Why you should get 255/40-17 tires for your OEM rims !!!
#721
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (1)
I've posted this before, as the temp spare comes in at 24.5" while the 245/40-17 SS is 25.7", .02" difference indiameter or only .1" on each side of the tire and after a few thousand miles it will be down the the spare diameter. The M/T spare is 24.95".
#723
This thread really help me choose between 245s and 255s So thanks everyone.
I can see some people are concerned that the tire might be too wide for the rim and since I've done much worse than that I feel the need to chime in.
There is really no problem at all running tires a bit wider than the wheel like that
Here's a pic of my winter tires I had on my previous car.
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Tires are 215/50/R16 on a 6'' wide rim, it's quite obvious they are too wide for the rim but it's never really been an issue, of course they wiggled a bit more than my summer tires that were 225s on a I believe 7'' rim but you have to keep in mind that those were winter tires vs UHP summers with a beefy sidewall. Tires wore quite evenly as they wear much slower in the rear ( where the camber is usually more pronounced ) than in the front so if you swap them around every year the ''exessive'' wear will most likely not show at all.
And as far as safety goes, I've run those winter tires for about 25k miles and there were no deformations whatsoever on the sidewalls or anywhere else, you also have to consider I live in pothole land and didn't spare them at all.
I can see some people are concerned that the tire might be too wide for the rim and since I've done much worse than that I feel the need to chime in.
There is really no problem at all running tires a bit wider than the wheel like that
Here's a pic of my winter tires I had on my previous car.
![Name: DSC00316.jpg
Views: 3529
Size: 95.2 KB](https://acurazine.com/forums/attachments/3g-tl-tires-wheels-suspension-97/84033d1501791993-why-you-should-get-255-40-17-tires-your-oem-rims-dsc00316.jpg)
Tires are 215/50/R16 on a 6'' wide rim, it's quite obvious they are too wide for the rim but it's never really been an issue, of course they wiggled a bit more than my summer tires that were 225s on a I believe 7'' rim but you have to keep in mind that those were winter tires vs UHP summers with a beefy sidewall. Tires wore quite evenly as they wear much slower in the rear ( where the camber is usually more pronounced ) than in the front so if you swap them around every year the ''exessive'' wear will most likely not show at all.
And as far as safety goes, I've run those winter tires for about 25k miles and there were no deformations whatsoever on the sidewalls or anywhere else, you also have to consider I live in pothole land and didn't spare them at all.
#729
Well I ended up setteling for 245-45-R17 since I figured the 255s would stick out of the rim more than I wanted them to, really just a personal liking tho. I guess if it were more of a performance issue I would have opted for the 255 to provide the extra grip.
#730
Burning Brakes
I'm going to buy new tires in a week or two, I wanted to get DSW's. Can't really afford to have two sets of tires atm. I have heard it is bad to run fatter tires in winter, that you should have oem or smaller to cut thru the snow but I would still love to get these in 255/40. Anyone have any experience with these? Or any help inputs?
#731
Team Owner
I'm going to buy new tires in a week or two, I wanted to get DSW's. Can't really afford to have two sets of tires atm. I have heard it is bad to run fatter tires in winter, that you should have oem or smaller to cut thru the snow but I would still love to get these in 255/40. Anyone have any experience with these? Or any help inputs?
#735
Team Owner
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When I got my Conti DWS', I tried to get 245's (let alone 255's). But they were on national backorder for 3 months! I'm on OEM size.
#736
Burning Brakes
I work at a car dearship so I was able to get them for 136.90 per tire plus I got a gps from continental. I believe list for them is 160 ea, keep in mind I'm talking about 255/40/17.
#737
XpressoBeans
Conti DWS? Falkin? Hanook? BFG's?
Hey there guys, My TL is hiding out for the winter time but she will need new tires in the spring, I am going to do the 255/40/17 fatties since I cant seem to find a decent pair of Aspec or smoked out SType Rims. Here is the info my advisor gave me about the tires. He said it should be A-OK.
