Tire Size Undecided, Opinions Welcome

Hey,

So I currently run the stock 215/45/17 with Koni's and Swift springs.

 

95% of the ride is great, but random bumps are super harsh. I am in desperate need of new tires and I am sure the wheels have seen better days so I am replacing both. A larger sidewall for added daily cushioning is the goal but I am not sure which way to go on an 8 inch wide rim. If anyone can weigh in that'd be great. I have seen the fitment threads but not a lot of driving opinions. I have been using https://tiresize.com/calculator/ as my way to compare to stock sidewall and diameter

 

My current thoughts are (and I am open to getting shock spacers cause I don't want to roll the fenders)

 

245/40/17 - is it going to be enough cushioning for my liking over stock?

245/45/17 - is the sidewall now too big and will rub?

235/45/17 - seems to be a middle ground but still unsure and wider seems cooler (though I know the wider tire isn't needed in a non tracked daily)

hate to say it, but it may be just that the springs might be too stiff/car too low for your liking. tire size does play a roll in cushioning, but the tire type you buy matters much more than size.

buy a tire with a lower load rating, and get it in a 235/45/17(245/45/17 is indeed too big). that will help some, but if i had to guess, you will still have the random bump harshness. the reason is because, since you lowered your car, you have less suspension travel, and the ride will be harsh if road conditions demand more suspension travel than you have. no matter how good the shock/spring/tire combo you have, if you run out of suspension travel, it will be harsh. just keep that in mind.

I understand that by going away from stock shock and spring, that the ride isn't going to be plush like stock. The main reason I am jumping around is because I somehow (I blame my old defunct pressure gauge) I found out that I was running near 45 psi. When I dropped it down to 35 the ride quality was night and day. I also figure that getting rid of the low profile-ness of the stock wheel/tire combo will result in a much better ride.

 

I am not going for Rolls Royce here as I love the handling of the car now. It is not nearly as bad as coilovers and I still have to dial the shocks, as they are all set to half way adjusted.

nothing wrong with konis. people have often complained about swifts on them being harsh, so a popular option is to just go back to stock springs on konis. aside from that, tire load rating will matter more than an extra .25" of sidewall. if you aren't looking for super grippy tires, touring tires will be nice and comfy.

Right now I am considering these. They say that the 235/45 is right for the 8 inch rim. I like how they ride on my fiance's car (225/45/17x7.5) but she drives a BMW 128

its a summer tire though. do you have a winter setup?

I have a rusting 96 outback with winters on it for that

-Wagon is life

1. Koni yellows, even when set to full soft, are a good bit stiffer than stock. At half-way up like you have them, it would likely feel objectionably stiff and be prone to jacking down (that dial adjusts rebound damping but not compression damping) unless they were paired with springs stiffer than Swifts. I'd recommend setting the Konis to full soft, then adjust upwards based on testing over speed humps at 20-25 mph. Adjust the shock damping up just enough to prevent the car from "hobby horsing" (it should bounce about 1.5 times- compress, rebound, maybe a slight additional compression then settle) and then go no stiffer. Only reason to ever stiffen them up beyond that is if you're doing an autocross or track day, depending on the venue.

 

2. You are looking at the wrong class of tires for a plush ride. UHP summers have stiff sidewalls by design. As whitetiger says, touring or grand touring tires will ride much better, but compromise steering response and some grip. No free lunch. With only one set of wheels/tires for my LGT I've been running UHP all-seasons as a compromise, specifically the Pirelli P-Zero A/S Plus. One of the aspects I like about it over the Michelin Pilot AS3 is that it has a slightly softer sidewall, so it rides much better over bumps. On a mostly highway car I was willing to sacrifice a bit of steering response for the better comfort and lower noise, and they still grip plenty well for any sane DD use.

 

3. 45 psi will definitely ride like poo. If you check the sticker inside the driver's door, I believe it recommends 2 psi higher in the front due to the weight difference. Lately I've been running 38/36 F/R to eek out a smidgen more fuel economy, but for a few years prior I ran 36/34. With regular tire rotations I get nice even wear and long tire life.

 

4. Personal preference here, but I don't like tires with an overtly directional tread pattern on my daily. Being able to rotate all 4 tires among all 4 corners of the vehicle (without drastic effect on water evacuation) helps maximize the service life of the set of tires.

