TASAVOY

My o5 tl is lowered with H&R coilovers set at 2.5 inches lower than stock on conti extreme contacts 255/40/17.There is no rubbing in the front when making turn or in the rear.

Ghost-Rider

Just thought I'd provide a little more input on this subject. I do onsite tech support in Austin, TX, and I use my TL for all my driving, so I do quite a bit of mileage (23,000 in 2006). At 42,000 miles I needed new tires, and after reading this thread I thought I'd try the Ventus HR2 255x40x17 tires from Discount Tire Direct. Everybody seemed to have glowing reviews and they were only ~$80 each delivered to my door.

I've had them on for a week now and they are great. I was a little skeptical when I read the comments about being able to feel a difference, but I have to say, the car does drive differently, a little more smoothly perhaps. They are also very quiet tires.

I drove C5 Corvettes before this and I had to smile when I realized that at 255mm, my new TL tires are actually 10mm wider than the front tires on my 2000 'vette used to be

So add me to the list of the converted!

Meek32v6

iTrader: (7)

this is nice to hear...waiting on refund check to get my new tires

007TL-S

I wonder if this tire size will work on my TL-S?....I think it woud?

Meek32v6

iTrader: (7)

I dont see why not???...they are 17x8 too, right?

Inaccurate

^^^ Ditto. The 2007 Type-S has the same rim specs as the earlier 3rd generation. I will "go out on a limb" and say that the 255/40-17 will fit perfectly.

Inaccurate

I got some lightweight rims two weeks ago. The rims have the identical specs as the factory rims (17x8 with 45mm offset). The only difference is that the new rims are much lighter.

Here is a pic to keep you updated. These are my same tires that I had since the beginning of this thread. Same rubber, just different metal.

Inaccurate

Jeffa1

I like your new wheels. Real nice. And the tires look like they're wearing pretty good.

xcelir8TL

Are you sure 255 will go on a car with Tein lowering springs like mine?

Inaccurate

No, I do not know if the 255's will clear on a lower TL. Hopefully, someone with firsthand expereince will chime in to help.

One quick way to get a rough idea is to look. Can you place your thumb between your current tires and the fender well ? The difference in the 235 versus 255 should be approx the width of a thumb. Turn the steering wheel a little at a time, and check for "thumb" clearance as your turn the wheel.

This rough clearance check does not account for suspension travel however. Shrug.

For what it might be worth, mine has Never rubbed anywhere while going thru dips in the road.

My TL looks like motorcross suspension compared your yours.

Inaccurate

Dooh... composing a response within the 5 minute edit window doesn't work too well.

When I said "My TL looks like motorcross suspension compared your yours", I meant this in a nice way. Your lowered TL looks great. Mine sits up high because I removed a lot of weight.

Pankul

Inaccurate: I have been following you post for a while now, and finally the day has come. I need new tires. However I cannot get the Summer Tires as I am in NYC Area, where we get worst of both weathers. All Seasons is my deal.

I am seriously looking to get the 255/45/R17 for my stock rims. I like the Width on 255 but I am not crazy for low profile, and care for more treadwidth hence 45 seems optimum to me.

What are you insights just cos you seem very knowledgable and experienced. This is my first car, and first Tire change

Pankul

just found your comments about the same already, so I answered my question ...

feel free to add anything else...

Inaccurate

If you really like the 255/45 size, I say give it a try. IF you prefer the look of the 255/45 and do not mind the disadvantages, I say give it a try. Who ever you get the tires from, ask them if you can return them if you don't like them once mounted. Many places allow you to change your mind after seeing the tires mounted (obviously with few miles on the tires, if any miles at all).

tidus888

the legend of our TLs

team honda research acura TL

uses 255/40/17 on 17X8 rim

=)

http://www.hondanews.com/categories/793/releases/3081

Pankul

has graphics, uses JAVA
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html



Other link that has been posted before (for your reference)
http://1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

JLim

hi fade, which brand of tires did you go with?

