Preface: Yes, I am aware this is not a rock crawling, trail bashing 4x4. I fully understand that and am not trying to turn this vehicle into one. I am merely looking into increasing the ground clearance a small amount in order for the vehicle to better handle the thousands of kilometers of mild forest service roads located in British Columbia, chiefly in the winter when ground clearance is in higher demand due to these roads not being maintained and merely being trampled out by the higher clearance 4x4 pickups & suvs.
Hello, I have recently purchased a 2020 Canadian spec Outlander Phev. I am absolutely thrilled with it having put over 3000km (1800 miles) on it in the 18 days i have owned the vehicle, the long range gas mileage even driving on the Coquihalla is within 1.5L/100km of my previous 6 speed Honda Crz (fantastic vehicle for introducing hybrid drivetrains to people btw). However, on a recent Ice fishing trip with my father I have run into a limitation of the Outlander PHEV, the ground clearance. Putting along a snow covered forest service road I could only summarize the experience as "Wiener Dogging", the vehicle was constantly dragging its belly on the high center snow bank on the road because of its short legs, with snow tires fitted at no point was traction ever an issue mind you, just the noise from the crunchy snow hitting the underside of the vehicle was more than a bit unsetting, however no damage was found to the undercarriage upon returning to the asphalt. After this trip I have taken to calling the vehicle "The Wiener Dog" due to it being long, brown, and stubby legged
. I am looking to increase the ground clearance some and upgrade this Dachshund into at a Corgi, or maybe a Spaniel of some sort :lol: .
I have ordered the 40mm spacer lift from Tema4x4, I am going to be running 2 sets of wheels & tires with my intention being to leave my snow tires mounted on the factory 18x7 inch wheels (the dealership included "free" snow tires with the purchase of the vehicle) and to purchase a set of 17x7 or 16x7 inch (if they'll clear the brakes) wheels with a set of mild all terrain tires in an approximately 30 inch diameter and trying to get as much tire sidewall as I can.
The stock tire size of 225/55r18 translates to roughly 27-3/4" in diameter by 8-7/8" wide. My intention is to run either 235/70r17 (30" OD x 9.25" wide) or 235/75r16 (29-7/8" OD x 9.25" wide) on a wheel fairly close to the factory offset of +38mm. Having checked on the driveway with a few quick and dirty measurements using a tape measure it seems the 30" diameter shouldn't be an issue after the lift, it's more of a question of whether the additional 10mm of tire width (5mm per side) and how much leeway I have with the wheel offset. I am prepared to downgrade to a 225/70r17 (29.5x8.8") or 225/75r16 (29.3x8.8") tire if absolutely necessary however.
So this question goes out to the bold few who have fitted a lift kit to their PHEVs, what tire size are you running, or what do you feel is the maximum tire size we're able to fit without requiring modification to the wheel wells? I come from a Jeep and Suzuki background and am well versed in the medium of "Bust out the Sawzall or Flatten the Pinch Weld" to fit larger tires and would like to avoid that on a brand spankin' new vehicle.
Thanks,
Hello, I have recently purchased a 2020 Canadian spec Outlander Phev. I am absolutely thrilled with it having put over 3000km (1800 miles) on it in the 18 days i have owned the vehicle, the long range gas mileage even driving on the Coquihalla is within 1.5L/100km of my previous 6 speed Honda Crz (fantastic vehicle for introducing hybrid drivetrains to people btw). However, on a recent Ice fishing trip with my father I have run into a limitation of the Outlander PHEV, the ground clearance. Putting along a snow covered forest service road I could only summarize the experience as "Wiener Dogging", the vehicle was constantly dragging its belly on the high center snow bank on the road because of its short legs, with snow tires fitted at no point was traction ever an issue mind you, just the noise from the crunchy snow hitting the underside of the vehicle was more than a bit unsetting, however no damage was found to the undercarriage upon returning to the asphalt. After this trip I have taken to calling the vehicle "The Wiener Dog" due to it being long, brown, and stubby legged
. I am looking to increase the ground clearance some and upgrade this Dachshund into at a Corgi, or maybe a Spaniel of some sort :lol: . I have ordered the 40mm spacer lift from Tema4x4, I am going to be running 2 sets of wheels & tires with my intention being to leave my snow tires mounted on the factory 18x7 inch wheels (the dealership included "free" snow tires with the purchase of the vehicle) and to purchase a set of 17x7 or 16x7 inch (if they'll clear the brakes) wheels with a set of mild all terrain tires in an approximately 30 inch diameter and trying to get as much tire sidewall as I can.
The stock tire size of 225/55r18 translates to roughly 27-3/4" in diameter by 8-7/8" wide. My intention is to run either 235/70r17 (30" OD x 9.25" wide) or 235/75r16 (29-7/8" OD x 9.25" wide) on a wheel fairly close to the factory offset of +38mm. Having checked on the driveway with a few quick and dirty measurements using a tape measure it seems the 30" diameter shouldn't be an issue after the lift, it's more of a question of whether the additional 10mm of tire width (5mm per side) and how much leeway I have with the wheel offset. I am prepared to downgrade to a 225/70r17 (29.5x8.8") or 225/75r16 (29.3x8.8") tire if absolutely necessary however.
So this question goes out to the bold few who have fitted a lift kit to their PHEVs, what tire size are you running, or what do you feel is the maximum tire size we're able to fit without requiring modification to the wheel wells? I come from a Jeep and Suzuki background and am well versed in the medium of "Bust out the Sawzall or Flatten the Pinch Weld" to fit larger tires and would like to avoid that on a brand spankin' new vehicle.
Thanks,
