I'm in the process of converting my daily driver (1,000+ miles a week) To a slightly lower profile tire/wheel setup. The wheels I'm using have a center hole about 3/4" bigger than the OEM wheels. Both wheels use the same lug spacing and tapered lug nuts. I'm in the process of machining a ring to press-fit over the rear axle flange to allow the wheel to center on the hub, as well as the lug studs. It's sort of a "belt and suspenders" approach to holding up a pair of pants, but it can't hurt. The tire size change is from 245/70-17 tires to 235/70-16's. There's a bit over an inch of height difference, which translates to 3"-4" difference in circumference.
The whole reason for the lower-profile tire is to try to change the road speed where the torque converter clutch unlocks- - - -right now the comfortable cruise speed is 75MPH and 2000 RPM. That's close to speeding ticket territory, even on the interstate, and the vehicle doesn't like 55 MPH 2-lane roads at all. A side effect beyond playing Smokey and the Bandit all the time just might be batter gas mileage. Right now I'm pretty sure I'm lugging the engine down at times and going into full-fuel power mode way too often.
Jerry