& how do you like them?

i like the look of the 255/40s on the rim by itself, but personally i feel the car is sitting too high and it looks like there is too much gap. if i went with 255/40s, i would most likely be forced to look into lowering my car, which i do not want to do at the moment.

it would be nice to see a comparison photo side by side of a 245/45 and a 255/40 on stock wheels and springs.


but anyways, thank you all of you guys for your input and pics. i read thru the entire thing and i feel as though i'll know what i'm talking about when i go to the dealer or discount tire to purchase new set of tires.

Inaccurate

Good find !!!!!!! THANKS

This should add some clout to this mod

subinf

Finally need to throw on some new tires. Will get it done next week and hopefully will have 255s by Friday.

binTL

Who are you guys getting these tires installed by? Asked Costco and they said no. Any recommendations?

Inaccurate

Yep, this has happened to several people in this thread. The problem was resolved by trying another tire shop.

I suppose businesses are so afraid of getting sued that they are afraid to deviate from the oem recommended size.

Another option is to take just the wheels to them, not the whole car. Have one shop to remove the old tires from the rim. Then, take the loose rim and the new tire to another shop to have them mounted. In this way, it will prevent the second shop from knowing that the oem size was 235 because the second shop never had a chance to see the oem size – thus, they will not complain that you are using a non-oem size.

Ghost-Rider

Firstly, I didn't have any trouble getting the little repair shop down the road from me to change my tires.

Secondly, I have now put 1500 miles on the new tires, and I have not got a single complaint, I do have a few positive observations.

1. I can't imagine why, but the car feels easier to maneuver at parking lot speeds, maybe it's just the tread pattern.
2. The reported average fuel economy has consistently been between 1 to 1.5mpg higher than with the standard tired.
3. I was kind of worried about aquaplaning with 80 combined millimeters of additional tread around the car, but I had to do an emergency stop in the recent rain and if anything the car felt better planted.
4. The wider tires do look meaner, I took great pleasure in pointing out to my brother-in-law that my sedan had wider tires than his 911 Carerra!

That's it, so far so good, will do this again when these tires are spent.

ohiodave

question... isn't the 2007 type S just a little bit lower already than the regular TL? if so, then wouldn't the 255/40/17 tires on oem wheels reduce the gap as compared to the same tires on a regular TL? or is the type s lower because it already has lower profile tires than the regular tl?

subinf

well, after 2 years of saying i would get a different brand/size tire i wound up putting the same size/brand back on the car. can't mess with what works. maybe next time

Inaccurate

It is Not just you. I mentioned the same observation in my opening post (Post #1).

Ghost-Rider, Thanks for providing the feedback. Instead of my "Top 10" reasons, we now have Ghost-Rider's "Top 4" reasons !!!

By the way, any chance of getting some pics ? If you like, I can host them. See me a PM and I will send you my email address.

What tire brand/model did you get ?

Inaccurate

subinf,

Thanks for the update. Maybe next time !

It is easy to experiment with different oil and different car wax, but not so easy to experiment with tires because of the cost involved.

techguy

It has been 2 months since I replaced the Turanza with Falken Ziex 255/40-17. I got them at Discount tire. With these set of tires, it feels like I got a new car! The handling is a lot better and feels more stable. The ride is very smooth both with just the driver or fully loaded. Oh, it looks good too :-)

BEAR-AvHistory

Is anyone running 255/40/17 YOKOHAMA AVS ES100 ?

Inaccurate

techguy,

Thanks for the reply. It's good to see more TL'ers enjoying this mod.

untamed

I have also done this mod, with falken 452's and the ride is amazing...........

Frank S

Sign me up!!

The winter tires (dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D's - 235,45's) are coming off Saturday morning at 10:00am and the 255/40 F-1's are going on for the summer. I'm looking forward to seeing how these tires look and feel on the car. I'll give an update after they are on and possibly will even take some pictures if I like the way it looks.

I have a 2005 silver TL w/navi, black interior, body kit and rear lip spoiler.

