upgrading to 225-45-17

[hyrpms]

I need the advice of those of you that have made the switch to 225's from 215's. I want to upgrade the handling, but not at the expense of ride comfort and noise.(the wife dislikes those..) I want to replace the stock tires with a performance all season. Am considering Bridgestone RE950's, Avon M550 a/s, and Toyo Proxes 4. Would greatly appreciate you time and advice. I guess its a twofold ? Would a wider tire be much noisier and ride worse, or would it ride the same and be quieter. And 2nd are the tires listed above good choices and what would you recommend if not on that list? Thanks.

[LzyKid4Life]

not any different in ride quaility, from what I remeber from my 225's..just a lil firmer depending on side wall you get..the tire choices cant help you with..although the toyos' Ive heard are good tires..

[mbacis]

I went to 225 Proxes, but I switched to 7.5" wheels at the same time. Not sure if that will make a difference. The Proxes that I bought were used, and pretty worn. I found them to stick better than the stockers for sure, but they were a little louder as well. In their state they weren't very good in the rain either. Overall I didn't care for them much.

 

I don't think going from 215 to 225 will increase the sound per se, it has more to do with the tread pattern of the particular tire that you choose. If noise is critical to you I wouldn't recommend the Proxes. I have no experience with those other tires. You may also want to check out the Pirelli PZero Nero.

[tantal]

I think the proxes are the worst of the three you list, the Bridgestones the best. The avons are closer to the bridgestones than the proxes, and are probably the best price/performance a/s on offer, with above average to very good performance. More spendy is the michelin pilot exalto a/s, probably the best performance oriented a/s on the market.

 

But, what is your winter like? There are a/s tires that you dont want to be on during the winter, the RE92 is nearly in this category itself. If you describe where you are/what you are looking for a bit better, you might end up with a different set of choices.

[rurouni_x]

I switched to 225 kumho asx and notice a big upgrade in traction, grip, not too much noisier or any changes in ride quality from the sucky stockers

[robinlsb]

I need the advice of those of you that have made the switch to 225's from 215's. I want to upgrade the handling, but not at the expense of ride comfort and noise.(the wife dislikes those..) I want to replace the stock tires with a performance all season. Am considering Bridgestone RE950's, Avon M550 a/s, and Toyo Proxes 4. Would greatly appreciate you time and advice. I guess its a twofold ? Would a wider tire be much noisier and ride worse, or would it ride the same and be quieter. And 2nd are the tires listed above good choices and what would you recommend if not on that list? Thanks.

 

Going from 225 to 245 may or may not help handling. Compare contact patch not size. I think tire rack publishes contact patches for tires.

[Xenonk]

^ you can fix that with alignment and some other upgraded suspension components

[Scottybue]

I'm riding on 225/45R17 P-Zero Neros, and have loved them ever since I got them. I had Continental ExtremeContacts prior to that, and would recommend them as well. It's hard to beat the P-Zero's though for year-round.

[Magic]

what are the opinion of the Falken zx-512's?

[HansGT]

what are the opinion of the Falken zx-512's?

 

good, but better for the snowbelt.

[HansGT]

Am considering Bridgestone RE950's, Avon M550 a/s, and Toyo Proxes 4. Would greatly appreciate you time and advice.

 

Avon M550 A/S are heavy at that size. I'd go PNero M+S.

 

Also, check out General Exclaim...some on here have them and like them and they are really really cheap.

[Xenonk]

what are the opinion of the Falken zx-512's?

 

haha, you dont need an all-season in FL, you just need a good summer/rain tire

[tantal]

what are the opinion of the Falken zx-512's?

 

I don't, because I don't shop cheap rubber anymore. I have a set of Avon 500s because I couldn't find anything bad written about them, and I feel pretty lucky so far on about 6 k mi. However I generally only buy Bridgestone, Michelin, Conti, Dunlop, in no particular order of preference.

[Xenonk]

^ high class

 

 

Falken Ziex-512s are fine in the summer time, but they are an all season tire.. good for the mundane slow driver that just needs a tire to get to work, that's what it's good for. I bought a set for the Accord at $35/each can't beat that, they do it's job in the snow and rain, no complaints here.

[TSiWRX]

RE: Magic's question on the ZIEX ZE-512s

 

good' date=' but better for the snowbelt.[/quote']

 

Falken Ziex-512s are fine in the summer time, but they are an all season tire.. good for the mundane slow driver that just needs a tire to get to work, that's what it's good for. I bought a set for the Accord at $35/each can't beat that, they do it's job in the snow and rain, no complaints here.

 

^ Agreed with both.

 

In the summer, you'll give up dry traction to many of the other "ultra-high performance all-seasons." In the wet, the Falkens start coming into their own - especially in terms of their high-speed hydroplane resistance (their water-grooves pretty much testifies to this fact, if you're just looking at the tires with your eyes) - but honestly, if you're looking for summer traction, take Keefe's advice below:

 

haha, you dont need an all-season in FL, you just need a good summer/rain tire

 

The ZIEX really are an all-season compromise for those of us who will see significant snowfall during the winter - and even then, you'll have to watch your speeds as these tires are far from "snow/winter." While they're decent in powder and slush, once there's true ice on the ground or should the temperature dip far enough below freezing, they're still far, far from ideal, and this is only compounded if you're a more aggressive winter driver.

