Best wheel + tyre combo for an Aero (or any 9-5)

[bandasaab]

Hello everyone,
I want YOUR opinion on which is the best combination of rims and tires for Aeros and other 9-5s. Please try to include as much info as you can in your posts including;
- Rim diameter and width
- Wheel offset
- Tyre size
- Weight (with tyre or rim only)
- Wheel type (ALU number, Saab part number or aftermarket - did you use hub centric rings? )
- Wheel manufacturer (if you can find details on oem rims)
- 9-5 variant (Arc, Vector. .)

And why do you think it's better (than..)

I think your experience would be much better than the 'expert' advice....

[bandasaab]

C'mon everyone. Don't tell me that none of you changed your oem rims to something else ! Or is it just a '9-3 thing'?

[RichSPK]

What's "best?" I just replaced my stock 16" wheels with 15" steel wheels with snow tires. That'll get me through the winter better, but it's probably not what you have in mind for "best."

[nordwulf]

The best wheels are as close to OEM specs as possible, especially the offset. But you won't find too many aftermarket wheels with ET49. 17" wheels still seem to be the best fit for the Aero for summer/fall/spring use. 16" are best for winter tires. If you prefer comfort over handling, 16" all year round wouldn't be bad for the Aero either.

I had Rial Nogaro wheels on my 9-3 and wish they would still be manufacturing those. I bet they would look great on my 9-5 Aero. Saab always had some very nice wheels designs so I never really had the desire to get aftermarket wheels.

[bandasaab]

What best in your opinion, like "15 inch steel rims with snow tire are good for winter"

Additional info like the year and variant of your car helps others to know that 15" rims can be fitted to those model (from what I know most of the post 2002 9-5 s need 16" or bigger wheels due to the size of front brakes but I could be wrong! )

[bandasaab]

My '04 Aero came with ALU 52 (5 spoke EVO) wheels. I wasn't a big fan of the design but I kept them for a while because those wheels were designed for that model and a 04/05 Aero won't be a same without them.

First I tried 18" wheels - 18x7.5 et 46 black mesh with polished lip. They looked very nice and a each wheel (with the tyre) weighed 2kg less than the ALU 52. But the ride was rougher than with 17" and going over speed bumps was a nightmare. It also sort of took the classy looks out of the 9-5. I didn't feel safe using hub centric rings either.

Then I used 16" on it from a 2003 Arc (ALU 47). They were made by BBS and tyre size was 215/55. It could be my mind playing games, but I felt that the car was quicker from the stop. The ride was very comfortable and had no trouble getting over a curb now and then. I also thought they would be ideal for city driving 'cos the car slowed down relatively quickler when I take foot off the accelerator. It wasn't as good as 17" at speeds over 100km/h. I couldn't cruise as I had to keep accelerating to maintain speed.

Currently I'm running on ALU 59 (9-3 Aero 17x7.5 et41 tires 235/45) rims and they are awesome I think. They look great, fill the rim well nicely and the ride is comfortable as 16"! Something I didn't think of using wider tires was that it increases the sidewall compared to a narrower tyre with the same profile ratio i.e. 235/100*45 > 225/100*45. Planning on keeping them at the moment. The only thing I'm not sure at the moment is how bad is to run a 9-5 (Aero) on wheels with 41 offset.

[RichSPK]

Additional info like the year and variant of your car helps others to know that 15" rims can be fitted to those model (from what I know most of the post 2002 9-5 s need 16" or bigger wheels due to the size of front brakes but I could be wrong! )

Right. I fitted 15" wheels to my '99 9-5 for winter. It's the base 2.3t model. I researched wheels and tires through tirerack.com. The website said they'd fit, and they did, with no problem. I'd normally go with alloy wheels, even in the winter, but I lost my job recently, so budget dictated the smaller, humbler wheels. The packing slip says the wheels are 15inx6.5in, 5x110mm bolt pattern (that ought to go without saying), ET45, CB65 (I don't know what this number is). Customer service tells me the steel wheels are 22lbs each.

SAAB did have some very nice-looking OEM wheels.

[bandasaab]

CB = Center Bore. Diameter of the hub that wheel is mounted on. Most Saabs have a CB of 65.1mm. It's almost impossible to find aftermarket wheels in that size. That's the reason I had to use hub centric rings for the 18" rims I had.

[RichSPK]

Thanks bandasaab! I ran hub centric rings on the Saturn I had before my SAAB for years with no problem. I'm not scared of them.

[bandasaab]

I know.., it's just a mental thing for me I guess . What's gonna happen if I corner too hard...OMG they're going to fall off...