Tyre Choice can i fit bigger profile tyre for softer ride?

[disco dave]

quick question:-

can i fit a bigger profile tyre to make ride softer.
i have type s with 225/45 tyres. is there enough clearance to fit 50 profile or even 55?

i'm sure this would make ride more comfortable for many people wanting to keep the 17 inch wheels.

[robbo51]

Problem with that is that it will throw your speedo out
Try this Tyre calculator from Briskoda.net
BRISKODA - The Skoda Forum and Community - Tyre Calculator

[Pottsy]

That link needs registration. Have a look in the wiki here and you'll see a couple of tyre size calculators, including one with a comfort value:

http://www.civinfo.com/wiki/index.php?title=Useful_links

Not sure whether the bigger ones will fit though. The speedo can easily be recalibrated (I'm doing a How To, but this won't be finished until next week).

[pcr]

I too am very interested in the possibility of doing this. Just compared 225/55 with 225/45 tyres, the comfort ratio comes out at nearly 2:1, whatever that means.

[disco dave]

thanks for the replies.those tyre calculators are great.
would be nice to here from anyone that has tried this out in practice to see if there is enough clearance.

thanks again for the quick replies.

Dave.

[Pottsy]

You need a friendly tyre dealer who is prepared to put a tyre on, check it on a front and rear, and then possibly replace the original tyre again. Might cost £20, but if it works may well be worth it.

The area I would check most carefully is the upper inside of the front tyre, where it may catch the spring holder. I had a car that did this - but only round corners (the deformation of the bottom of the tyre clearly had an effect on the top of the tyre).

Also it goes without saying that you need to do all 4, or else the VSA will stop working.

[robbo51]

Originally Posted by Pottsy

...... The speedo can easily be recalibrated (I'm doing a How To, but this won't be finished until next week).

Does this mean I will be able to match it to my Talex, which is spot on??

[GHGH]

Originally Posted by Pottsy

The speedo can easily be recalibrated (I'm doing a How To, but this won't be finished until next week).

This is very interesting - never understood the stupidity of not letting me know how fast I'm driving.

Hope this is possible to do with non-satnav models!

[PTR]

i can answer the question very easily:
if you want to keep the 17" then you can not increase the tire wall height because the overall diameter will change.

but to get comfort you need rubber instead of wheel
so you should go to 16" and to keep the original diameter you can use a tire with higher wall

that's it

[Kremmen]

The speedo can easily be recalibrated (I'm doing a How To, but this won't be finished until next week).

Excellent - what a bonus that will be.


One thing I have noticed...........

Near me is a fast dual carriageway with a 50MPH camera slap bang in the middle. Everyone(almost) approaches the camera at 60 - 70 and slows down accordingly.
In 99% of cases, regardless of the car make, they always slow to an indicated 50mph which we know is more like a real 45mph.

Therefore dear Watson I deduce that all modern cars are as unreliable at giving the true speed as each other.

I wonder if the cameras are calibrated to take this into account and if I go through it at a real 50mph would it double flash and produce a 'you got mail' scenario?

[GHGH]

Originally Posted by disco dave

quick question:-

can i fit a bigger profile tyre to make ride softer.
i have type s with 225/45 tyres. is there enough clearance to fit 50 profile or even 55?

i'm sure this would make ride more comfortable for many people wanting to keep the 17 inch wheels.

Assuming you have original 17" rims, they are quite narrow - 7" - and will also fit 215 and even 205mm wide tyres. Not that it helps the sidewall height, but the height:width ratio improve, and so does the comfort. Slightly. (205/50-17 and 225/45-17 has equal diameter).
I am allowed a 5% increase in the wheel diameter, so I can fit 205/55-17 which is 3.6% larger than the original dimension, and this should improve the comfort noticable.

However - 205/55-16 and 225/45-17 are considered standardish dimensions, and my "odd" suggestion may be way more expensive or not availible at all for some brands.

[GHGH]

Originally Posted by Kremmen

I wonder if the cameras are calibrated to take this into account and if I go through it at a real 50mph would it double flash and produce a 'you got mail' scenario?

Well in Norway they are set to allow 2-3 km/h (~2 mph) overspeeding.

[robbo51]

Originally Posted by GHGH

Well in Norway they are set to allow 2-3 km/h (~2 mph) overspeeding.

They are here too

[Dave Taylor]

Originally Posted by Pottsy

The speedo can easily be recalibrated (I'm doing a How To, but this won't be finished until next week).

Does this mean my MPG reading will then be accurate like my wifes Jazz and my old Megane?

Tell us more........

Re Dave

[Pottsy]

More speedo stuff when I finish it next week. Maybe even Saturday...

Robbo - beware... The Talex might be right, and it might not be. My GPS Snooper Evolution over reads by 2 mph.

[dinoc]

You can replace your 225/45 R17 with some 205/50 R17 or you could try 215/50 R17.

A good bible on wheels to be read:
Car Bibles : The Wheel and Tyre Bible Page 1 of 2

The other bibles here: The Car Maintenance Bibles

[GHGH]

Yes the 215/50-17 should improve the comfort, but not the 205/50-17.

Calculator with comfort value

[robbo51]

Originally Posted by Pottsy

More speedo stuff when I finish it next week. Maybe even Saturday...

Robbo - beware... The Talex might be right, and it might not be. My GPS Snooper Evolution over reads by 2 mph.

Thanks Pottsy but it does appear to be correct, as near as makes no difference anyway