my indicated speed with the Primacy to a GPS, they matched up. Now, with the smaller, circumference X-Ice tire, there was a noticeable difference between the indicated speed, and GPS speed. Is it safe to assume Ford takes the tire size of the various models of the Maverick into consideration when calculating the speed/odometer? Or, are all Mavericks calculated the same and some indicate a higher speed while others indicate a lower speed?

Some Benefits
One benefit of a smaller wheel is that it is essentially the same as gearing the truck lower. This makes it easier on the truck to both accelerate and stop since the radius of the torque arm is shorter. The trade-off is that your odometer starts counting up faster than it should. Granted, it's only a 2% difference in this case (about 20 miles per 1,000 traveled). If I had to do it over again, I'd spend the extra money and just get the 18 inch X-Ice tires and wheels. If you were already have 17 inch wheels, this likely won't affect you. But, if you are downsizing from an 18 inch wheel, this may be something to take into consideration.

Warranty
Does anyone know if changing the tire size can affect the warranty? I can understand how going up in tire size may since it adds additional strain to the driveline and especially the transmission. But, I would think that going down in size would be fine.

Table to Help
With the new X-Ice tires being smaller in comparison than expected, I calculated 1.92% difference in speed. For anyone else who may have made this same tire change, I put this table together to drive the correct speed and not annoy other drivers. The "Actual" column shows what your truck will be traveling at when indicating the speed in the left column. The "Corrected" column shows what speed you would need to indicate to travel the speed in the left column. Hope this helps!

Since the 225/65r17 you put on has a 1/2” taller sidewall than the 225/60r18 you took off. The questions I have does your Mav now have a little softer ride especially on rough roads. Second does there seem to be a little less stability as the taller sidewall should allow a little more side to side sway. I’m curious as I’m considering doing the same thing so I can get more road contact by having a wider tire.

 

[mikeymaverick]

Since the 225/65r17 you put on has a 1/2” taller sidewall than the 225/60r18 you took off. The questions I have does your Mav now have a little softer ride especially on rough roads. Second does there seem to be a little less stability as the taller sidewall should allow a little more side to side sway. I’m curious as I’m considering doing the same thing so I can get more road contact by having a wider tire.

I didn't really notice a difference. The 225/65 R17 X-Ice tire has a higher load rating (106 vs 100) so if anything it may actually be a little stiffer. But, the difference wasn't enough for me to notice.

I drove around with my winter tires in the middle of a blizzard that we got this past week (18 inches of snow/ice) and they were fantastic. 10/10 would recommend the X-Ice to anyone looking at snow tires.

Also, I decided to just recalibrate my speedometer with Forscan to make life easier and get an accurate speedometer without messing around with tires forever. I'm also planning on adding global windows, sand and mud driving modes, and eliminating the double honk. Just waiting on my laptop to arrive.

 

[AzureBlueBill]

They are virtually the same size. I can't see any way your warranty will be voided. Now if you lifted it and put some 33 inchers on there, maybe.

 

[imboden013]

I didn't really notice a difference. The 225/65 R17 X-Ice tire has a higher load rating (106 vs 100) so if anything it may actually be a little stiffer. But, the difference wasn't enough for me to notice.

Thanks for the info, I’d been trying to decide whether to swap for some 17s or keep my lariats 18s.

 

[Darnon]

and eliminating the double honk

Look for 'mislock audible' and 'lock audible confirmation' in the BCM plainspeak settings.

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