Technical Changing the size of my tyres

[BrianMcL]

I've had yet another puncture, this time I hit something which ripped the inside of my rear nearside on my way through Glencoe. As usual I've found that getting a 215/50 17 is both expensive and difficult.
The last time this happened, a couple of weeks ago, I thought about changing all 4 tyres for something cheaper and more readily available.
Would anyone know what would be a good alternative?
The cheapest 215 50 17 National Tyres in Fort William have in stock is £126, with the Goodyear weighing in at well over £200.
They're doing a 2 for 1 deal with a coupon in yesterday's Sun so maybe I could take advantage of that in the process?
Where I am wifi and 3g is non existent, and 2G's patchy, so my options to research online are limited.
Once again any advice, tips and help anyone can offer would be most welcome.

 

[lanciaman]

Get some part worns from an ebay seller with good feedback......

 

[Caravadossi]

The HiQ(Goodyear-Dunlop Group) dealers for Fort William are McConechy’s. Maybe worth twisting-their-arm against any NT&A offer.

I’d like to try the new (Goodyear-Dunlop) Fulda SportControl but they don’t offer my spec & anyway suspect they’d be >£100 where I’m resistant to go. Although they do a 215/50R17 XL 95W.

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55 1.9/16v150 Prestigio (225/45R18 XL95Y Falken FK452)

 

[BrianMcL]

Would it be possible to change all 4 to 215/55 17's, for example? I've seen them much cheaper than 215 /50's some places.

 

[Doofer]

Get some part worns from an ebay seller with good feedback......

I wouldn't touch them myself. You don't know what kind of death-smash they've been involved in. Given that they're only part-worn, it's likely that they did come off a write-off resulting from a crash. They could have been whacked into or bounced over a kerb or anything. There could be any sort of invisible internal damage within the structure of it.

Mine are 18's, but I paid about £60-ish each for mine the last time, and they seem fine. They're Accelera. Can't fault them really.

 

[jimboy]

205 50 17's are a fair bit cheaper & only that wee bit slimmer, if you can live with this hey no big deal. Just for the record stay away from part worn tyres.

 

[Caravadossi]

Croma (within spec) tyres roll within the envelope of 794(±17) revs/mile – with 215/50R17 close to mid-point at 792. 215/55R17 just fall outside that range at 767 – but I wouldn’t be fussed over it, provided I had the consent of my insurer*. A 205/50R17 (804) or 225/45R17 (808) fall within the range.

*I queried dropping a speed band (or two) on tyres with my indie recently & was cut-off with the comment that tyres are the first place an insurance assessor looks after a `disappointing incident.’

120729

 

[BrianMcL]

From the driving perspective would I be able to tell the difference between 225s, 215s and 205s?

 

[Doofer]

Just buy what it's meant to have - what's the point in mucking about with the wrong size? If you vary the profile the speedo will be wrong, if you reduce the width you'll lose grip and will be overloading it for weight.

Shopping around is the way to go. Buy online for delivery, pay a local garage £10 to fit. Easy.

Also check the weight and speed ratings are at least as good as specified in the manual. Don't just match the existing tyres as someone may have cut corners in the past. Mine had lower speed and load ratings fitted when I bought it and it cornered like a stack of mattresses.

 

[BrianMcL]

Ideally I'd prefer to keep to the orginal tyre size but they seem to be something that either aren't in stock or only at a very high price. At the moment I'm driving around the West Highlands without a spare until Tuesday, and it's not the first time I've struggled to get one.

No doubt it's easier all things being equal just to stay with what I have but the combination of price and scarcity isn't ideal. I'd rather have a better quality tyre for the money than one that's just expensive because they're not that common.

 

[Caravadossi]

From the driving perspective would I be able to tell the difference between 225s, 215s and 205s?

It’s argued to be a matter of trade-offs – only the most expensive tyres get near to being all-singing-all-dancing. If you look at some of the test data you should be able to pick-up on the contrasts between brands & models. But lots of elements to it. For example noise increases with width. A change in width, will mean a change in aspect to stay within limits - & that will affect ride. If you enter your `possibles’ into this application it’ll do the calculations & you can see the variations.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Personally I wouldn’t split the contract (although I have in the past) of supply & fit – I’d keep it simple under one roof. Should any fault arise, you’ll only have one shop to chase - & no argument as to who should rectify the job.

