[Ambiwlans]

I found some twin-spoke Saab rims (ALU50) at a yard but they've been painted with a spray can so I'm getting them refinished. They're the same ones that came with my 04 and I have 225/45 sized tires.

I'm thinking of throwing these on my V6 Aero which has a tire size of 235 and the ALU71 wheels . The twin-spoke wheel looks like it's about 1/2 inch narrower than the ones that came with my V6. Am I okay throwing 235's on the twin-spoke ALU 50's?

ALU 50 17x7

ALU 71 17x7 1/2

 

[danjrowe27]

I'm not a wheel expert and you're probably better off waiting for someone who is to comment, but I'd go 225. Might look odd with 235.

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

 

[bmdubya1198]

225 will fit better on a 7" wheel, but you could probably get away with 235 if you really wanted to. I'd go with 225.

 

[Schmaab]

Nice find! I'm actually going through a similar situation. I'm doing a DIY restoration of some ALU71s (I'm glad I know what they are called now!). Coming from the standard 5-spoke Aeros (7.5" wide), I was wondering what to do about tires on the new 7" wide rims.

 

[SilentJ20]

I have 225 wide tires on my 17x7 RKII wheels. This is how the sidewall looks:

Imo, 235 might be a tad too much.

 

[swedespeed7]

235 will look mushy and bloated on a 7 inch wheel. I run 235s on a 8 inch wheel for perspective - pretty much flush, no wheel poke at all.

 

[EdT]

Have you mounted the rims on the back of your car and given them a spin? Those rims are known to get out of round.

If you look at tire specs, most 235/45-17 tires have a (recommended by the mfgr) minimum rim width of 7.5"

 

[swedespeed7]

Have you mounted the rims on the back of your car and given them a spin? Those rims are known to get out of round.

If you look at tire specs, most 235/45-17 tires have a (recommended by the mfgr) minimum rim width of 7.5"

I didn't know that about the ALU50s - is that really true?

 

[EdT]

I didn't know that about the ALU50s - is that really true?

Well, my 2004 came with them, and when we put the car on the hoist and hand-spun them, every wheel was not so good. The biggest local Saab shop/dealer also said that those rims bend easily.

I don't know if that makes it really true or not....in fact my experience with various sets of 9-5 16" factory alloys (nothing special) was that I could not find a set of 4 wheels where at least one wasn't tweaked a lot. I wound up buying brand new Saab OEM rims at a fairly clear-out price from Orio.

So if I'm looking at any set of Saab rims, I'll mount each in turn on a back wheel and hand-spin them and look for bends or wobbles. It could just be that the roads are really bad around here, or Saab drivers are incompetent or don't worry about avoiding bumps or potholes? If they can bend rims when the tires are 215/55, they sure can bend rims if the tires are 225/45!

 

[swedespeed7]

Got it. Wasn't sure if these were as bad as Viggen wheels, for example (looking at you, Ronal!).

 

[Ambiwlans]

I wasn't aware that the bend easily, I've had the ones on my 04 refinished and balanced at my friend's Mercedes shop when I mounted new tires.

The V6 comes with 235's stock but the ALU 50's were listed as an option when the V6 was out so imagine it shouldn't make a huge difference in feel.

I bought this car this past summer and I'm going to overhaul the suspension before I before do tires and alignment. I made the mistake of not doing this last time I got a set and the wheels wore out unevenly on the sidewalls. These are probably my favorite Saab wheel and I would love to throw them on the 08. I might even get them painted a Mercedes shade of dark grey.

 

[swedespeed7]

Love these wheels too, I run them as my winters on my V6: