Inaccurate

I did an oil change today, and I got some pics of my tires to show the lack of wear after 8,500 miles.

To me, the tires have NO perceivable wear after these 8,500 miles. Contrary to the naysayers seven months ago, my tires have yet to blow-up, explode, have any uneven wear, cause aliens to appear, etc.


In the pic below, notice the red arrows pointing to the "wear indicator" bumps, which are deep down into the thread.












And by the way, all pics were of the passenger-side front tire. This tire is representative of the other three tires.

Basit06TL

thanks

ndabunka

Inaccurate - A few questions I didn't see covered yet in this thread...(1) What tire pressure do you run in your Goodyear F1's? and what is the offset of the OEM wheel? I have an aftermarket 17x8" wheel and I "think" the offset was "pretty close" to factory, but cannot be certain. Was the factory offset +42? This difference in offset might impact my ability to run 255's. As a point of reference my offset on my Voxx Scorze's is +40.

Inaccurate

ndabunka,

I have done much experimenting with different tire pressures for my Eagle 255/40-17 tires. Here is my ideal pressure -

Front
33 "cold"
35-36 optimum with "hot" tires (as seen on MID while driving after tires have warmed-up)


Rear
30 "cold"
31-32 optimum with "hot" tires (as seen on MID while driving after tires have warmed-up)

Regarding the rim offset, I have no knowledge in this area. I have not researched aftermarket rims and how the oem rims compare to aftermarket rims. I bet if you start a new topic thread with your rim questions, may folks here can offer some excellent advice.

S PAW 1

There is something that has bugged me since early in this thread. Whether it was Inaccurate's unusual enthusiasm to get a list of users (sort of like the pied piper), or his sarcasm (snap!), when safety is brought up as an issue. Not just once, but several times. I admit, the application LOOKS GOOD!, but that's all!
I decided to e-mail Michelin concerning this, since I was at least considering inaccurate's 255/40/17. Michelin's reply is as follows as quoted:
"Regarding the rim width for the Pilot Sport A/S 255/40/17, this tire is designed to fit a rim that is 8.5-10" wide. Mounting on an 8" wheel is a MIS-APPLICATION. If you mount this tire on an 8" rim, you run a high risk of "slippage", thus causing air loss, handling, and/or wear issues. The overall size has nothing to do with seating the bead of tire to rim. You should NEVER vary from the specifications of the tire." END OF QUOTE. Caps are added by me for clarity of quote.
Inaccurate has put himself into a serious situation of liabilty, and the mods should be very aware of this. This is why your dealers are refusing to install the 255/40/17's!
Again, this information applies to Michelin, but it is doubtful that Goodyear F1's specs would be different.
Inaccurate says "live a little"
I say "is it worth it?"
Happy (and safe)Trails
P.S. anyone wanting a copy of Michelin's response to my e-mail, let me know.

'05 6MT NBP
A-Spec suspension (stock 17" wheels)
K&N intake system
V1 on the lookout.

S PAW 1

In reviewing the Goodyear F1 specs, as well as calling the local Goodyear dealer-
ship.....same thing. MISAPPLICATION.
Dealer says he would not install due to liablility.
Some rules are good rules, and they are there for a reason !
In this case to protect the consumer, even though he may not want to listen.

ndabunka

S Paw - You may be mistaken on Inaccurate's liability. He CLEARLY states in a number of places that he has no "authority" to validate this but rather than he has "taken this approach" on his own AND BEEN SUCCESSFULL. So he is encoraging others to "try it" and make their own decisions. No liabilty on his part AT ALL for something you do on your car. Kinda like trying to argue that XYZ's song "told me" to kill my parents. Do'AH!

Additionally, the techniques he is employing to do this have been around for YEARS AND YEARS so this is nothing new. From my point of view his recommendations are FAR better than others have presented on this forum in regards to the 20-inch wheels. Some guys are placing 225/30-20's on cars with 9.5" (or even 10") wide rims! Is it approved by the mfg? Sure! Is it dangerous, Heck YEA. With little or no rubber between the suspension system and the rim, there is also nothing there to "absorb" the impact. A friend of mine is an insurance adjuster and I presented these two cases to him to see which he would cover and he said that the 255 case was more likely to get covered UNLESS it was PROVEN that the larger wheel actually CAUSED the damage whereas with the 20" wheels there is little (or no) doubt that the damage occurs due to the mis-used application.

You are also forgetting that a large NATIONAL tire installer's book states that a 255/40 FITS JUST FINE on an 8" rim (Discout Tire) so although that SPECIFIC mfg may have deemed the application "un-acceptable" by THEIR standards, others have OBVIOUSLY found it OK. Gonna take on Discount Tire now?

S PAW 1

After looking at 7 major mfrs, along with tirerack, I don't see a problem with "taking on" discount tire with what they give on their website. It obviously isn't as well put together as tirerack. Glad you were able to find one that would disagree with the manufacturers of the tires. I haven't researched them enough to verify your position.
If your tire loses sudden air pressure, as Michelin states as a risk, and you wreck and injure your family or someone else's after using the kind of advice promoted in this thread, it won't do much to conjure up your responsibilty as an adult.
I'm not so sure if you would be as forgiving if YOU were the victim.

ubnpast

Inaccurate, I would of have liked to see how wide the tires truley are. You should have taken a ruler, placed it on the tred to measure the width. I really want to see how wide these are.

2004 TL

Here is another thought to the na-sayers. I recently read an article in one of the major mags about the latest Bentley or RR that had 255/45/18 tires mounted on 8 inch wide rims. Does that mean that it is ok for an 18inch rim but not a 17. Would Bentley or RR sell a several hundred thousand dollar car if it were that unsafe? I doubt it.

I chose to try the 255's based upon looks and getting the maximum rubber contact patch on the road. I can't say the car handles any better than the 245's I ran on it previously, but it looks great. I may or may not do it again, but I thought it was a few hundred dollar fun thing to do. The tires were so cheap that I did not care.

These tires have not flat spotted for me at all, even after sitting for 3 days. I have found that in extreme handling conditions, there is a fair amount of lift off throttle over steer which is entertaining providing you are expecting it, and know how to deal with it. It is interesting that the car now handles very much like it is a 50-50 weight distrobution vehicle.

I checked out the rim diameter issue that keeps popping up with a few of my old racing pals, and they all said the same thing. 8-8.5 inch rims are fine for this width and aspect ratio tire. They said that if I were mounting 35 rather than 40 aspect ratio tires on an 8 inch rim, I would have major problems.

Look, Michelin and Goodyear have legal departments that have to cover themselves against stupid consumers who don't use thier products appropriately, and then hire an attorney to sue when they do dumb things.

I am inflating my tires to 38 psi front, and 35 psi rear cold. There are likely minor variations in the tire pressure question based upon temp and humidity, as well as the make and brands of tires that we are all using. If the side wall construction is vastly different from one brand to another, that will definately affect what psi you feel you car handles best with. Most people can't tell the difference between 36 and 38 psi.

As a rule of thumb, don't jump on the throttle until your car has been running for about 10 minutes, and that goes for the tires too. Your tires will not heat up to the right tempurature if the ambiant temp is less than 45 degrees unless you figure out how to get some heat in them first. When I raced professionally, we would not even start the race until the temp was above 45 degrees, or we installed very soft compond tires that were designed for that purpose.

In any case folks, YOU ARE PERFECTLY SAFE RUNNING 255/40/17 TIRES ON 8 INCH RIMS providing you inflat them correctly. If you are still not comfortble buying them, don't! Get the 245/45/17 size and you will be just as happy with the performance. Just stay away from the EL42s and you will love the car.

By the way, I test drove the new Type S and it was very disappointing. Don't bother and buy a regular TL and then install my mods listed below and you will smoke every stock Type S on the road.

On a side note, my 2007 TT Lingenfelter Z06 is just weeks away from delivery so I will report on that insanity when it arrives. I know this is an Acura site, but I think we all can appreciate a 2.87 lbs/hp ratio. The Veyron is about 4 lbs/hp, so this will be a beast......thus the car's name.

Happy motoring to all of you!

Inaccurate

Go get your lawyer, take a number, and wait in line Bud !

ndabunka

2004 TL - Based on your experience as well as others on here combined with a fair amount of prior knowledge, I will be going with the 255/40-17's on my aftermarket 8-inch rims. Seems everyone on here agrees that S-Paw's concerns are not valid. S-Paw, I am a VERY responsible adult and would not place the children in my car nor any others I drive near into ANY danger whatsoever. S-Paw is a fearmonger and that's about it IMHO.

jgannon87

Direct Tire in Grapevine, TX had no problem installing these on my stock rims. They told me that they frequently push the size all the time. The rep told me that the only issue could be extra tread wear.

S PAW 1

Thanks for another sample of your maturity. They make a pill for it, I read. Not contagious though.
If you or anyone else chooses to use this tire, that is your choice. With a disclaimer from Michelin (as well as a good number of others), who is one of the most highly respected manufacturers in the world, won't change your mind, then go for it. They have higher paid lawyers than you and I can afford. I have to trust their judgement. If they published that their 255/40/17 would fit an 8" wheel, they would sell more tires, but they don't.
But they DO look good, I have to admit.

Inaccurate

S PAW 1,

Thanks for remaining civil. You DO have a right to your opinion, and I will respect that right. Please remember that I am keeping the readers updated regarding my tires. I even included pics a few days ago of my tires after 8,500 miles showing no unusual wear.

Jeffa1

I'm still convinced that my next set of tires will be 255/40x17's.

Ernie Golfs

Inaccurate,
Now that you have had the 255/40s on for a while, have you noticed any obvious change in mileage from the stock tires? About the same mileage, more or less?

Inaccurate

Ernie Golfs,

I am unfortunately not able to give a milage comparision of the 255/40 versus the oem tires. I fortunately dumped the oem tires after having my 2006 TL for just 4,000 miles.

Whoops, quick edit before 5 mintues
I thought you meant wear on the tires..how long the tires last. If you mean MPG, the MPG was identical...no MPG loss from wider tires in my experience. I get GREAT mileage.

FADE

When I bought my tires I didnt know the 255 would fit. Oh well.
Here is a pic of my 245's

Inaccurate

Here is the pic from Post #179 by "FADE" directly above. BTW, these are 245's not 255's. Thanks FADE

yakman

Greetings everyone.

I weighed the advice and dbate on this thread and opted to put some Dunlop 255/40-17s on my 2004 TL. So far so good. I think they look great on the car.

I bought the tires thru tirerack.com for cheap and had them installed at a nearby auto shop (recommended installer by tirerack.com). I left the car with the shop for the day while I went to work. During the day, I recieved a call from one of the mechanics who was concerned that the tires I was putting on the car were different than my stock tires. I told him I was aware of it and was opting to put the 255/40-17s based on advice I recieved thru this website. He said he would install them based on my desire/decision.

When I went to pick up the car, several of the mechanics at the shop (incl. one who had installed tires on sports cars for years) said the tires fit on the rims beautifully and that they thought the tires would serve me well in improving performance on turning and braking.

So so far I feel I have made a good decision about changing tire sizes. I have had the tires on my car for almost three weeks now and am very happy.

Inaccurate

yakman,

Welcome to the forum ! Thanks for taking the time to register to post your feedback. Glad to hear that the 255/40's are working good for you.

ubnpast

Inaccurate: can you do me a favor and measure how wide your tires are. I am looking to see hoe much the 255's are than my 235's.

MisterFubar

iTrader: (1)

Just a guess, but I bet they are 20mm wider.

Aznpersuasion

nice, lol i have 245/45 stock settings i think those are the numbers on my tires lol
~Jason

Dynabyte

Thanks Inaccurate and everyone else for posting this thread. My 2004 TL was in serious need of new tires - the Bridgestones that were on it (Potenza's) were extremely problematic. I just had 255/40-17 Eagle F1's installed and I couldn't be happier. They are f'n awesome Kudos to all of you who made the leap of faith and made my decision that much easier - here's a pic of the new shoes:

Inaccurate

Dynabyte - Thanks for the pic. WOW, the F1's on the black TL looks soooo awesome. My heart did a little flutter when I first saw the pic. I love the looks of the F1's so much...I even have the F1's on my wife's RL.
.
.
.
Here is the pic from Post #186 by "Dynabyte" directly above.
.

FiveLiterCheater

Does look really nice. I would've gone this route if I didn't go with aftermarket wheels

techguy

Has anyone tried the Falken Ziex E0512 255/40ZR-17?

2004 TL

I don't have personal experience with them, but I have heard that they get very loud as they wear.

mreyes69

This could be a dumb question, but how do the Goodyear F1 255/40/17 tires work with the 2007 TPMS? Are they compatible? I recently bought a 2007 TL-S and although I don't plan on buying new tires soon, I love the way the 255's look and would like to get them when I'm ready.

Inaccurate

mreyes69,

I think it is an extremely safe assumption that the sensors are the indentical part in the '07 as the '06. In which case, the '07 sensor should have no problems with the 255/40-17 tires.

Even if the sensor was redesigned in the '07, I can not imagine how the wider tire would cause a problem with the sensor.

TLspeed

Just had a set of Toyo Proxes 4 - 255/40/17 installed (OEM rims). Look great. $675 out the door. My '04MT drives like a new car. Tracks straight. Smooth, quiet ride.

