chasingthecool

what size should i get....235/45/17 or 245/45-17? whats the difference?

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

The 245/45's are on National Backorder until late February.

I got the OEM sized 235/45-17's.

First Impression........

My Acura dealership (Jay Wolfe Acura-Kansas City) mounted and balanced my tires (Continental Extreme Contact DWS). To get home, I took a combination of city and highway. Very smooth riding tire! Much smoother ride than the OEM Michelins. The ride seemed much lighter too, if it could be that way. It's a much beefier looking tire too. You can see tread on the sidewall-the OEM Michelins do not do that. It's supposed to rain here in the next couple of days. I'll let you know how they handle in rain.

By the way, my wheels were resurfaced too. I've never talked much about it, but in trying to get as close to curbs (in order to avoid door dings), I've torn the hell out of my OEM Type S wheels. They look as good as new now!

jsonkimz

iTrader: (1)

You should do a search. Or read the thread through. But, on a xxx/yy-zz tire, the xxx is the width in CM, yy is the sidewall height in percentage relative to the width (xxx), and zz is the rim size. So for example, on a 235/45-17, the width is 235cm, the sidewall height is 45% of 235cm, and it's for a 17 inch rim. So a 245/45-17 tire is 245cm wide and 45% of 245cm tall. This means that it's slightly wider AND very slightly taller. Apparently the OEM tires were a slightly large 235/45-17, so we can get away with running the large 245/45-17 without significant negative side effects. It's what I'm running and I'm fairly happy with it. Looks is really the only big positive for the larger side. The only downside to it that I can notice is slightly decreased MPG. So if you want a beefier looking tire, get the 245's. If you don't care, definitely go with the stock 235's.

You should definitely like them. They're very smooth and great in bad weather. Please let me know if you see a decrease in MPG even with the stock size. I have seen a decrease, but I also got the 245's.

If you don't mind me asking: Where did you get your rims refinished, and how much did it cost? I need to do mine as well. When I had my tires installed the shop chipped the paint in several spots on ALL 4 OF MY WHEELS. Unfortunately, when I picked it up I was too focused on the tires and didn't notice right away. And now it's probably too late to do anything about it.

nfnsquared

Based on winter gas MPGs, I've seen an increase in highway MPGs with the DWS' (stock size) of 2-3 mpg. City/combined driving, not so much, but definitely not a decrease...

nfnsquared

The stock size DWS' are wider than the OEM tires to begin with. They look fine on the car. If you were happy with the look/width of the OEM tires, then you'll be even happier with look/width of the stock size DWS. I personally don't see a reason to go with the 245 size, especially with the decrease in mileage noted by some...

pttl

Been driving on snowy, wet roads for the past 2 days...If you drive with the common sense that the conditions call for, you'll have no problems on these tires 235/45 DWS.

Very happy with the tires.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Json, I got my wheels refinished at the dealership for $340 total (all 4 wheels).

paphillon

Ordered the DWS from Americas tires 123+10 per tire total including install $712, should get it installed by this weekend.

The EL42's just lasted about 23k miles man Acura should pay for these shitty tires...

Jackass

Jay Wolfe will install third party tires? What did they charge for the mount and balance? I got my tires done at Costco and they scratched my rims up. Planning on getting them refinished at the dealer (especially since you just had yours refinished there) on Costco's dime. If JW is willing to deal with that, this may bring on-line ordering back into play for me in the future. I always hated trying to find a place to mount my tires when ordering online. I have always had good experiences at JW.

nfnsquared

DWS update:

Just did first rotation today. Installed 8/2/2010. 8611 on tires.

All 4 tires measured 10/32"!!! No measurable wear in over 8K miles...

Yeah, I had him measure twice...

thefatcat

just got my 235/45/17 DWS installed today....love them. need to get a 4 wheel alignment though. the pilot sports i took off were worn so badly (look like a cork screw) on the rear driver side that it wobbled when i rolled it across my garage floor.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Jack, this is my first time ordering tires online. I deal with Steve Spehar at Jay Wolfe Acura. Give him a call-tell him I sent you. I'm sure they will help you with the refinishing. As a matter of fact, I ordered my tires from Discount Tire Direct and had the shipped directly to the dealership!

chasingthecool

i live in texas where it never snows. i should just get the continental extreme DW insteads of the DWS correct?

