Damned04

I am in need of new tires. Im thinking about getting some falken Ziex Ze 512's in a 225/45/17. Im currently running the oem 215/50/17's. Would it be alright to go with a wider tire or should I stick with stock sizes?

Tsx6363

um depends what kind of driving you really plan on doing. Performance or jsut everyday driving? what kind of climate?

Damned04

Daily Driving and I need them to be all seasons

Ellas9

Expect a ~5% decline in fuel economy. Probably noiser and will reduce winter traction if that's important to you.

Tsx6363

daily driving? well its all depending on how you feel, the change wouldn't be too drastic for daily driving.. i'm fine with my OEM tires for now, until the tread goes.. then i might go for a wider tire selection

moda_way

I've run 225/45 17 (spec. Yoko ES100s) and I'm now running 225/50 17 (spec. Avon Tech M500s). These tires are performance, so don't expect anything more than 80-10k miles at best. The only issue I've encountered with running these sizes is they bump on the +/- 2.0% tolerance range you want to maintain so your speedo isn't off a little. When I was running the 225/45 17, the rev/mile was 833. My current 225/50 17 is 801. Stock Michelins are 819 revs/mile. With the Yoko's, the speedo would show me going faster than I actually was and racking up mileage faster. With the Avons, the speedo show me going slower than I really am and I'm racking up less mileage (downside is mileage calc). It isn't enough of an error to be a huge problem.

gdcwatt

Moda_way, Tirerack lists the weight of those M500s at 29lbs, but the treadwidth is a credible 8.3". Given the gearing change, especially compared to the 225/45-17's, has the larger tire's size and weight affected the buttdyno performance measurement at all?

This is a somewhat moot question for me, since I've got new 225/50-17 Advan S4's already mounted (and I'm just waiting for the snow to go before I put them on the car), but others might like some info on this size alternative.

moda_way

on guessing the biggest negative I have about these tires. The weight is noticable on the butt dyno. Cornering is INTENSE though. Coming from ES100s, they feel amazing. I'm just not sure where all this extra weight came from on the tire and if that is just a misprint. I've compared other tires and there seems to be a 2lbs difference between the 215/50 and the 225/50, but on both the Tech M500 and Tech 550 A/S, their difference using the same tire sizes is 4-5lbs more. With my clutch on its last 3000 miles, I wonder if it isn't that or if it really is the weight of the tires. Again, I'm at a loss. Strictly speaking about cornering, these tires abosultely surprised me. I was also told by my installer that a Mercedes guy put those on and was back 8000 miles later.

Either way, I think I would choose a lighter tire next time. I just wanted to try these out since I was on a bit of a budget at the time.

Some math:

Avon Tech M500 225/50 17 are:

6lbs heavier than OEM tires
close in tread rating at 280AAA and OEM at 300AAA
perfect for the load rating
handle incredible well
are very quiet in comparison to my old ES100s
require 36psi
$89/tire cheaper than OEM and reasonable priced

If I had the money, I would've bought Bridgestones, but most of there stuff is a 225/45 17 and that puts them in the 833 rev/mile range. A little too much revs/mile for me again, but their tires are pretty incredible.