guji2

I already got Kumho 712s on my Acura and they are 225/45/ZR17. I bought them 2 years ago (August 2002) to replace the worn-out stock tires (vehicle purchased in June 2001) and the Kumhos have served me very, very well. The front tires' treads are starting to wear out and I will need to replace them soon.

Here are my questions:

1) Should I have expected the tires to get worn out after only 2 years? The fact that the stock Michelen tires got worn out after 2 years seems to support this fact. However, I need a second opinion from other CL-S owners. So far, after 4 years of ownership, I have 46K miles on the vehicle.

2) Should I replace the 225/45/ZR17 Kumho 712s in the front with the 235/45/ZR17 size? 2 years ago, I was considering 235 but I was concerned about the size and didn't think they would fit the rim so I opted for 225. Now that the front tires are getting worn out, I would like to revisit the issue

Pros of 225: Will fit the wheel better
Cons of 225: 0.5 inches smaller than the stock 215s.

The 235s are about the same size as the stock 215s. If I am going to replace the 225s with the 235s, then I would replace the rear tires as well and they have plenty of life left in them. A friend recommended switching the front tires with the rear tires in order to delay any tire purchase and when the ex-rear tires become worn out, I can replace all 4 of them. Does this make sense? Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Amoeba

In terms of tire wear, I got 10k out of the stocks fronts (my bad cuz i didnt rotate)...right now I will get between 12-15k (got a few thousand left) on my current continental contiextremecontact....I drive hard! Hard cornering and hard acceleration.

guji2

Yep, I drive the car hard sometimes as well so I guess 2 years is a reasonable timeframe for the tires to last.

Any response to my question about the tire size? Thanks.

hemants

1. you should rotate your tires so that they all wear equally, especially if you have a lead foot as most of us do
2. don't replace two tires unless you are going with the same size and brand.
3. on a cls 235/45/17 or 225/50/17 are best matches for stock size, 225/45/17 is 1/2 an inch too small and may not have sufficient load rating. 93 is stock, 90 is probably fine, 88 is probably too low.

EricL

Load rating is important. I wouldn't go below 91, but that's my opinion. I actually prefer to stick with 93 and greater. The 88:

The 235/45-17 might be a tight fit on the 7" rim; it depends on the make and brand. The factory specs say the 235/45-17 should be on a 7.5" rim. Many people have put it on the 7" rim without problems. If you were dropped really, really low, the 235/45-17 could rub (not generally a problem on stock wheels).

guji2

Thanks, I will rotate the tires first before purchasing new ones.

I have stock wheels only (it is a 2001 CL-S) so when I replace all 4 tires, I will get the 235/45/17 if they will fit the stock wheels fine. Thanks for your advice.

Joe5.0

235/45/17's will fit on the stock 7" rim without a problem. I also say rotate them and buy 4 235's when they are all worn out. If they are very low on tread though dont put them on the rear, just buy 2 new 225's, because low traction tires in the rear = spin.

hemants

And in the future, rotate your tires front to back twice a year!

guji2

I did not know about the twice-yearly rotation rule. One reason I bought the Acura was to get a worry-free vehicle ownership. Looks like I need to pay more attention to the car! Thanks for all your advice.

Rod

You should rotate your tires at least every 7,500 miles. If you drive hard, maybe even every 5K miles. I think I was doing it every 3,500 miles when I had the 19s on.