What tire size?

cdecker78 · Post by **cdecker78** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:15 pm

I currently have the 16" bridge spoke wheels and have 195/55/16 tires. I have just bought a set if 17" web spoke wheels from NAM for what I thought was a fair price of $400 shipped. They are straight and no curb rash just a little dirty. But I need tires for them. I don't know weather to get 205/45/17 or 215/40/17 or even 215/45/17. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I will be getting a performance all season tires. I do prefer a little comfort over handling, and I know I will be taking a hit on comfort because of the larger wheel. But I will be getting rid of the HARD run flats in favor of something softer and better riding.

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

BLUGOOSE · Post by **BLUGOOSE** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:03 pm

A lot of us are using 215/45/17 and find they work quite well. Lots lots better than runflats.

cdecker78 · Post by **cdecker78** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:22 pm

BLUGOOSE wrote:A lot of us are using 215/45/17 and find they work quite well. Lots lots better than runflats.

215/45/17 is the what I am leaning towards. Does it affect the speedo at all? I have found my speedo with the 16's runs about 3 mph fast. So when my speedo says I am doing 70 I am actually doing about 67.

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 7:46 pm

As far as the speedo correction, it depends on what tire you choose....

I ran the same set of 215/45's Kumhos on both my '03 and my '09 clubby. On the '03 the Kumhos made no difference, my speedo was about 2 mph fast. When I replaced those with 215/45 Nitto NeoGens, my speedo was spot on....taller tire I guess, even tho listed as the same size and aspect ratio.

The Kumho's made no difference on my Clubby either - it's still 3 mph fast.....

I'm debating now on what to replace the Kumho's with, they're down pretty close to the wearbars now at 25K on them, which I guess is pretty good for an Ultra High performance All Season. I really liked them as far as general use, they were extremely quiet right up till the end, the grip was terrific and they stayed perfectly balanced the whole time I've owned them but were only so-so in the snow, and that wasn't really a problem till this last winter. I put my runflats back on for winter use since I knew the Kumhos were worn down so far, I knew they wouldn't be too spiffy for snow...

Maybe Davester will chime in on some brand suggestions, but the 215/45's will fit with no problem as long as your car is stock height and your new wheels have the same offset. I had no interference even with the taller Nittos.

ksminiman · Post by **ksminiman** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 8:30 pm

dunlop sp sport signatures in a 205/50/R17. That is what I just put on my car and they are awesome! No fitment issues and my speedo is probably spot on now. You have extra clearance for the slightly taller sidewalls. I don't and still no problems. Extremely comfortable, very grippy, all season and long tread life. $110 per tire plus about $50 in shipping. Got mine installed at Firestone on 95th and I35. Might be able to get you a sweet deal.

davester · Post by **davester** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 9:32 am

When choosing a replacement tire size for OE, try to keep the "revolutions per mile" as close as possible. For a 17"size, the 215/45R17 would be the best choice. You also want to stay with the same performance or speed rating. ie:Z,V or W High performance because of the sidewall construction. You do not want to sway in the corners. This tire size converter helps when choosing a tire size --- http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 11:57 am

I spent quite a bit of time on Tire Rack today looking at the information on each tire in the "Ultra High Performance" All Season class and came back to two tires - the Kumho's I currently have and the Dunlops ksminiman mentions - as having the best price/value/performance relationship, the only real differences in the specs are the Kumhos are 2lbs lighter than the Dunlops, other than that they match up pretty well.

Other brand tires had higher and lower ratings in specific areas, whether cost, snow performance or whatever and some of those parameters might be more important to your tire choice than they were to mine

I'll probably just order another set of Kumhos.......215/45 17 ASX at $98 ea plus shipping. I need to get those TPMS sensors this time too, I just remembered - Cha'ching, another $200! You'll need them too cdecker unless they left them on the web spokes you bought....

cdecker78 · Post by **cdecker78** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:51 pm

has anyone here seen the Conti ExtremeContact DWS(Ultra High Performance All-Season)

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes

they are rated #1 overall at tire rack. and at $110 a piece thats not too bad of a price for 215/45/17

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 2:57 pm

Conti Contacts are what came on my car as runflats, and I was pleasantly surprised how well they got around in the snow this past winter, they've always been quiet and stayed balanced too. Maybe I should give them a better look for my replacement tires also .....