![Wish](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/wish.gif)
#738
XpressoBeans
Aaron, I have the same color and rims but with the aspec skirts. Can you tell me how those BFG's have been? I am currently on the stock size BFG KDWS but my car sits in the winter so i can go for a summer tire. I like the way the BFG looks on your car but have been hearing that the Conti DW is good too?
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JD TL-S (12-08-2011)
#739
XpressoBeans
So I had these 255/40/17 Conti's thrown on the other day and so far I love them. I was gonna go the "I hate cars" route and rock the Nitto NT05's or NT555 but these are all I need. It stays dry mostly down here but when it rains, it pours by the gulf. The tires are quieter then OEM and surpassed my expectaions on grip in the tight corners. I bought Tein S.tech for the gap but ultimately decided that was to low for my needs. So I bought and Eibach pro-kit and will throw those springs on next week to close some of the gap. Took pics with an Evo 4g
![](http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/abrodr444/IMAG0180.jpg)
![](http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/abrodr444/IMAG0184.jpg)
![](http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/abrodr444/IMAG0180.jpg)
![](http://i1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd496/abrodr444/IMAG0184.jpg)
Hey there , bow do you like the DWs? I am debating on them and two others.
#740
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (1)
Hey there guys, My TL is hiding out for the winter time but she will need new tires in the spring, I am going to do the 255/40/17 fatties since I cant seem to find a decent pair of Aspec or smoked out SType Rims. Here is the info my advisor gave me about the tires. He said it should be A-OK.
![Wish](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/wish.gif)
![Wish](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/wish.gif)
Also, the DWS, although section width is wide in a 255/40-17, the actual tread width at 8.5" is smaller than some 245/45-17's e.g. Yokohama S.4, Bridgestone 970 just to mention a few, but your choice.
#741
Safety Car
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How about 245/35/19 with 8.5" rims in front, and 275/30/19 with 9.5" rims in back. About the same height, but the back will have a lip 1" wider, and a tire thats also 1" wider.
#742
AZ Community Team
Join Date: May 2007
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BUT - read Turbonuts post; not all tires actually measure out right on the calculated size.
Also, in general you don't want wide tires in snow. The wider the tire, the more snow you plow. Especially MN winter. Narrower is the norm for winter tires.
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xpressobeans (12-11-2011)
#747
Instructor
Just received my 255/40ZR17 Continentals DWS!!! Going to get them installed in a little bit, can't wait.
(FYI)
They are on back order everywhere I found except I came across them at tirebuyer.com...with free shipping! The tires are brand new but they do look as if they have been thrown around a bit during storage. Thats the only problem I see is the scuff marks around the tires.
(FYI)
They are on back order everywhere I found except I came across them at tirebuyer.com...with free shipping! The tires are brand new but they do look as if they have been thrown around a bit during storage. Thats the only problem I see is the scuff marks around the tires.
#749
Burning Brakes
iTrader: (1)
wow.
So I've worked my way through every post in this thread over the past week or so and I think I've settled on tires, finally.
Would like to thank Inaccurate for starting the thread and all the contributions - I'm an engine guy and don't know jack about tires, wheels, suspension, etc. so this was pretty educational.
I'm definitely joining the 255/40/17 club. Found some Nitto NT555's for about $140 per. I'm in Wisconsin but have a separate set of wheels and snow tires so I wanted to have some fun with some pure summer tires that I could beat on.
thanks for all the info, people.
So I've worked my way through every post in this thread over the past week or so and I think I've settled on tires, finally.
Would like to thank Inaccurate for starting the thread and all the contributions - I'm an engine guy and don't know jack about tires, wheels, suspension, etc. so this was pretty educational.
I'm definitely joining the 255/40/17 club. Found some Nitto NT555's for about $140 per. I'm in Wisconsin but have a separate set of wheels and snow tires so I wanted to have some fun with some pure summer tires that I could beat on.
thanks for all the info, people.
