J.T.'s 3.2CL

In terms of looks only what size tire would you get for the stock CL-S wheels. I know the 235 is closest to stock size but do you think they look a little big? I'm leaning toward 235's at this point however. Will the 235 sidewall be bigger at all? Also if anyone has any feedback on Yokohama es100 tires that would be great. I can get the entire set for $500.00 shipped from discount tire.

235/45/17 on Scalberts ride:




225/45/17 on peiqinglongs ride (not the best for comparison)

mattg

i prefer the 225.


but what do i know, i ran 235/40-17's.

hemants

225/45/17 is out of spec. 245/45/17 would be closer to stock

Rock2534

not to change the subject, but what kind of exhaust does peiqinglong have on his car(black one)? I like the way you can see the whole muffler.

resedaruss

iTrader: (1)

Many people are using 235's and say they don't have any problems. However, the minimum recommended rim width for the 235 is 7.5 inches (for good reason).

An emergency manuever on an out-of-spec tire/rim combination can cause the bead to break loose from the rim and instantly deflate the tire. Not a good scenario during emergency manuevers.

The 2003 CL type S rims are 7 inches wide.

Aha, you say, the 2004 TL's are coming from the factory with Bridgestone EL42 235's on it's 17 inch rim. Check the specs though, and you'll find the 2004 TL's have an 8 inch wide 17" rim.

I would stick with a tire whose required rim width matches the rims I'm using. Or, buy new rims for a lot more money.

Read Consumers reports plus sizing if you're tempted to go larger than 18 inch rims. Plus 2 and larger really increases rim-bending and impacts foul weather handling.

Black CL-S 4-Life

I have 225/45/17 Yokos. If I had to do it agin I would have gone with 235s strictly for the look.

gsrblack

So what sizes of tires would fit our 17" wheels?

resedaruss

iTrader: (1)

If one is going to follow the tire manufacturer's stated width-requirements for the stock 7 inch wide rims (for reasons outlined above in my previous post) and in order to keep Speedometer readings reasonably close, that pretty much leaves 215/50-17, 225/45-17 and 225/50-17.

With 7.5 inch wide rims (non-stock) you can safely use the 235/45-17 sized tire whose speedometer readings are really close to the stock OEM tire's speedometer readings.

J.T.'s 3.2CL

Anyone have better pics of 225/45/17?

EricL

In all the time on the forum (3 years?) I have yet to hear of a 235/45-17 coming off a 7" rim. Granted the safe way to go is with a 225/45-17 and/or with a 235/45-17 + 7.5" wide or wider rim. There were even some TLS members that put 235/45-17s on their 6.5” wide rims (I wouldn’t recommend this, but I sure didn’t hear about them losing a tire.)

The biggest problem that seems to occur is alignment of 235/45-17 tires (depending on brand and alignment equipment) on the stock wheels (I'm not sure about the '03 wheels).

The tread on the 235/45-17 will sit down a bit more at the edges when moved from a 7" wide factory wheel to an 8" wide rim (it did in my case). However, I did not pick up a huge amount of traction. The benefits of the SSR Comp wheels were due to light weight (unsprung mass/lower rotational inertia).

The 225/45-17 has the advantage of:

* Higher effective torque due to their lower revs/mile
* Lower weight due to their smaller diameter.
* Better possible fit with lowering and change to wider wheels in the future.
* Will fit without problems on the factory wheels.

The 235/45-17 has the advantage of:

* Beefier look (well, up to a point)
* Slightly bigger footprint
* Speedo is a very close match
* Higher load rating relative to the 215/50-17 and 225/45-17


The 225/45-17 will over report miles driven (a concern to some with warranty issues).

A couple of people switched from 235/45-17 to 225/45-17 when using CT springs, Konis, SSR 17x8" +48 offset to eliminate rub that showed up when the Konis were added.


Finally, if you look at some of the 235/45-17s on some cars, the shoulder of the tire will be "clean" and that will not be the case with the 225/45-17. This can't be said for every brand and make of tire (I've not seen them all, but I have seen a few).

YMMV

vuduvida

the mileage on the odometer will be *more than* actual with 225/45-17's since the tires spin faster (smaller diameter).


I've got 225/45's now and will probably go with 235/45's next time just to get a little more rubber between the wheels and the road (more protection from bent wheels and slightly softer ride)

vuduvida

225/45-17's on the car in the middle:

EricL

Thanks for the correction.

Yes, as one previous member kvetched, you won't get all the warranty miles that were “owed” to you. (This with 225/45-17, 235/40-17, 245/40-17, etc -- tires with loaded radius smaller than stock).

J.T.'s 3.2CL

Probably ordering soon. Any other opinions?

J.T.'s 3.2CL

Also does anyone know the weight of the 235/45/17 Yoko es100?

darrinb

imma go w. a 225 for better gearing

Six Shifter

235/45/17 without question.

phatpat

235/45

toyo t1-s and kumho 712's are awesome

my toyos lasted for 20k miles, the kumho's have ~80% tread and have around 10k miles on them.

...best bang for the buck i would go w/ the 712's, they are about half the price of the t1s.

J.T.'s 3.2CL

Well I just ordered a set of Yoko ES100 in 235/45/17. I hope they are decent. I also ordered some SPC camber kits. Thanks for all the feedback.

hemants

"imma go w. a 225 for better gearing"

How does a tire affect your transmission shift points???

blader

what kind of suspension is on that black car at the beginning of the post .. doesnt look like CT.

Allout

At WOT, should not affect the points at all. Under regular driving conditions, torque effect of the tires should be negligable on shift points.

darrinb

235 is better for the 6 speed cause u need the traction

jorruss

I have the 225 es100s and they by far blow away the shitty Michelins that come on the CL-S. The yokos stick nicely and you know you are pushing it when they squeel, unlike the MXMs that squeel anytime you take a sharp turn. Lots of tire for the price, I just wish I had gone with the 235s, but I was worried about turning radius which already sucks on the CL...

darrinb

i'd go 235 with a 6 speed, 225 with an auto

Blk03S

What size is your best choice (fit and performance) for an 18x8 rim on a CT drop?

Caddy©

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Anyone Bought this one: ECSTA KH11

Dem1K

iTrader: (1)

whats the widest rim & widest tire that can go on our cars?

just a side question:

anybody got a clue what size the stock piping of the CL-S exhaust is? Is it 2.25"?

miladisapimp

Hey guys, i got a h and r sport drop on my 01 cls. i am wondering if there will be any problems running the falken st-115 235/45/17 or the toyo proxy 4 in the same size, any alignment or rubbing problems because of the drop ?

hemants

no problem with 235/45/17 on stock rims with a drop

CleanCL

iTrader: (4)

i'm running 235/45 ona 17x7.5 rim and i think i could go even bigger, if your dying for that extra tiny bit of performance from the lower resistant tire go with a 225, but if you like the beefier tire i would recommend 235 all the time

darrinb

i've seen 235's on a cl-s in person, they looked way to big for the wheels...

looked like the car was ready to go off roading

underdog

I have Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 235/45 on the stock rims and I've had 'rim leaks' on
2 of the 4 and had to have the tires remounted. It wasn't an instant deflation problem,
more like a slow leak.

When the Pilots are done I think I'll use the stock rims for winter tires and get some
wider rims for a more agressive summer tire.

Just my $.02.