Tyre Advice

[reverseworm]

so they put the worst tyres on my car for the RWC when I bought it. Not too bad in the dry but downright dangerous in the wet.

it currently has 215/55/17 which I think is the standard size.

I am thinking about 225/45/17 on the front and 235/45/17 on the rear. Anyone running a staggered setup like this? any change in handling?

Edited February 27, 2012 by reverseworm

[R6n350GT]

so they put the worst tyres on my car for the RWC when I bought it. Not too bad in the dry but downright dangerous in the wet.

it currently has 215/55/17 which I think is the standard size.

I am thinking about 225/45/17 on the front and 235/45/17 on the rear. Anyone running a staggered setup like this? any change in handling?

Stagged setup is fine.

What size are your rims?

i ran 245/285 and it was fantastic !

i would do 225/40/17 and 245/40/17

45 is massive profile !

I got 30 now and far too small. 35/40 is best i think.

[n15m0]

You can't go choosing what profile you want to run just for the heck of it. There is a reason why a 17" wheel runs a 55 profile and an 18" 45 profile etc. its to maintain your overall diameter and ensure's your speedo still maintains accuracy.

Use this calculator to work out what you should be using. 215/55/17 is the correct base line OD you can use in the calculator.

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

Also, if you are running the factory 17s, no point going stagger widths.

These tire profiles you quoted 225/40/17 and 245/40/17 are wrong and definately illegal if you are in QLD.

[reverseworm]

You can't go choosing what profile you want to run just for the heck of it. There is a reason why a 17" wheel runs a 55 profile and an 18" 45 profile etc. its to maintain your overall diameter and ensure's your speedo still maintains accuracy.

Use this calculator to work out what you should be using. 215/55/17 is the correct base line OD you can use in the calculator.

http://www.1010tires...ecalculator.asp

Also, if you are running the factory 17s, no point going stagger widths.

These tire profiles you quoted 225/40/17 and 245/40/17 are wrong and definately illegal if you are in QLD.

I understand that the rims are all the same 7.5 inches all round, but given it is a rear wheel drive isnt there an advantage having bigger rubber at the back?

[n15m0]

I understand that the rims are all the same 7.5 inches all round, but given it is a rear wheel drive isnt there an advantage having bigger rubber at the back?

Advantages only really noticeable if you are running wider rims on the rears like 9, 9.5 or 10" which will allow you to run anywhere from 265 to 285s.

In your case you are better off running a square setup and 245/50 all round or invest in a new tire and wheel package in 18s and try and get them in 9" rears at least.

Thats my opinion anyway but you are more than happy to run staggered, i'm just saying don't waste too much rubber on a 7.5" wheel.

[reverseworm]

Advantages only really noticeable if you are running wider rims on the rears like 9, 9.5 or 10" which will allow you to run anywhere from 265 to 285s.

In your case you are better off running a square setup and 245/50 all round or invest in a new tire and wheel package in 18s and try and get them in 9" rears at least.

Thats my opinion anyway but you are more than happy to run staggered, i'm just saying don't waste too much rubber on a 7.5" wheel.

Cool thanks for that.

I guess I also love the staggered look.

I have found Dunlop DZ101's 225 and 235 for $157 a corner.

Dont you think 235 might be a bit too wide for fronts? I could get the same deal for 235 all round.

Edited February 27, 2012 by reverseworm

[n15m0]

yup 235/50 are fine too for front and rear..not too wide at all.

If looks are what you are after in a staggered setup, you will probably be quite disappointed because there is not much difference between a 225 and 235.

Edited February 27, 2012 by n15m0

[reverseworm]

yup 235/50 are fine too for front and rear..not too wide at all.

[/quote

They are 235/45 at that price in Dunlop. AFAIK Dunlop dont make a tyre in 235/50.

I think I might just go 235/45 all round. Cheap enough.

[n15m0]

by going 235/45 you have effectively decreased your overall diameter by approx 25mm to factory. In QLD the legal limit is 15mm, not to mention your speedo will also be out and aesthetically, the gap between your guards and wheels will also increase giving you the 4WD look if you are on factory suspension.

