whoopidoo

Hi all -

Was part of longer thread below about New Tires. Just wanted to let everyone else know for future reference.

In the last week, I have had 3 sets of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires on my 2002 Type-S (stock rims). I won't bore you with the details of how and why I did all this, but here is how they work out:

Factory Standard Tires - Pilot MMX4
Size: 215/50/17 - Fits 6.5 rim. 25.5" total outside diameter.
Result: Works fine.

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S
Size: 245/45/17 - Ffits only 7.5 rim. 25.9" total outside diameter.
Result: Seems fine, but is dangerous and too wide for wheel.

Size: 235/50/17 - Fits 6.5 rim. 26.6" total outside diameter.
Result: Overall diameter too big - RUBS WHEN SPRING IS COMPRESSED.

Size: 225/50/17 - Fits 6.5 rim. 26.1" total outside diameter.
Result: Works fine.

Moral of story:
215/50/17 or 225/50/17 are the only size All-Season High Performance Tires that fit.

See ya.

optimus prime

Finally, straight forward information!!

Excellent work whoopidoo.

Lawaia

Ummm...tell us something we don't already know. You could have saved yourself lots of time if you just did a search.

whoopidoo

Jeez - sorry. Just trying to add some value. I knew 225/50/17 would work from previous posts, but I found quite little on the 235/50. I *did* do a search on the 235/50/17 and all I found was:

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"Circumference wise, 235/45/17 is the best and 225/50/17 will also work. I'd stay away from the 235/50/17... too big. The only concern is you might be pushing it with a 235 on a 7" rim. I think the safest is the 225/50/17 on the CL-S 17x7 rim.

You might have some mild trimming on the rear (ie plastic tab)...."
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The information above is not 100% accurate, at least for my purposes. 235/45 in the Pilot A/S requires a 7.5" rim. So for the brand tire I wanted it won't work. I was looking for tires that fit 6.5" rim obviously. 235/50 in the Pilot A/S is fine for the 6.5 rim according to Michelin - but it rubs on the front, not the rear, from the older log. Plus the note is for the CL-S, not the TL-S, so I wasn't sure about the trimming being accurate. I just wanted to let folks know that 225/50 is the biggest Pilot Sport A/S that will fit a 2002 TLS.

Ianbiz3

u helped me

Lawaia

235/50-17 is more than 3/4" taller than stock. Now who would willingly want these on their car which would ultimately throw off your speedo by 3-4% and reduce overall performance? Kinda defeats the purpose of a performance upgraded huh.

whoopidoo

Lots of people put on larger wheels and/or tires. Not all of these will match the factory outside diameter exactly. Some will be larger, some smaller. Especially if you are looking at 18 or 19" wheels. And I am aware the speedometer may be off a tad - no big deal I'll just keep an eye on it. Based on the diameter of the tires and the # of revolutions per mile, comparing my Pilot A/S tires to the stock MXM4's comes out to about 12 feet per mile difference - not too much presuming my math is correct.

First, the Pilot Sport A/S, while in many opinions are the best tire made (see tirerack.com), are *NOT* available in the stock size (215/50/17) - period. You *HAVE* to get a different size tire from stock, if these are the ones you want. These in particular are consistently ranked as one of the best all-season sport tires available, and are what I wanted.

If you want another excellent high performance all-season tire, like the Sumitomo HTR+ or the Yokohama AVS ES100, these are available and will fit fine on 215/50'17s. They are also much cheaper, and are what I would have likely bought had #1 below not been true.

I personally got these because:
1. They were free -
2. They LOOK better to me - I like the wider profile tires.
3. They fit on the stock wheel.

I don't know how a larger better tire would reduce overall performance though - seems the wider tread would put more tire on the road. I have never heard that if given the choice between a 215 or a 225 - take the 215.

whoopidoo

Lots of people put on larger wheels and/or tires. Not all of these will match the factory outside diameter exactly. Some will be larger, some smaller. Especially if you are looking at 18 or 19" wheels. And I am aware the speedometer may be off a tad - no big deal I'll just keep an eye on it. Based on the diameter of the tires and the # of revolutions per mile, comparing my Pilot A/S tires to the stock MXM4's comes out to about 12 feet per mile difference - not too much presuming my math is correct.

I guess I should have been more specific in my last post. 225/50/17 is not the largest size Pilot Sport A/S that fits the stock wheel - it is the *ONLY SIZE* Sport A/S that fits the stock wheel. These specific tires, are *NOT* available in the stock size (215/50/17) - period. You *HAVE* to get a different size tire from stock, if these are the ones you want. These in particular are consistently ranked as one of the best all-season sport tires available (see tirerack.com), and are what I wanted.

If you want another excellent high performance all-season tire, like the Sumitomo HTR+ or the Yokohama AVS ES100, these are available and will fit fine on 215/50/17s. They are also much cheaper, and are what I would have likely bought had #1 below not been true.

I personally got these because:
1. They were free -
2. They LOOK better to me - I like the wider profile tires.
3. They fit on the stock wheel.

I don't know how a larger better tire would reduce overall performance though - seems the wider tread would put more tire on the road. I have never heard that if given the choice between a 215 or a 225 - take the 215.......

Cheers to ya.

Ianbiz3

i got plus 1 on stock rims it runs +3mph

whoopidoo

Yea I think I did my math way wrong. WAY wrong. Sorry.

That sounds much more like it. Did you have it tested, do the math, or just pace with a buddy?

Lawaia

A "Wider" wheel will provide a larger footprint giving you better traction. But a "Taller" tire provides a larger rotating mass which requires more energy to spin, thus loss in efficiency. It may be slight but some members have noticed the difference. And if we want to get anal, a wider tire generates much more rolling resistance, again affecting performance and efficiency.