just got a new element and was thinkin of putting eithr 20' or 18's on it..
the recomended tire size is 245 40 20 which is not enough rubber for me -- i plan on driving on the beach and dont want to get stuck -- i had 20's on my ohter car (durango) 285 50 20 and had no problems -- anyone know how big i can go with 20's before the tires rub? 275 45 20? or should i just go with the 18's - 245 55 18? anyone drive on teh beach or do some off roading yet? how did u make out -- just curious

[quote:f41d47271c=" "]just got a new element and was thinkin of putting eithr 20' or 18's on it..[/quote:f41d47271c]

get some 20's, have your body panels painted, spend a lot of money on the interior, crash the E and total it because you were trying to dial the cellphone while you drive, and then threaten to sue honda. it worked for a previous member.

seriously, go with 18s at most. i can't see silly donut 20s helping in the sand. also, maybe post in the off-road forum if you have not already.

Bill

If you plan on driving on the beach, why don't you just lower the air pressure in the regular size tires? I can imagine switching to large wheels and low profile tires if you want to look 'cool', or maybe even improve cornering (less of sidewall to distort), but for beach driving?

By the way, when you air down, the footprint increases more in length than in width. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a 205/80/16 tire did better on sand when run a 15 psi or less.

paulj

i know all about airing down when driving on the beach -- i've been doing it for 7 years -- except i had a jeep pathfinder and durango all of those times.... i was wondering how i would make out with the element cause it's a little lower adn not really a bigger truck that i am used to i'm also used to actually shifting into fourwhell drive... as far as the wheels go-- that was my main question... 18's or 20's? i like the look more wheel less rubber -- but wasn't sure how much less rubber with the 20's most likely gonna go with the 18's

With 20's, there's literally only about 2-2.5" of rubber on the rim. 18's are more like 3-3.5" which is enough to protect from potholes/bumps around here.

Given your years of beach driving, and experience with 4x4's, I would be interested in learning why you think putting low profile tires on an Element would improve its usefulness in soft-road conditions. Are you focusing on the tread width?

Distance to the front shock absorber assembly appears to be primary constraint on tire size. I can feel about an inch clearance between the stock tire and the assembly behind it. There is about an inch and a half clearance to the top of the bell above it. I can then picture increasing the section width of the tire by a inch. Maybe more if you want to play with the offset, but I won't go there. 2 inch increase in diameter without increase in width might also be possible. If you increase both width and diameter you have to avoid hitting the curved bell.

225/70/16 is the most promising step up in size, giving a larger tire selection, with no rubbing problems. 235/70/16 has worked for some, but rubs when the tire has aggresive shoulders. I've seen people ask about 225/75/16, but don't recall any reports. I've wondered about the going taller but narrower 205/80/16. 235/60/16 is wider but slightly smaller in diameter, and is the 'sport' alternative for the Toyota RAV4.

Many don't like the stock size because tire alternatives are limited - only one all-terrain on Tirerack. But choices in the 18 and 20 inch rim sizes are even more limited, in some cases only 1 or 3 performance tires.

Various people have shown off their Element's with bigger wheels. However they usually don't give the tire size. Also they seem more interested in show and in lowering the car, not in enhancing its beach driving.

paulj

pictures of 245/55/18 tires here:

http://www.hondaelement.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4702

i decided to go with the 18's -- no rubbing problems with those size tires?
i had no problems with 20's on my durango but that was a much bigger and more powerful truck -- the 18's look good on the element and still keep the 4wd functionality --- like the black rims with chroem lips -- would look sick on a black car

In case you haven't yet tried... I've taken my element on the beach. Stock AWD tires/rims/pressure. No probs.
-Anthony

[quote:db2bce0888=" "]just got a new element and was thinkin of putting eithr 20' or 18's on it..
the recomended tire size is 245 40 20 which is not enough rubber for me -- i plan on driving on the beach and dont want to get stuck -- i had 20's on my ohter car (durango) 285 50 20 and had no problems -- anyone know how big i can go with 20's before the tires rub? 275 45 20? or should i just go with the 18's - 245 55 18? anyone drive on teh beach or do some off roading yet? how did u make out -- just curious[/quote:db2bce0888]

The 285/50's on your Durango had 5.6 inches of sidewall height. This is reasonable for an SUV. Conversely, the 245/40R20's would have only 3.8 inches of sidewall height. This is really only adequate for very small cars that are maximized for performance. For example, the only vehicles to come OE with this height are the BMW Z3 and the Neon ST-4.

The 245/55R18's have 5.3 inches of sidewall height. This is a very safe number for an SUV. They are also about 2.2% larger diameter than the stock tires. This would seem to fit you application very well.

A recommended plus-2 size for the Element is 235/50R18. This has a sidewall height of 4.6 inches and is just within the 3% diameter variance that the manufacturers generally recommend. They are at 2.1% smaller than the stock tires.

Another option may be 245/45R18. These have a sidewall height of 4.3 inches. This runs about the minimum that one would want on an SUV to still allow safe street use, but they may not give you enough sidewall to do much good when airing down for the sand. I don't know of any SUV that comes from the factory with this low a sidewall height. They are also 4.2% smaller in diameter.

The stock EX alloy wheels weight 20.5 pounds and the Goodyear Wrangler HP's are listed at 29 pounds. I would recommend trying to find a wheel tire package that is around the same weight.