HiJincs

Ok, sorry to start this up again, but I have read every post about tire and wheel selection over the past two months and Chod’s FAQ. I have been to so many tire manufacturers and tire review websites that I am getting carpal tunnel in my wrist.

Here’s the background:

2001 CLS, 44,000 miles, stock tires, no mods yet. I drive it on the interstate four days out of 5 and usually run about 80 miles an hour, when I can. I use SS all the time. I am one of those guys that speeds up when I see a curve. I live for on ramps and high speed off ramps. 90% of the time I am in the car alone and almost never have more than 1other person with me.

What I am looking for from the wisdom of the group:

It’s time to replace the tires and maybe the wheels. I am looking for better all season performance without sacrificing the ride and tread wear too much. I have been told if I step up to 18” rims, I will get a harsher ride since I will have to get a tire with a lower side wall height to stay with the same overall diameter. If I buy new 17” rims with either a 7.5” or 8” width, I will have more choices in tires. I do intend to lower the car using the Comptech springs soon, but not before I need the tires, so this has to be considered. I will be adding the Comptech sways also, probably with the tires. I figure with the sways, springs, new tires and maybe lighter 17” rims, that will be all the suspension improvements I need, so going to 18” wheels isn’t necessary except for looks. (not trying to discount the importance of good looks)

My company will buy my tires, but not if I only get 15K miles out of them. I figure I can get away with 25 to 30K miles if I can show that the new tires cost less than the OEM tires. My stock rims are scratched all to hell and I’d like to get new ones. No, my company won’t buy new rims. ( I wish)

I reviewed all the information on the forum today and checked out the tire review sites before posting this. If I stay with the stock rims, I believe I am going to go with the Bridgestone Potenza RE730. I am leaning towards the 225/45ZR17 even though it is a little smaller in diameter. I know that the 235/45ZR17 are the closest to our stock diameter, but I worry about the increased width on the stock rims. If I buy a new set of rims, I believe I will stay with 17” and step up to 7.5” or 8”.

Here’s the questions:

1. Does everything above sound reasonable?
2. What’s wrong?
3. Are my assumptions correct?
4. Even if I did get wider rims, I still like the Potenza’s. Will the 235 on a wider rim be that much better than the 225 on the stock rims? Or should I get the 235 on the stock rims and not worry?

5. What am I not considering?

Thanks for reading such a long post and offering your suggestions and comments

Bruce

FDao

Load Rating. Our stocks are 93XL. The Potenzas/Bridgestone that you mentioned does not have the proper load ratings.

fender4

I have the RE730's 225 on stock wheels, I also have comptech springs and sways. For me the ride/handling is just right. It seems to stiffen up going over 70mph, The cornering is fine for a street car (note I'm a x autocrosser/drag racer) right now any more mods would probably take away to much comfort that I need during my 50 miles round trip, soon to be 90 miles. You need to drive someone's car with mods and determine what's right for you.

EricL

FDao comment about load. IMO, you should go with a 93XL (or better), but some people don't. (Acura did spec a 93 XL…)

The central issue concerns your 15K mileage spec... As a rule, high-performance tires wear-out sooner. IMO -- the stock tire seems to last awhile (with reduced performance in turns, smooth surfaces, etc.) The "sticky" tires you are probably looking at could make 15K or more with careful driving, but if you like those curves (I sure do), that factor alone will greatly influence the tire wear!

.02