[reverseworm]

I was worried about that. Might see what is available in 50 series.

[reverseworm]

It was raining this morning and I came around a corner I have driven plenty of times before. I wasn't going quick but the back stepped out and caught me completely by surpirse. Before I knew it I was sliding sideways into oncoming traffic.

That was just too close for comfort so at lunchtime I went down and bought new tyres.

I went for Nexen N6000 235/45/17 all round for $130 a corner. They had some 50 series Kuhmo's but they were over $200 each.

In terms of looks, you can't really tell the overall diameter is slightly less - it doesn't look wierd at all. And i checked the speedo against the GPS and it is out by about 4-5 kms at 60kph.

Tyres feel so much better already. Thanks for your advice guys.

[R6n350GT]

by going 235/45 you have effectively decreased your overall diameter by approx 25mm to factory. In QLD the legal limit is 15mm, not to mention your speedo will also be out and aesthetically, the gap between your guards and wheels will also increase giving you the 4WD look if you are on factory suspension.

I thought you had to be no different than 30%...

where did you read 15mm?

[n15m0]

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/~/media/c792a0c9-92b1-43ee-933b-7bdd8b20842f/pdf_modification_motor_vehicles2.pdf

Page 18. its 15 mm and usually works out to be approx 3% variance allowed...not 30%!

The rim diameter may be varied from the standard size but the overall diameter of the tyre must not vary by more than +15mm or -26mm.

These limits have been set for a number of reasons. Varying the overall diameter of tyres affects ground clearance, centre of gravity, brake effectiveness, steering geometry, performance and speedometer accuracy.

[mosoto]

It was raining this morning and I came around a corner I have driven plenty of times before. I wasn't going quick but the back stepped out and caught me completely by surpirse. Before I knew it I was sliding sideways into oncoming traffic.

That was just too close for comfort so at lunchtime I went down and bought new tyres.

I went for Nexen N6000 235/45/17 all round for $130 a corner. They had some 50 series Kuhmo's but they were over $200 each.

In terms of looks, you can't really tell the overall diameter is slightly less - it doesn't look wierd at all. And i checked the speedo against the GPS and it is out by about 4-5 kms at 60kph.

Tyres feel so much better already. Thanks for your advice guys.

I've got the N6000 on my daily, a 5.7 litre commonwhore with plenty of torque and to be honest they're pretty reliable in the wet. They've not lost traction yet........................touch wood

[scathing]

so they put the worst tyres on my car for the RWC when I bought it. Not too bad in the dry but downright dangerous in the wet.

it currently has 215/55/17 which I think is the standard size.

I am thinking about 225/45/17 on the front and 235/45/17 on the rear. Anyone running a staggered setup like this? any change in handling?

If your car used to run the same sized tyre all round, and you run tyres with different circumferences front to rear then you can affect your traction / stability control and ABS (since they all rely on wheel rotation). Since that circumference is also not the same as stock, your speedo will also be out.

Staggering tyres is only useful if your car makes enough power to actually overwhelm the grip in the dry. In the wet, wide tyres is a negative to grip. Tyre compound and design will also make a bigger difference to grip and handling than the width. Buy a better tyre, not a wider tyre, if you want grip.

Unless you run a massively different tyre size, the aesthetics aren't even noticeable.

[R6n350GT]

Just been reading a long thread on tyres, is wider better..

Depends how your car is set up, etc but summary i got was, yes wider is better but only is has the correct suspension set up correctly.

http://www.eng-tips.....cfm?qid=102250

Edited February 29, 2012 by R6n350GT

[scathing]

Depends how your car is set up, etc but summary i got was, yes wider is better but only is has the correct suspension set up correctly.

Think about what you said, which is "yes but only if X, Y, Z". In other words, the answer to "is wider better" is actually "maybe".

In practical terms, if you want to improve grip then changing the tyre compound and construction is far more noticeable, and with far less caveats, than changing the width.