Thanks to everyone.

PS - the installer had no qualms with mounting these tires on the OEM rims.

EnvisionTL

I read through 8 pages but did not see any of the people running 255/40/17 shoes mention anything about whether or not they lowered their cars. I think there was one post about a member wanting to drop their car with this setup but I did not see a followup. Has any of the people running 255s lowered their cars? Thanks! btw the wider tires look great!

Inaccurate

SHORT ANSWER = NO !!!! You will not notice the car being lower by replacing the tires with 255/40-17's.

Technically, the car might (depending on much thread depth remains on your 235/45's) drop as much as 1/8 inch. But, you probably would NOT NOTICE the 1/8 inch drop.

LONG ANSWER
---------------------------
Ok, I should had cleared this up sooner. I had orginally stated in my TOP 10 list -

8) Slightly lower stance (estimating 1/4 inch)

Later, I realized that I made an error. There is approx 1/4 inch difference in diameter. But, the ride height is effected by the tire's radius, not diameter. So, the car would be lowered by slightly more than 1/8 inch.

But, there is another flaw in my logic too. My whole premise is based on NEW tires. That is, comparing NEW 255/40's to NEW 235/45's. Each having FRESH RUBBER. But, in real life, the typical person will be going from BALD 235/45's, not new 235/45's, to the new 255/40's.

For me, I DID replace NEW 235/45's with NEW 255/40's. This is how much I dislike how the car looks with the oem tires.

I have not reseached the actual figures, so let's discuss "ball park figures". Your USED 235/45 tires will have approx the SAME DIAMETER as NEW 255/40's.

So, most likely, a person WOULD NOT SEE ANY DIFFERENCE when going from USED (bald) 235/45 to NEW 255/40's. However, what you would need to remind yourself in this case is that you are not suffering the penality of having full rubber depth again if you would had gotten NEW 235/45 to replace the worn 235/45's.

A SiQ TL

I think he meant will the wider tire affect a lowered car. as in rubbing etc.
But that long answer is intense man

S PAW 1

Well, at 50K, my original 235/45/17 Michelin Pilot A/S, still looked to have a few thousand left in them. What the heck, I'll take the dive a little early.
Based on a wealth of information, much of what was provided by this forum, I decided to lean on the side of safety, and went with 245/40/17's. Not just my opinion, but Michelin Corp., Tirerack, and installers. These Michelins are nearly as wide as the 255's(9.9" vs. 10.1"), and they are a touch smaller in diameter than stock(24.9" vs.25.6"), so my gearing changed to one that favors more torque, but a few more RPM's.
Results thus far: car sits a little lower, hard to keep speed down(definately quicker gearing that also gives the effect of the ratios being closer in the 6 speed), speedo went from reading 1 mph fast, to 3 mph. Handling is better, although it was already awesome. Gas mileage seems to have dropped, although it is hard to tell during cold weather.
Just had our first good snowfall of about 4 inches, and it seems like I installed 4 snowplows, even with the A/S rating on the Michelins!
The look is awesome, which I am sure surprises no one on this forum.
Soooooo, I really like them. The snow thing is somewhat of a tradeoff, and the odometer will show a few more miles driven than actual. I am confident of the wheel sizing from a safety standpoint. In summary, these are the tires I would recommend IMO.
'05 6 MT NBP
A-spec suspension
K&N Typhoon intake
V1 on the lookout

EnvisionTL

Thanks Inaccurate for the answer to another question I had but forgot ask. Are you a mind reader or something? lol.

Thanks SiQ. This is what I meant in my first post

b rad

im joining the club, did you guys purchase the road hazard when buying from tiresdirect, going with the kumho ecsta ast, cheap cheap cheap...

i live in south fl and dont have to worry about snow/ice... the survey results look great on these tires anyone have em?

thanks for all the feed back,

techguy

Road hazard/free replacement is just like any insurance. It is for peace of mind so it will be up to you. Cost from discounttiredirect is $15.75 per tire. The in-store price is higher ($19.75) if you go to discounttire.com. I did a price comparison. For the same exact tire, it is $114 cheaper (out the door) if I order it from discounttire.com and have it installed locally (even adding the cost of State fee and Disposal fee) than if I get the same set of tires (installed and all) using discounttire.com which is America's Tire. Part of the savings is the $40 CA state tax. Note that shipping is free with discounttiredirect.com.

I have not called the local store if they will match the out the door price.

I'll probably order a set in a few weeks.