My S60 currently has 17" rims and 215/50 R17 tires. The tires are getting worn and it's time to get new ones, and this time around I'm considering getting slightly wider 235/45 R17 tires, but I'm inexperienced and can't figure out if I can do that without also changing the wheels too. (The car has the factory wheels.) Does anyone know if that's possible on this car? And are there any other issues to worry about?

 

You need to look at the wheel's part number to determine if they are 7 inch or 8 inch rims. Generally speaking 8 inch wide rims are recommended for 235s. You can mount 235s on a 7 in rim but they my look rounded and you may create too much sidewall flex with the narrower rims. So, if you have 7 inch rims, either stick with the 215/50s or go to a 8x17 or even an 8x18 for the 235s. If you live in snow country, you always have the option of putting your snows on the 7 inch rims and put some wider summer tires on 8 inch rims (provided you have a place to store the rims!). If you need to shop for rims, check out hubcaphaven.com I got some nice upgraded factory rims for my S40 there and kept the old rims for the snow.

 

@mt6127 Thank you for all that info!