just bought 4 245/45/17's for $70 thought it was a good deal but i knew it was too good to be true. i took a look at them and this is what i found. 2 or have little cracks, one has a crack about 4 inch long but none of them crack through. i also hear that 45's are too tall. does that mean i can even put them on?

 

I wouldn't put tires with cracks in them on any car I drive

 

****!!!

 

ur in vallejo put them on and go run ortega

 

someone on the forum said 45's are an inch too tall for rx7. is that true?
would it be ok to use the crack tires to drive to school and back? about 2 miles the most.

 

Ditto. I wouldn't drive on any tires with cracks, even if tubes were used.
245/45-17 are about 25.7" tall. Shouldn't present a problem with height, just the width on the front depending on rim offset.

 

dont drive on them the cracks make them unpredictable. As for the 45's being too tall, I dont think so im running 225/45/17's on the rear-215/45/17's on the front and they are fine.

 

While its not a good idea to drive on tires with cracks in em, you might as well get some new ones and ruin these ones before you put on new ones. Do a few burnouts or something. Drifting? Haha. Up to you what you do with them but I wouldnt run on them either.

 

Just saying that "45's are too tall" would be an incorrect statement in and of itself with no other context, as that number is just an aspect ratio (percentage of the width). For example, 215/45/17 and 225/45/17 and 245/45/17 are all going to be different heights, despite the middle number being the same. This is because 45% of 245 is larger than 45% of 225 is larger than 45% of 215. 245/45/17 on the back is no problem, but if the tires are cracked, don't use them in regular driving, they will have a much higher tendency to blow out and cause damage. Also, 245 will not fit in the front unless you have some heavy offset, but they will work fine in the back. I run 215's in the front and 255's in the back, with stock-offset wheels. 215 is the widest you can go on the stock offset in the front.

 

the tires arent mouted because i was inform they were useless... like i said, 3 are just starting to show little hairline cracks. one has a long 4 inch spread towards the top where the tread is at. all have about 40% tread and are still good. do you guys think its worth it to mount and balance? i want to put them on the wheels i plan on selling to get a little more cash out of the deal. thanks for the replies

 

Thank god atleast one of you understands aspect ratios..Ideally for the 17'' 225 245 stagger that many run you would want 225/45R17 and 245/40R17.

 

so i cant run 245/45/17 ? WHY? bad for the drivetrain?

 

As I explained earlier, 245 is TOO WIDE to fit on the front, unless you're running a much more negative offset than factory. It will rub excessively on the front struts. Anything wider than a 215 on the front with the stock offset will rub. I run a 215 in front and there is only 3mm of clearance from the tire to the strut. Don't get them mounted and balanced unless it's just to sell the wheels and tires. They WILL NOT WORK ON YOUR CAR unless the wheels have a low/zero/negative offset.