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Inaccurate (02-23-2012)
#752
Racer
Been browsing around for tires recently. I'm currently on some Falken ZE-912's on OEM rims, but they were on it when I bought the car so I'm not exactly sure how many miles are on them, or how they compare to other tires.
After doing some research, I'm pretty sold on the Conti DWS's, but not sure what size. 255/40-17 seems to be the way to go, but I haven't read the whole thread yet. I like the way they look on the OEM rims, and I don't have plans (or money) for new wheels anytime soon - probably because I have other plans for my car first!
Thanks for the write-up! I'll be reading this thread soon enough.
After doing some research, I'm pretty sold on the Conti DWS's, but not sure what size. 255/40-17 seems to be the way to go, but I haven't read the whole thread yet. I like the way they look on the OEM rims, and I don't have plans (or money) for new wheels anytime soon - probably because I have other plans for my car first!
Thanks for the write-up! I'll be reading this thread soon enough.
#754
Burning Brakes
iTrader: (3)
Innacurate, how is the cornering been recently with 255? I saw on Swoosh thread you took that turn with no issues but wanted to make sure you were still using the 255s.. and which one are you using now?
the annoying part is you dont care about road noise wit your TL diet!!![Smile](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
So to the others using 255/40 what tires and your road noise experience?
and I agree with the others for winter stay at the 235, the DWS is the best i have driven for snow and icy/wet roads.. cant go wrong with that tire
the annoying part is you dont care about road noise wit your TL diet!!
![Smile](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif)
So to the others using 255/40 what tires and your road noise experience?
and I agree with the others for winter stay at the 235, the DWS is the best i have driven for snow and icy/wet roads.. cant go wrong with that tire
#755
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Credit for my cornering is due to the lightweight and to the coilovers. When I recently installed my BC Racing coilovers, my cornering took a mega jump in improvement (grip wise). Before the coilovers, I would slide around that same turn that I mentioned with the Mustang. It would be a slow predictable slide but it was indicating that I was at my limit, traction wise. But after the coilovers, I can go MUCH faster before reaching my traction limit.
I don't know why the coilovers had such an improvement. Below is some possible reasons.
Before the coilovers, I had very little body roll. So, I rule that one out. But, I could be wrong and the much stiffer suspension is helping that much. I have my coilovers set at max stiffness in the front.
Before the coilovers, my suspension was sitting exactly one inch higher than oem in the front and rear. I think this is the reason for the improvement. I adjusted the coilovers to make my car sit at oem height. I think before the coilovers, I had compromised suspension geometry.
I installed new tires at the same time that I added the coilovers. I don't think this is the reason. I can tell from acceleration and braking limits that my old tires were offering the same level of grip as the new tires.
#756
I missed what year the car is.... but if I remember correctly, '05 and earlier were part of the Honda odometer issue??? I think Honda changed the tolerances, but it "may" have given some people an additional 5% on the odemeter for their warrantee period.
#757
One on the right for me
Last set of tires experienced an abnormal amount of wear on the inside. I had the alignment check twice. Anyone else experience any uneven wear issues? I've put about 15k on the new tires and haven't noticed anything yet.
#758
Safety Car
Thread Starter
^ As a side note, this condition can be specific to a brand/model of tire. Even with alignment within specs, some brands/models of tires exhibit weird wear patterns. I have stopped using some brands/models due to this reason.
#760
Burning Brakes
iTrader: (3)
Before the coilovers, my suspension was sitting exactly one inch higher than oem in the front and rear. I think this is the reason for the improvement. I adjusted the coilovers to make my car sit at oem height. I think before the coilovers, I had compromised suspension geometry.
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its funny, I am on 235/45 right now and OEM height.. want to go 245 or 255 and 1" drop.. but I am not going to go light weight.. maybe lose about 100-150lbs but that is about it