I have 245/40-17 Riken Raptors on 17X8 +40 949 Racing UL6 on mine with 5mm rear spacers and the poke is perfect. They line up virtually perfectly with fender lines with about 1/4" sticking out on all 4 corners.

wondering if these tires, would give a better ride ?

 

Sometimes you get what you pay for...

 

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+A%2FS+3%2B+%28W-+or+Y-Speed+Rated%29&partnum=345YR7PSAS3PLXL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

JmP, thanks for the added info on fitment. How is road noise with those tires? The price is certainly inviting.

The wheels I am considering are +45 so the spacer wouldn't be needed but good to know about the 245 fitting on the 8 inch rim. I dig awfulwaffle's set up and that is what got me jumping between a 235/45 and a 245/40.

 

 

 

I currently have the Pirelli P-Zero A/S Plus on the stock wheels as 215/45, and with regular rotation (front to back) I have gotten about 32k miles out of them. Not too bad but definitely pricier than the generals and far more than what JmP runs haha.

 

 

Max thanks for the suggestion, I'll keep those in mind. They definitely have good reviews

Yea, I'm beginning to rethink Conti's DWS's, for the better ride of the Michelin's...I know the money is a big chunk, but you have to weigh that against the ride for a DD.

Oh another hint for snow tires. Buy them now, Last month I got Blizzak WS80 ($153 each) for the wagon for next winter. I like them on the Spec B.

I'll add this - in terms of DD comfort, I had no issues with Konis/Eibachs with stiffness set to about 1/3, on the 245/40/17 Hankook V12 Evo2s. My daily commute takes me through some fairly cratered SE Michigan roads, and I found it completely comfortable all things considered. In fact, I recently brought the Konis up a bit, but I like a stiffer ride than most.

 

I also heard when shopping for tires that the Hankooks have particularly soft sidewalls. I wasn't sure about that assertion at first, but it's definitely true in my experience. I can get quite a bit of lateral deflection in the sidewall just pushing on the fender, even aired up to 40 psi for a check. They do grip well, squishiness aside. Maybe this makes them ideal for the type of ride you're after?

 

Oh, and here's those shots of the the wheel fitment that I promised earlier. Front camber is -1 degree, rear is -2 degrees in this pic. I've since corrected the rear camber to -1, and the wheels line up with the fenders much better but are still slightly tucked. I haven't had a single rub that I'm aware of since I put them on in March, which is surprising. Even bought a fender roller expecting to have to make room.

Just noticed Max's suggestion - I had those tires in 225/45/17 on my previous wagon, on stock wheels. Same suspension as on my current wagon (pulled it off after the car was wrecked). Konis were a notch over full soft back then, and had zero comfort complaints even from the wife. Of course, they didn't grip as well as any set of summer tires I've owned, but they weren't slippery either.

Excuse the dirty side as the neighbor was not very kind with his lawnmower but here's how mine looks from end to end. The 5mm rear spacer is really necessary as the front trac on LGT is 5mm wider in front, and it equals out the F & R.

I have had both 235/45/17 on 17x8+53 and now have 245/40/17 on 17x8+45. The 235/45 was good but the sidewall was rather tall and rubbed in the rear on my sedan when loaded. The new setup (245/40/17) is awesome.

For the record, my wagons koni's have the front and rears set a quarter turn off full firm, with the 1" drop Epic springs, with a 1/2" rear spacer. With the Conti DWS with 35psi... yeah I feel all the bumps, but the car has very little body roll and almost no front end lift under full throttle or nose dive at full braking.

 

 

I sometimes soften the front shocks for Winter.

 

The Spec B has stock shocks and rides fine with it DWS's.

Thanks for all of the suggestions and pictures! I am leaning towards the 245/40 set up now and will be deciding between a few of the suggested tires.

I originally bought the swift springs because they were the only one's that compensated for wagon saggy butt without the need for spacers. Maybe I'll have to give H&R springs a try at some point in the future since epic and eibach springs aren't really available anymore unless someone is selling a used set.

 

 

I think the new tires will make a huge difference to start, since the 215/45 is so low profile coupled with 32k miles, they have become noisy on the road and harsh. Also I'll have to dial back the koni's to see how that feels