davester · Post by **davester** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:32 pm

I am considering this tire as well. Excellent ratings.

cdecker78 · Post by **cdecker78** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 3:47 pm

Yeah I have the Conti runflats on my car now . the mileage sucked considering I may get 18,000 out of them and they ride really rough. But as I said they are RF's which have a solid sidewall. So I kind of expected it. I hope IF I go with Conti's again the ride will be better.

ksminiman · Post by **ksminiman** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 5:07 pm

I can say I did a ton of research on them (DWS) and chose the dunlops because I found some rather disturbing experiences that customers had had with warranty issues and the tires becoming unbalanced/cupped pretty quickly. They were also on backorder for a 205/45/17 which is what i wanted when looking at them.

I have had some really bad luck with kumhos involving tread separation to the cords and they would not warranty them. Had less than 5K on them when I did a panic stop locking both fronts from about 50mph to avoid a deer. complete tread block failure all the way across the tire. I can understand a flat spot when locking (duh) but the tread blocks literally separated from the tires right down to the cords for about 2 inches around the tires when the tires first locked. I could feel them let go when they locked.

I am just sharing my experience with the kumhos. I know that thousands of people have probably had very good experience with them but I have been turned away from them for a long time after my experience.

I chose the dunlops after reading not only on tirerack but a basic blog search that the dunlops were a very good tire. I have to agree and enjoy them very much already.

just my .02

LiLReD1 · Post by **LiLReD1** » Mon May 03, 2010 12:24 am

I had the runflats on my Challenge wheels (17x7) which is how it came from the factory in a 205/45-17 size. My speedo, according to GPS, and a few of those trailer speed displayer thingy's was a few mph slower than indicated. Prolly why some are saying 215/45-17's are a good way to go.

I, in a funny accidental way, ordered 205/40-17's for my Feathers. Yes, it's a shorter sidewall, and yes my speedo is now WAY off: a cool 6 mph at an indicated 75. It was unintentional, but I let it go being that really, a lot of people I've seen run that size on a lowered car for fear of clearance (though it's not a problem), and to get that extra ratio for acceleration, etc. I really wanted to try and go for a 215/40, but didn't want a fat tire on the wheel. Odd thing is though, the 205/45's are a squared off look on the Challenge wheels. But the Feathers, which are the exact same dimension wheel, on a 205/40 have a little stretch on the wheel. So I guess I should've gotten a 215 anyway. If you don't know what I mean by stretch, I'll post a pic.

And if yer wondering about ride with the shorter sidewall, heh... if yer used to the runflats like I was, it feels like I'm riding on air in comparison. No harsh ride. And they're still UHP tires.

MINI-me · Post by **MINI-me** » Tue May 04, 2010 11:50 pm

I'm on my second set of tires after first replacing the original 17" run flats with Kumos. This time I went with Bridgestone Potenza Grid high-performance all-seasons. They absolutely rock! All-weather traction is great, ride is fairly smooth and tire noise is minimal. I even punished them with five laps at HTP and was amazed at how well these all seasons gripped on dry pavement. I bought the tires from TireRack after quite a bit of consideration and had KC Auto Sport put them on. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... G+019+Grid

cdecker78 · Post by **cdecker78** » Wed May 05, 2010 8:51 am

Thank you all for the info but come to find out I got ripped off by a NAM member. He told me the wheels were in great shape with no curb rash and only a couple minor scratches. Come to find out they are a lot worse. There is major curb rash, Clear Coat cracked off and several deep gouges in the wheels. One of the wheels he even painted the outer polished lip of the web spoke SILVER! Yes I got ripped off and PayPal says tuff luck, all they guarantee is that I will get the product I purchase not the condition. So now I have a dispute in with American Express. I have done thousand of transactions on the net and this is the first one I have ever got burned on. So I will be looking at some aftermarket 17" wheels sometime after this dispute is resolved.

The good news is I'm Going To DISNEY WORLD! (not until the end of Oct but still)

LiLReD1 · Post by **LiLReD1** » Wed May 05, 2010 1:23 pm

Well that's dumb. Post up like crazy on NAM the experience you had so nobody buys from him again.

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