Inaccurate

Damn, I am glad to see this mod finally gaining some "traction".



If anyone would like to have their 255/40 tire pictures posted here in this thread, and you don't have a hosting service (or unsure how to post pics) - - just send me a PM. I will give you my email so that you can email the pics to me. I will get them posted for you.

b rad

just put on some kumho last nite, tireking no questions asked, tirerack just told me to keep 36psi i the tires...

love em,


$104 each for the tire tirerack, $60 for install cant beat it...


thanks all,

Pankul

just a tiny update from me, I got 255/45-17 Kumoho from Tire Rack as well, (about 104 each, $80 install at firestone)

Very happy with them.

If anyone cares for pics for comparisons here let me know. (i needed all seasons and softer ride hence 45)

P

ohiodave

i found the best pricing at tires-easy.com and you can have them delivered directly to a tire center near you. got the hankook ventus sport k104 zr17's, the tread looks similar to the eagle f1 only 86 bucks a tire.

innacurate and others... do you find that a lower psi will make the contact patch more flat?

binTL

Do you guys buy the Road Hazard warranty?
I am thinking 255/45R17 once i am through with the Michelin PS2's. Almost there so I guess i should start shopping. I want something that has a longer tread life now than "on rails" handling.

Inaccurate

ohiodave,

I have experimented extensively with different tire pressures. I assume you are asking about making the rear tires lay more flat. If so, the answer is no. There is no amount of low tire pressure that will force the rear tire to have as much contact as the front tires. For an experiment, I have gone as low as 26 psi in the rear. And, the rear contact patch did not increase at all. There is just not enough weight at the rear of the car (even before my TL Diet) to push the rear tire flat as much as the front tires.

Below is a re-post from earlier in this thread. This is the pressure that I have been using for the past 5 months.



For anyone that buys 255/40's, here is the tire pressure that I recommend .

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

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



This is the ideal tire pressure for my Goodyear Eagle F1's. I would speculate that other brands of 255/40's would prefer these settings too.

I have been experimenting with various tire pressures. My testing consisted of NO SLALOMS and NO SKIDPADS , sorry. It did consist of trying different pressures each day along my daily commute to/from work. I judged the pressure by how easy the car seemed to roll (mpg concerns), how much the steering felt like it was driving on rails, and (mainly) how much the rearend wiggled when jiggling steering wheel at 60-80 mph.

So, after trying different pressures, I found the above setting to give me everything that I was looking for - car rolls very easy with great mpg, EXCELLENT STEERING LIKE RAILS, very stable steering, and NO rearend wiggle.

-----

As a side note - the rear pressure is very sensitive.

1) If the rears have much less than 30 psi (as seen on MID while driving after tires have warmed-up), the car rolls sluggish (hardly detectable, just my feeling), the steering has less "driving on rails" feeling, and there is mild rearend wiggle when jiggling steering wheel at 60-80 mph.

2) If the rears have much more than 33 psi (as seen on MID while driving after tires have warmed-up), the rearend will wiggle when jiggling steering wheel at 60-80 mph. And for reference, this wiggle is NOT dangerous. The wiggle is the same as the oem tires would exhibit.

Frank S

I had the F-1's installed yesterday!! I have to say the car feels much more stable and as Inaccurate says feels like it is riding on rails. It makes the car feel like a much greater quality car. Well I'm off to visit the family.

Thanks again Inaccurate and everyone else for sharing all of the information in this post.

NJ Vike

Wheels and Tires

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Greetings! I have a 2007 Acura TL Type S and want to replace those stock wheels with something a little nicer. Perhaps in chrome. So far, it has been hell trying to find out if any wheels fit other than Ron Johns. My question is that if I do find a nice wheel, will going to a 19" tire & wheel combo take away gas mileage? What about speed performance like 0-60 or 1/4 mile? Will I need to have my Speedometer recalibrated? I have 235-45-17 and would like to upgrade to a 235-35-19.

Thanks in advance.