When I’ve changed size (not with Croma), it was for the same reason you give – I got a better quality tyre for the money, in a more common size.

What do McConechy’s quote for the Fulda SportControl?
Does the Goodyear-Dunlop fuel voucher offer extend to Fulda tyres?

The Barum Bravuris2 also looks a reasonable option to me - meets all the green labels for wet braking, RR & noise.

http://www.bettertyres.org.uk/_uploads/buying-better-tyres/summer tyre list.pdf

120729

 

[BrianMcL]

Would a 225 45 17 94Y be a reasonable alternative?

The spec for the original is 215 50 17 91W.

 

[Caravadossi]

225/45R17 provides for a 4” wall (same as 225/45R18 on the Prestigio) & you may find that a little harsh for comfort in contrast to the 4.2” to 4.7” walls of the 50 & 55 profiles.

Spec - Wall - Rad - Dia - Circ - Revs/ml - Change
215/50-17 4.2in 12.7in 25.5in 80.0in 792 0.0%
205/55-16 4.4in 12.4in 24.9in 78.2in 811 -2.3%
215/55-16 4.7in 12.7in 25.3in 79.5in 797 -0.6%
225/45-18 4.0in 13.0in 26.0in 81.6in 777 2.0%

225/45-17 4.0in 12.5in 25.0in 78.5in 808 -1.9%

The calcs look reasonable – as you’d be within an acceptable 2% change.
You can put it to the tyre shop – but your insurer will have the final say.
Little point in making a saving if they’re going to snatch it.

120730

 

[Doofer]

Well I wouldn't mess about with the size. It doesn't seem to be a rare size from a quick google. There are that many different sizes that it would be amazing if a tyre shop had anything near a full range in stock - it's just pot luck whether they have yours in.

This is near enough the 17" equivalent to the 18" tyres I have...

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/170880929978?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&cbt=y

They're not quite the same, as they have the Phi tread pattern instead of Alpha in the 18" size. I've been running them over a year and can't fault them. As I say, it's usually a tenner for fitting and garages are generally happy to do it, as it's all money in the till.

 

[BrianMcL]

Mconechy's Fort William don't carry them in stock but could get me a budget spec tyre for £112 for tomorrow.
It's frustrating that they are so much cheaper and easier to get online but when you're on holiday in Knoydart that's not really an option this time. Tempted to get one to store at home though for the next time one goes.

 

[BrianMcL]

The accelera alpha looks like a decent tyre for the money - think I'll order one of them to keep for when I need it next time. Once again thanks for the tip Doofer.

 

[Caravadossi]

Mconechy's Fort William don't carry them in stock but could get me a budget spec tyre for £112 ...

They maybe thinking of the (Goodyear-Dunlop) budget Sava – but that price should get you a decent mid-range tyre.

The Alpha is a directional tyre.

120730

 

[Doofer]

The Alpha is a directional tyre.

120730

Yes, it seems that most are (at least for the 18"). I found it very hard to find a non-directional one for a sensible price for my full-size spare. That was before the Accelera Alpha Phi came along.

 

[Doofer]

It looks like I confused the forum software with the link I gave previously. I edited it after, as the link I gave first is the wrong size. The right one is the text shown, but the link when you click it goes to the wrong one.

I think this is the right one...

http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/170880929978?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&va r=sbar&cbt=y

Check the specs against your handbook though.

 

[BrianMcL]

Got a westlake sv308 branded 215 50 17 fitted at national for £92. It's rated at 95W so is a bit better than the Croma spec. Hard to tell if it's any good though, it's on the rear passenger and the car's pretty laden but I'm sure it will do a job.

One thing I will say about this post is that I hadn't realised just how much there is to tyres and particularly the impact of the different parts of the sizings.

I'd started it hoping to find that there was a good, commonly available alternative size that would work fine but clearly life's not that straight forward.

As always thanks to everyone for all of your pointers, links and advice.