just a quickie......

the standard tyre size of the sporting mjet is 205-45-17, if i change to 215-40-17 will they fit?

ive checked about difference in diameter and circumference and its less than 2%

any advice welcome

the reason i ask is the standard tyres are pretty expensive compared to the 215-40-17 plus the latter will be wider and lower profile so will look better?

how much you paying for standards

Last week I have a quote of £165 EACH for bridgestone Potenzas for my M-Jet

I got them off mytyres.co.uk for £98 each, they were delivered the next day for free

Why the hell would you put potenzas on again, they are bloody crap.

I think 215's fit on the standard rim as its 6.5" wide. No real need to drop down to the 40 on 17s. Will make the ride a bit harsher and thats about it really.

punto_matt said:

Why the hell would you put potenzas on again, they are bloody crap.

I think 215's fit on the standard rim as its 6.5" wide. No real need to drop down to the 40 on 17s. Will make the ride a bit harsher and thats about it really.

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:yeahthat:

Very soft tyres potenza's which is why they wear out. They are not brilliant on the grip terms either. Personally I'd go for:-

Falken Ziex512:- Good sports tyre with slightly better wear than potenza's with better grip. They also look nice as they have rim protection .

Kuhmo Ecstsa Spt's:- Good all around tyre better wear and ride quality than falken's. Better in the wet too.

Toyo Proxies:- Best out the 3 as far as grip goes in the wet and the dry but also has the harshest ride and worst wear.

Goodyear Eagle F1's are worth a look aswell. They will be going on my GP next.

punto_matt said:

Goodyear Eagle F1's are worth a look aswell. They will be going on my GP next.

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Yeah I've heard decent ratings about them. Mostly on bigger cars though but should be fine on a punto.

So is it best to go with 215/45/17 over the standard 205/45/17 pretenders ?

Would this improve the ride at all ?

As the fronts are nearly due for replacement, and if i did get 215/45/17, would it be best to get the 215's put on the back and move the 205's to the front? The backs are hardly worn, and I have a bridgestone pretender and pirelli P something? pirelli was on the car when i got it, so can only assume previous owner had a puncture or something like that.

Just checked mytres.co.uk those kumho tyres chris mentioned are about £65 each which i would say is a really good price given that the tyres are 17's and i used to pay that for 15's on my stilo when i had it.

I'd just stick with 205/45 tbh

i had 215/45/17 on my gp m-jet for a year and a half go for the 45 profile takes the edge off the hard as a hoares gp suspension and fills them wheel arches up just that little bit more

I put Potenzas back on cause they are standard, and I wanted them to match the backs :lol:

Ive never had a problem with them,

dont get khumos, as cheap as they are they are still budget to mid range tyres

your tyres are the only thing keeping your 1200 kilo peice of metal on the road, dont skimp on them

Mattyk said:

dont get khumos, as cheap as they are they are still budget to mid range tyres

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They grip better than potenza's and are half the price in that size. But hey tyres are a perspective thing if your willing to pay double for an inferior tyre that won't last as long then its up to you .

ChrisUK said:

They grip better than potenza's and are half the price in that size. But hey tyres are a perspective thing if your willing to pay double for an inferior tyre that won't last as long then its up to you .

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:yeahthat:

The protenza are over £100 whereas the khumos are £65, even the good year eagle F1 are cheaper than bridgestone protenza and i have read some very good reports on them yesterday, good in the dry and the wet, last longer too.

I'll try and get some gooyears F1's, failing that it will be khumos.

ive gone up to 215/45s on the back of mine and should have done it sooner, same level of control etc but takes the edge off the harshness, really good. I got Federal SS595s coz I like them and they are 45 each lol!

My Bridgestone Potenza would only last 10-12k miles. Having gone through 2 sets of them, I decided to try Pirelli P Zero Nero. So far, I've had them for just over 13k miles and there is plenty of thread on the tyre, expect to replace them when they hit 18k miles. Price-wise they are roughly the same, although they seem to grip better while cold and produce slightly less road noise. Overall, very pleased with Pirelli and in my opinion, a better tyre than the Bridgestone for the GP.

As far as costs as concerned, it is all about marketing. Kumho for example as considered to be a good tyre in some European countries, and is priced accordingly! In Britain however, they are very cheap, because they are perceived to be "budget"!

I'd stick with the original size, 205-45-17. I would not like to mess around the car's set up.

Has anyone tried Yokohamas on their GP? I'm looking for a set of front tyres that will last over 20k miles...

georgios1976 said:

I'd stick with the original size, 205-45-17. I would not like to mess around the car's set up.

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That would be fine but the cars standard set up is crap lol!! way under-damped with a skinny front anti roll bar etc etc. changing the tyres is an easy way to a better feeling car, due to the rubbish set up particularly at the back, front tyre grip is important, as the weight transfer ratio in these cars is very high, therefore changing to a wider tyre is a good move on standard suspension, for traction reasons, and takes some of the jiggly bounciness newer Fiats are afflicted with away too when combined with a slightly higher profile.

In reality, the Corsa equivalent comes with wider tyres anyway, despite its better thought out springs and dampers and that car is way superior to drive, live and learn Fiat!

Sell up and go buy a corsa then if you hate it that much. Mines fine otr, stick on some eibachs and it improves it even more.

auto_blanco said:

ive gone up to 215/45s on the back of mine and should have done it sooner, same level of control etc but takes the edge off the harshness, really good. I got Federal SS595s coz I like them and they are 45 each lol!

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Federals are complete ditchfinders, i would steer well clear, which ironically you cant with those tyres.

Ill be putting Toyo TR1's on mine for the wet grip, Alex left Falkens on the front of mine, ok, but not confidence inspiring in the wet and they are noisy as sin.

I tried falken 512's on the front of mine last time, and they were so bad, I was tiptoeing around in the wet, and even took my car to the garage to get them to check all the front suspension out, as I thought something must be broken! the mechanic said it was fine, and to change the tyres, I threw the falkens away (well, in my shed incase I get punctures!) and put on some goodyear F1's, and its transformed the car, back to its usual self again, I have grip!

I really rate the bridgestone potenza's too..... there's a reason they are standard equipment of the like of porshes, astons ect... but they are so expensive...

I've always heard good things about the toyo's, but never tried them...

pirelli p nero's are good too.... I had them on the vRS

federals? well I've used them on the GP too, and they gripped ok, but fell apart! they went oval, and caused all sorts of vibrations.... could have blown, I wouldn't reccomend! threw them away before they wore out too!

anyway, my advice in order of personal preference...

1) OE bridgestone potenzas RE050A (don't confuse this flavour with other brdgestones!)
2) Goodyear eagle F1 (GSD3?)
3) pirelli p nero's
4) toyo's... (on reputation, i haven't tried them, but certainly would)

avoid:
avon's (ZZ3's) they grip ok, but I had a pair of them fall apart and crack (on the inside! found after I had them removed for vibration/oval problems like the federals..)
federals/ most cheap makes..... maxxis were tested by autoexpress recently, and they basically said "ditchfinder".......

sharkrider said:

I really rate the bridgestone potenza's too..... there's a reason they are standard equipment of the like of porshes, astons ect... but they are so expensive...

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Porsche have dropped the potenza and now only use michelin

punto_matt said:

Porsche have dropped the potenza and now only use michelin

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ah.. ok.... you said you didn't like 'em.... let me know how you get on when you change your fronts for something else (on the other forum, I don't come here much!) .... how many miles you up to now?