from 215/45-17 to 215/50-17 (2015 EX-L)
 

Hi All,

First post here. My mother-in-law recently bought a lovely 2015 Civic EX-L and is interested in a slightly softer ride. My thought was to replace the 215/45-17 tires with a higher profile 50-series. (This is a not entirely-uncommon move for folks with my car model, Saab 9-5 Aero.) Questions: (1) is there clearance in the wheel well for this? (2) Will a speedometer-calibration be possible/necessary? (I ask about no. 2 because for the Saab referenced above, the change to a 50-profile tire actually makes the speedo more or less spot-on, as it's optimistic with the 45s.)

Thanks for any help you can provide.

-David

Re: from 215/45-17 to 215/50-17 (2015 EX-L)
 

Won’t be any clearing issues but your speedo will be off a bit. 50mph will be more like 52mph.

A 205-50/17 would be a closer size to the standard and would throw the speedo off even less.

The type of tire makes a difference too. Get her a touring tire for a more comfortable ride.

Re: from 215/45-17 to 215/50-17 (2015 EX-L)
 

Thanks, GolNat--that makes good sense.

Re: from 215/45-17 to 215/50-17 (2015 EX-L)
 

If you want to change the ride do rims and tires
A 15 inch rim will change the ride a lot and you can match a tire that wont effect your speedo

Tirerack.com has a pretty cool fitment guide

Re: from 215/45-17 to 215/50-17 (2015 EX-L)
 

Thanks; yes, that would work for sure. Right now, I'm looking for a milder approach that doesn't incur the extra costs of new wheels.

Re: from 215/45-17 to 215/50-17 (2015 EX-L)
 

you can go with 16 also, although 15 will have cheaper solutions.
PS: keep always in mind better to keep tire OD closer to stock, not much power or torque in these small cars.

use this also for speedo

https://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html