 

While, for you, Magic, their wet-traction may be ideal, you should also keep in-mind that these tires are known for a relatively short overall life-span, and if you factor both of these issues into your decision tree, you're honestly better off, like brother Keefe said, getting a good summer tire with rain capabilities.

[Magic]

Thanks for the feedback, any paticular tire brand you would recommend, that arent ridiculously expensive.

[tantal]

^ high class

 

 

Falken Ziex-512s are fine in the summer time, but they are an all season tire.. good for the mundane slow driver that just needs a tire to get to work, that's what it's good for. I bought a set for the Accord at $35/each can't beat that, they do it's job in the snow and rain, no complaints here.

 

LOL guess so. I am just totally f-in sick of being let down by cheap tires that last 10k or so until they're either out of round, loud, have too many hard spots, or maybe even worn out, that I don't do it. I don't put more than 7 - 9 k mi a year on each of my cars, so I want a tire i can depend on, one that's worth rebalancing every 7500 mi or so.

 

Also, I do like to drive, and I don't like to compromise on traction in bad conditions, particularly on the family wagon, so I demand an excellent rain tire. In the winter I demand a tire that won't disappear on an unexpected ice patch, and gets me through all of the bad stuff safely and predictably. I give up dry, cold traction on at least one car in order to have the "bring it on" traction needed to get the family anywhere we need to go in the winter.

 

Like I said, I'm tired of being burned with cheap rubber. I acknowledge that I am in a very small minority, and I don't care. I won't advise people otherwise, though, in case they agree.

 

[LawGT]

I'm riding on 225/45R17 P-Zero Neros, and have loved them ever since I got them. I had Continental ExtremeContacts prior to that, and would recommend them as well. It's hard to beat the P-Zero's though for year-round.

 

Ohh, since you have had both the contiextreme and the neros, would you please post a review (the more detailed the better:icon_bigg ) comparing both? There are tons of reviews for those 2 tires separately, but I can't recall seeing one from somebody who actually owned both.

 

Since I live in Chicago (need good snow capability in an A/S) and I value ride quality over overall "summer" performance, I am leaning towards the Conti extreme for this upcoming winter season (trying to hold off on dumping $500 buckaroos for as long as I can). The one thing about the Contis that worry me is the reports of balancing problems and flatspotting. My car sits in my garage for days at a time since I live downtown and use public transportation to get to work. Did you experience any of that?

 

Oh, and I also sent you a PM:icon_bigg . THanks!

[Scottybue]

The Conti's I had were 18"ers. Whereas the Pirelli's are 17's. The comparison of ride quality would be pretty moot because of the wheel size and profile differences. If cornered, I would have to say that the Pirelli's are slightly quieter and smoother. I went from 18's back to 17's because I bent two of the 18's beyond repair on day on the way to work. A quarry truck lost a couple of rocks on the highway and there was nowhere to go. It's a bad thing when you lose all the air in your tires due to a 3" crack in the barrel of your wheel. Regardless... The Conti's will have better snow traction, I guarantee that. But unless you ALWAYS have snow, which we don't (I live in Omaha), I would have to direct you to the Pirelli's. The wet traction is significantly better with them, as well as with the dry traction. One word of caution, though. The Conti's were perfect and able to be balanced with little weight direct from shipment. The Pirelli's were a totally different story, which took me completely by surprise given the company's track record. Two of the tires were completely out-of-round and unbalanceable. The shop, Tirerack.com, and the Pirelli rep all chalked it up to a bad batch of tires. The solution was quick, though and within three days I had new tires which were perfect and the shop sent the others back. Not too shabby. The warranties on both of these tires will serve you well if ever needed. One final note, if you have a Walker tire in Chicago stay the hell away from them. Those 'tards mounted all four, ALL FOUR, of my Pirelli's backwards and inside out. And wouldn't fix the problem once confronted about it. Walker Tire didn't even realize that the tires were defective. Another shop, which was the one that found the problems after vibration issues I had, was the one that helped me out. Hope this helps!

[LawGT]

^^ Yes it does help. Thank you very much.

[TSiWRX]

^ Also, some have reported overnight cold-weather flat-spotting issues with the P-Zeros.

 

It's not something to particularly be worried about, since a few miles of travel will naturally "pound" your tires back into shape, even if they did get flat-spotted overnight.

 

However, this was a factor in my purchase consideration, as my daily commute (which is about 90% of what I use this vehicle for) is less than 10 miles each way, and I did not want to have to put up with this potential issue should it have reared its head with my particular set of tires.

[wukindada]

Avon 550.....way to heavy, like strapping anchors @ all 4 corners

 

Magic....look into Goodyear F1's or Toyo T1R's. I have had both & currently have the T1R on the car. Both are very good rain tires:)

[TSiWRX]

^ Hey bro - Which of the two do you like better...and more importantly, why?

 

What pressures do you typically run? Cold or hot?

 

Thanks.

[wukindada]

F1's will give you a smoother ride but that is due to the soft sidewalls. If you really pump them up it helps but still a fairly soft tire. I used to run 40f/38b with the F1's.

 

T1R is alot like the F1 other than having a stiffer sidewall. I run 38f/36r

 

Wet weather performance is great with both!!

If I remember correctly the F1 weigh's about 1lb less

[TSiWRX]

^ Thanks, bro!

 

Hum...... Maybe the F1s would be a better match for my needs - I'd prefer a stiffer sidewall, but I know that the wifey would like a decent ride.

 

Good stuff to chew on. Thanks, bruddah!