The stock tires for the Sport and Patriot North are 205/70/R16. The tires that come with the FDII or Tire & Wheel Group are 215/65/R17.

You are correct, the larger tire only accounts for a portion of the height increase. The suspension makes up the rest on the FDII Offroad model.

UPDATE:
Stock Sport and North Model: 205/70/R16
Stock Limited: 215/60/R17
FDII or Wheel Group: 215/65/R17

 

The stock tires for the Sport and Patriot North are 205/60/R16. The tires that come with the FDII or Tire & Wheel Group are 215/65/R17.

Well..., my Sport came with 17"... :icon_rolleyes:

 

Nobody seems to note that there is 1/2" gc difference between the FWD and FD I versions. The real gain between the FD I V FD II is only another 1/2" and 3/8" of that is due to the tires.

 

So, if I understand well, FWD and FDI have ½ inch GC difference (with same tires 205 70 16). So with the 17'' wheel option there's another ½ inch GC increase.

Therefore no GC difference between a FDII and a FDI with 215 65 17 wheel option. That means 9 inches ground clearance in both cases. Is this correct?
No suspension spring modification would account for that difference right?

 

so i would guess that the other 1/8" is due to a stiffer spring. only thing it could be.....

 

I think the whole ground clearance thing is kind of silly, an extra inch of ground clearance doesn't get you that much further. See my Snow, Glorious Snow post. I think its more important to have skid plates for WHEN you bottom out and to choose your line carefully. Even a lifted Wrangler can only go so far before its too deep in snow or water...

 

I tend to agree. A half inch or even an inch doesn't seen to be as important in real life as have good tires, skid plates and sliders. There is also such a thing as too much tire. If you go too tall you'll lose lower end gearing and gas mileage.

 

Thanks a lot Gramps for the information, I really appreciate.

 

Sorry to be so brief on this I'm at work, I have more info at home for alignment ride height with the different tire sizes etc. if you have a need for more precise information I could post it later. I personally don't believe that if you already have an FD I that it would be worth the effort or cost to change over to FD II springs and struts, the possibility of an extra .15" is not that significant. Just go with some really good tires and if that's not enough, then go with the lift kit. I went with the lift kit and 29" tires (wish I had stayed with 28") just so that running threw the snow banks I wouldn't be playing "snow plow" with the bumper and fascia. No need for skid plates for doing that but they are on my "to do" list when things warm up.

 

I will follow your recommandations: FD I and 28'' tires. Michelin Hydro Edge for summer and Toyo Observe plus G0-02 for winter. I just checked my ground clearance on my Hyundai Santa Fe FWD = 7.4''. So I'll have 1 inch and a half more GC with the Pat that will be more than sufficient for me (considering road and weather conditions here in Gaspesia, Quebec). Thanks again.

 

I did have the opportunity to drive the first FD II that came in to my area, I know the people at the dealership pretty well . It was already sold and the proud new owners actually waited on me to take a test drive and put it up on the rack for a nice photo shoot. Any way, long story short, I went back to look at the pics and there isn't really any significant, if at all, "low spots" from the skid plates that I can see. Everything tucks up under there VERY well. The low points, and not by much, are the side rails which is where I've been measuring my Compass (sorry, it was the first one in the area too). The gc on the stock Compass Limited 4X4 with 215/55R18 (27.3") was reported to be 8.4" and this is exactly what it measured at the side rails. After adding the 2 1/8" RR lift kit and some 235/60R18 (29.1) it hits 11" on the nose. This was all measured just in my driveway, a nice static, level spot.

The springs could be a little stiffer and let it sit up that extra .15 and the rear struts maybe have a longer travel or different valving to allow for better articulation. Just really guessing on that.

Here's a pic of the undercarriage on the lift, sorry about the "bright" spot but I think that you can see what I'm talking about.

 

Here is an update right from the 2008 brochure:

UPDATE:
Sport Model: 205/70/R16
North Model: 205/70/R16
Limited: 215/60/R17
FDII or Wheel Group (All Models): 215/65/R17

 

Got it right Homac, no such thing as a 205/60/16R standard or OEM tire for Sport or North models 2007 or 2008. Such a size would give an overall diameter of 25.68'' lowering the ground clearance and a diameter difference of 5.9% way above the 3% modification secure limit. RPM and speedmeter would also be affected.

 

Just funny thoughts: It drops the gc to 7.85 but by adding the lift lit would get you back up to about 10" gc. It would be a killer off the line with a crawl ratio of 21.45:1. Boy would it look funny with those little donut tires and a lift kit. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.