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Tuning 215/45/16 instead of 195/45/16, Am I mad !

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Tuning 215/45/16 instead of 195/45/16, Am I mad !

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Ryan McCully

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Now we all know tyres play a big bit in how our car handles, ride, and performers, but has anyone put a larger tyre on the car just to see what difference it makes ? :confused:

Does anyone have any recommendations of which tyre to choose in the near future for anybody on here ? :slayer:

The Continental tyres that come on it originally sucked ! They just did not appeal to me at all ! (n), so I changed them very quickly to Yokohama Parada Spec 2 tyres and what a difference (y), they were very good in the dry, but in the rain they weren't the best, but still were very good ! :slayer:

Now I am going bigger! That is wider (y). Just ordered some Yokohama Advan AD08 tyres size 215/45/16 !. Looking forward to seeing what these are like and what differences they do make :D.

Has anybody something like this before ? Drop your opinion (y)
 
Ryan McCully said:
Now we all know tyres play a big bit in how our car handles, ride, and performers, but has anyone put a larger tyre on the car just to see what difference it makes ? :confused:

Does anyone have any recommendations of which tyre to choose in the near future for anybody on here ? :slayer:

The Continental tyres that come on it originally sucked ! They just did not appeal to me at all ! (n), so I changed them very quickly to Yokohama Parada Spec 2 tyres and what a difference (y), they were very good in the dry, but in the rain they weren't the best, but still were very good ! :slayer:

Now I am going bigger! That is wider (y). Just ordered some Yokohama Advan AD08 tyres size 215/45/16 !. Looking forward to seeing what these are like and what differences they do make :D.

Has anybody something like this before ? Drop your opinion (y)
Click to expand...
Thats far too wide i run 195/50/15's michelin pilot exaltos which are very good but i even consider them borderline too wide the 185's were enough. As you said however the stock conti premium 2's were rubbish. Wider tires may give you more grip but they cannot mask the inherent deficiencies in a specific car's handling.
 
Going 20mm wider will mean the sidewall is curled out from the rim, which will mean the tyre will tend to move around a lot more on sideways loads, as the sidewall isn't sitting perpendicular to the axis of the wheel.

So you'll have quite a soft ride, but not necessarily the best handling on cornering.

Also, the rolling radius will be a bit bigger, 45% of 215mm is a bit bigger than 45% of 195mm..
 
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It will seriously affect the accuracy of your speedometer and quite probably invalidate your insurance in the event of an accident...... not to mention the change in the overall gearing of your car to the detriment of its performance.

Not a good idea.
 
I have already done the calculations, it will be 2mph more than the speedo says and I don't think it would affected the gearing on a 1.2 lounge ! It's not the fastest car in the world !
 
I have already tried a spare 16" wheel with 215/45/16 and it just fits on the 500.
 
Ryan McCully said:
I have already done the calculations, it will be 2mph more than the speedo says and I don't think it would affected the gearing on a 1.2 lounge ! It's not the fastest car in the world !
Click to expand...


It's going to be even slower now...... You will find it hard to get up to speeds at which you'll use the extra grip.....
 
(quote=bgunn;3178341) Well, it'll 'fit', but the car will handle like ****.[/quote]

This is correct in afraid.
I have had a lot of experience with tyre vs rim sizes when I ran my Westfield. I tried a lot if combinations.. Wider is not always better and the rim to tyre width is critical to steering 'feel' and handling.
Stick to the reconnected sizes go the rim width.
Good handling and grip is not all about wider tyres. Wheel and tyre weight also has a big impact on a light car.
Just my 2p worth.
Cheers,
Ian.
 
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bgunn said:
Going 20mm wider will mean the sidewall is curled out from the rim, which will mean the tyre will tend to move around a lot more on sideways loads, as the sidewall isn't sitting perpendicular to the axis of the wheel.

So you'll have quite a soft ride, but not necessarily the best handling on cornering.

Also, the rolling radius will be a bit bigger, 45% of 215mm is a bit bigger than 45% of 195mm..
Click to expand...

Yep.. Very accurate info. You should really re consider your choice for the sake of safety and good handling characteristics.
Cheers,
Ian.
 
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Do, please, check that rim size (generally expressed as *J where * is a number) is still within the tyre manufacturer's guidlelines. If not, you'll hit trouble with VOSPA, your insurers, etc. and the handling will be dreadful.

I find Uniroyal Rainsports in 195/45/14 and 15 to still be the everyday performance bargain. (6j or 6.5j rims).(Camskills are cheap.)
 
fingers99 said:
Do, please, check that rim size (generally expressed as *J where * is a number) is still within the tyre manufacturer's guidlelines. If not, you'll hit trouble with VOSPA, your insurers, etc. and the handling will be dreadful.

I find Uniroyal Rainsports in 195/45/14 and 15 to still be the everyday performance bargain. (6j or 6.5j rims).(Camskills are cheap.)
Click to expand...
16" wheels (well, standard ones anyway) for the 500 are 6.5" wide so from that point it's not an issue, but 215's on a 1.2 will be like driving with the brakes lightly applied.
 
Ryan McCully said:
Now we all know tyres play a big bit in how our car handles, ride, and performers, but has anyone put a larger tyre on the car just to see what difference it makes ? :confused:

Does anyone have any recommendations of which tyre to choose in the near future for anybody on here ? :slayer:

The Continental tyres that come on it originally sucked ! They just did not appeal to me at all ! (n), so I changed them very quickly to Yokohama Parada Spec 2 tyres and what a difference (y), they were very good in the dry, but in the rain they weren't the best, but still were very good ! :slayer:

Now I am going bigger! That is wider (y). Just ordered some Yokohama Advan AD08 tyres size 215/45/16 !. Looking forward to seeing what these are like and what differences they do make :D.

Has anybody something like this before ? Drop your opinion (y)
Click to expand...

Would agree with all the postings before me.
The conti 2s are IMHO a great all round tyre - biggest drawback was the rolling resistance which has been addressed by the conti 5s which are available in both the 16s & the 15s.
If you were looking for big tyres the abarth guys have used 215/40 x 17 but they recommended to stick with the max width of 205s.
On a 1.2 anything bigger than 15 x 185/55 is a bit of a waste unless you want the look of a 16 inch.
Reckon that in the wet extra wide tyres can be problematic.
 
The actual model of tyre choice is very very good, those AD08's will be very sticky indeed. Even if you stick with 195's there will be an amazing difference on these tyres. If you go for the 215 size you will for sure experience a very floaty feel to the steering at speed as the stsndard rims will 'squirm' around too much on the wider tyre. You will also increase weight and rolling resistance which will make the car feel less agile.
Please consider changing your order for 195's. You'll thanks us all for it later, I promise.
Cheers,
Ian.
 
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