xdwang707

I was in a bind to replace a bad driver side front OEM steel wheel on a 2007 Civic Coupe LX. I couldn’t find any matching new or used steel wheel in town and ended up getting an alloy at a local junkyard. The tires on car are brandnew 205/55/R16 Goodyear tires. The old tire on the junkyard pulled wheel is 205/60/R16. So I assumed the alloy has the size radius and width therefore should be the same size of the steels. I plan to swap the bad wheel out with the alloy, balance it and put it back on the car. My only concern is the obvious weight difference between the alloy and the steel wheels on the same axle. My neighbor said it should be fine since the wheels are independent of each other. But I am afraid the big difference in weigh might stress out the differential.

I searched high and low online but just couldn’t find an definitive answer to my mixed wheel issue. Can someone shed some light on this?
Thanks a lot!

Dan

FRSam

Just swap the new tire onto the old rim. The only difference in the two tires is the sidewall, which has no bearing on the width of the wheel. The rims will likely be identical.

xdwang707

Thanks for the quick reply.
I knew the alloy should be the same as the steel size-wise, based on the tire specs. So the tires on the car should fit the alloy. I was afraid of the lighter alloy wheel causing uneven weight distribution on the front axle.

I take it that it's not something to be concerned with in my particular scenario, right?

FRSam

It won’t be a notable difference. You’ll be fine.

xdwang707

Fantastic! Thank you for the assurance!

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

change the tire.
they will have different OD

• ABS will go crazy
• Differential will be overworked - the OD is more important than the weight

xdwang707

Thank you for pointing that out!
I had a vague idea that the difference in tire height would cause some kind of stress on the axle if I don't change the tire.
In fact, it's the difference in OD that determines the difference in tire circumference which leads to these troubles you mentioned.