ParaSurfer1979

Yes ... When I bought my car in June, it came with Continental ContiExtreme Contact which have a more aggressive tread pattern (directional).

baby_igor

Lot’s of happy converts to DWS from OEM tires on the thread. In the spirit of the title of this thread, I'd like the Pilot Sport A/S Plus owners to chime in. I have about 7/32nds left on my Pilot Sport A/S Pluses, and think I will have to replace them in December of 2011. Are any current A/S Plus owners thinking of moving to DWS? Has anyone tried the next generation of the Pilot Sport A/S, the "ZP"?

pttl

I'm sure the Michelins are good tires. Honestly, price had a lot to do with my decision. Pilots are an expensive tire, as are most Michelins, where the DWS is reasonably priced for an HP AS tire. Plus they are very good.

2.5sbd

I have the DWS on two of my cars
2005 Subaru Legacy GT
2008 Honda Accord
The tires are great for what I wanted them for.
Increased wet performance
Increased snow performance
Normal dry performance
For a little better side wall stiffness, I have increased the tire pressure and I must say that it makes a nice difference.
Overall these tire are great and will probably buy them again.

CocheseUGA

First time I've checked this thread. Any thoughts on a 255/45 size, as I'm running now on my Pilots?

jsonkimz

iTrader: (1)

On a 17x8 wheel? I would say it's much too big. I got the 245/45's and there's no way I would go larger. Most people here think a 255 tire is too wide for an 8inch wheel. If you're set on a 255, people will recommend a 255/40, not 255/45. It's just too tall. A few people have done a 255/40 (search for the thread... I hate cars and inaccurate have done it if my memory serves me right) but I think most agree that it's just better all around to go stock or 245/45.

Rocketsfan

As I stated earlier in this thread, I had Pilot Sport A/S (the tires before the Pluses) and wanted to possibly try out the DW/DWS due to the cheaper price, but couldn't find any in stock around here in the Dallas area at the time. Everywhere I called either had none in stock or they was a shortage at the warehouse and they only had 1 or 2 in stock at the store. I decided to go ahead and get the new Pilot Sport A/S Plus tires. They're every bit as good as the non-pluses I owned. Those tires went about 40,000-45,000 miles before I needed replacement. I'm happy with these tires. I've owned Pilot Sport A/S, Bridgestone RE960 A/S, Pirelli P-Zero Neros, Falken Ziex 512's, and the OEM Turanzas (the original garbage Turanzas - EL-42's?). I would recommend all of these except the Ziex 512's or Turanzas for rain and dry pavement.

I've heard people report that the sidewalls are softer on the DW's, and, if true, with my kind of driving, it's probably better that I got the Pilots.

vuuha05

iTrader: (5)

I'm getting the Contis thanks to this thread!

WillHereSF

Did some shopping and haggled a little bit with Dave at Sears in San Bruno, CA. He quoted me $634 out the door for the Conti Extreme Contact DWS.

Is that a decent deal?

nfnsquared

Seems about right from what I recall. My local SEARS met Tirerack's delivered price. If the price of the tires match's or beats tirerack's price plus shipping, then I'd say you did alright.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Good price, for sure.

pttl

When you consider installation, taxes, and disposal fees, that is a very good deal.

CocheseUGA

It's what I've been running for 36k now.

WillHereSF

OK... spoke too soon. Called to confirm the appointment and was told the tires wouldn't be here for another 8 weeks due to manufacturing back order.

Another dealer 30 miles from my house has them for $50 more. To wait, to pay more, or to find a different tire? *ugh*

jsonkimz

iTrader: (1)

Just pay the extra $50, unless you can afford to wait with the tires you have. I'm EXTREMELY happy with my DWS's.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

What 255 size?

jsonkimz

iTrader: (1)

I'm not saying it can't be done. I just don't think that the pros would outweigh the cons for that size. This is just my opinion, but I wouldn't want to run a 255/45 because I think gas mileage would suffer too much and it would throw off the speedometer too much. That size is much larger than OEM and I think the adverse effects would make it not worth it. But if you like it and it's been working for you then go for it! Although, I do think that the DWS's may run slightly large, so factor that in as well. I'll defer to turbonut for his opinion.

CocheseUGA

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 255/45-17zr on the Type-S wheels. They were on when I bought the car, so I figure they're about at 40-42k right now.

