Integraphite

I'm getting two new tires up front to replace the crappy stock Michelins (well, one's blown out already, but that's another story)

Considering the Pirelli PZero Nero's or maybe the ContiExtremes, but do I have to stick with 215/50 17 since I'm only relpacing two of them?

If I only move up to 225, one will it be visibly noticeable, and two, is there a performance-related reason that it would cause a problem? I'd really rather have the new one's up front, since I've had a bubble and a blowout already.

If it is not a problem, I'd slowly upgrade my tires, two at a time.

cmf

But then you will be buying tires in staggered increments (uneven wear). that's not good to do. You should buy all new ones now or buy a crap tire until you can replace them all. Otherwise you'll feel like you're buying tires all the time as they wear and tear so to say.

Nighthawk04

iTrader: (2)

The PZero Nero's are a stickier tire than the stock Michelins. Putting them on the front will cause your TSX to oversteer more and putting them on the back will cause your car to understeer more.

The Continental ContiExtremes prolly offer about the same grip as the stock Michelins so I'd suggest going with those.

I agree with cmf in saying that you really should replace all four tires at the same time otherwise it'll seem like your rotating and buying new tires constantly...

If you do decide to get TWO 225/45-17's for your stock rims I'd suggest putting them on the front rims initially and then put them on the rear when you get two new 225/45-17's. The minutely smaller 225/45 won't look much smaller than 215/50-17.

Integraphite

Thanks, I'm leaning towards (4) new Conti's

Would you say the handling benefit (?) of moving to 225/45 outweighs any concern of having a slighly shorter sidewall than a 215/50, considering I had the sidewall bubble and blowout?

Or are we talking about a miniscule difference here?

Nighthawk04

iTrader: (2)

Damn! You blew out a stock Michelin with a 93 load rating!

If your gonna go with a 225/45-17 make sure the load rating of the tire is at least 93. Anything less and the tire won't support the weight of the car. Anything equal to or more than 93 will support the weight of the car.

Integraphite

Yep! I'm not proud.

Now I'm leaning towards the Pirelli PZero Neros- if I can swing 4, then great, otherwise I may live with 2 up front and deal witht he oversteer until I can get 2 more.

Still trying to figure out the size- 225/45 vs. 215/50. If I only get 2 I am inclined to stick with the same size as what I already have in the back (215/50)

Can anyone comment on the advantage, if any, of going to the 225/45? If the wider tire will stick even more, maybe I should stay away from it unless I buy 4.

BTW- Pirelli PZero Nero load ratings:
225/45-17: 94!!! Y-speed rated!!!
215/50-17: 95!!! Y-speed rated!!!

On paper the PZeros are an awesome replacement on stock rims!

gdcwatt

Bump. Search is my friend brought me to this thread, but not a lot of actual experience has been posted on running different size tires on different axles. A lot of people are running 225/45-17's, which are about 1/2" less in OD that the stock 215/50-17's, so, if anyone has been running both sizes at the same time, have there been any issues with the ABS or VSA? Until I get that rsb, I can live with less understeer (I'd put the larger tires on the front), I know what weight transfer does, and my wife has never driven more than .5g in a corner, alone.

I'm actually thinking about 225/50-17's on the front, and keeping the OEM Michelins on the rear for another summer. Sometimes I feel the TSX is a bit frenetic; the gearing is very aggressive, and I often find myself driving around the city in 5th at 35 mph, but I also sense that my passengers don't really appreciate all of that head-bobbing that they do, when I run up through the gears. I'm not concerned about increasing my fuel economy by 2%, although I do drive a lot.

The heavier tire and +1.6% size change will affect acceleration. As a matter of convenience, I put some 205/75-15 snowtires I had lying around on a 4-cyl Mazda6 auto, in place of the 215/50-17 Michelins. I've suddenly inherited the use of this car, and while these tires are about 5 sizes too large, the car accelerates and drives just fine.

Utimately, I'm looking for more grip from the TSX, especially in the wet, and am considering the $300Cdn/tire Bridgestone RE960AS, although I might still go with 4 Yokohama Avid V4S tires, or 4 of the Bridgestones.