Since they are the only ones I've had on the car, I couldn't tell you if the mileage is bad or the speedo is bad. I'm pretty sure I'll be doing some flavor of 245s, but didn't know what to expect in the difference.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

The 255/45 is approved for an 8" wide wheel, so no problem, but they are 26.1" tall, or about 1/2" taller than the OE Michelin (235) or 245/45-17. Speedometer difference would only be @ 1mph slow at 60.

jsonkimz

iTrader: (1)

Hmm... I thought it'd be a bigger difference. Still seems large to me though.

I was under the impression that a 255 was really too wide for an 8" wheel. Does the sidewall height make a difference? Because I was fairly certain that a 255/40 was NOT recommended for an 8" wheel. So how is it different for a 255/45?

Cochese - if you do stick with the 255/45 throw a pic up! I'd like to see what they look like. If it were me, though, I'd still stick with 235/45 or 245/45. You can at least expect better gas mileage and maybe feel more pull. But I doubt you could feel a significant difference. Lighter on the wallet though!

jasonleary

I am another happy Contintental DWS buyer for my 06 TL, replacing the OE tires because they are useless in even light snow.

Stock tire size, ride is nicer, soo quiet, nice and stable cruising, no more skipping tires with the stockers grabbing for traction off the line, especially on turns... Maybe slightly less precise steering feel, but it's really much better overall for driving experience. Great in light snow and especially rain, I noticed. Awesome traction in bad weather.

ChrisMc73

I just bought the Continental DWS tires for my 04 TL, replacing the Goodyear F1s that have been wearing out every year on me for the past few years. Sam's sold me my first set, then Discount Tires sold me my second set of the GY, but I finally got a guy in Discount Tires to give me some good advice and go with these DWS Continentals. And Finally some research on the internet confirms what a sales guy tells me! Glad this thread is here.

I also bought some after market MB wheels at Discount Tires that are 17x7 and because I don't know much about tires or cars at all, I researched here, and talked to the Discount Tire sales guy and realized my OEM wheels are 17x8. As soon as I left the tire shop I started noticing these wheels/tires looked skinny, not as wide as my OEM wheels were, but the reason I bought the MBs was one of my OEM wheels was cracked. I felt some pressure and impulse to just get the 4 new tires and wheels and be done. As soon as I got to work I felt the buyers remorse on the wheels...not the tires thanks to the feed back here. The wheels just look cheap and don't look good at all, butt ugly.

So I've found a local salvage guy who ordered me a used OEM wheel from out of state, once it arrives I'll be returning the MB wheels (with a small restocking fee) and having my new DWS mounted on my OEM wheels, and back to normal. I just feel like I'm riding on some cheap wheels right now with these MBs, and they are cheap $83 each. Did I mention butt ugly too? Impulse decisions suck.

So my questions are; with the new DWS that I got that are the 235/45-17s, I was told will go on my OEM wheels, true? And this is a normal sized tire for this wheel right? Should look the same as the OEM tires that I replaced years ago and the GY's that I'm replacing now? Just look wise, as in over all width and thickness etc...?

Right now, my DWS are mounted on those MB wheels, 17x7 and look skinny in width, that will change once my OEM wheels are back on right? They will stretch out to fit the 17x8 OEM?

nfnsquared

Yes, 235/45/17 is the OEM tire size. You can verify this by checking the sticker on the inside driver's door jam or your owner's manual. Yes, the tires will fit the 8" wheel.

The stock size DWS' are actually wider than the OEM tires that come on the car. Not sure how they compare to your old F1s. I'd have to know what F1's you were running and what size they were. You can check tires specs by going to tirerack.com.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

If you're the type that likes the appearance of a "meaty" tire, should have read the thread and purchased 245/45-17. The 235 DWS will naturally fit the OE 17 x 8 wheel, but they will be smaller in width than the GY F1 of the same size and even the GY isn't a wide tire when compared to others.

ChrisMc73

The GY F1s I replaced were 235/45R-17, I still have two of them, the rear two. The front two were bad, one was flat and had a worn hold due to really bad alignment of the front passenger side. That has been fixed now.

ChrisMc73

I am not sure I like "meaty", would have to see what "meaty" looks like, have any examples?

And I did read this thread, but it was after I had to make my purchases, as my wife was stranded up at the tire shop and needed the car. I didn't have the time to do the research till afterwards, which is why I'm now reading up on what I bought, I think the size and tire I got are fine, but the wheels are going back.

Turbonut

iTrader: (1)

Meaty meaning that a tire is wider than most.
Yes, here's an example, Yokohama S.4 245/45-17 with a 8.7" wide tread. Look great on the our TL.
I answered your question, enough said as I'm not going through the debate again.