205/45/16 or 205/55/16?

[Benny06]

The rears will need replacing soon, think the previous owner put the fronts onto the back and then new ones on the front as I have around 8mm on the front and about 4-5mm on the back.

Have PE2's all round in 205/45/16 at the moment. Am I correct in saying the middle number is to do with the 'profile' of the tyre, as in the height of the tyre wall?

Reason I ask is that PE2's in 205/55/16 can be had for nearer to £80-85 fitted, where as PE2's in 205/45/16 are closer to £120 fitted.

Would I notice any difference? Gain/loose grip/performance/handling etc? Would they last longer? be a harder/softer ride?

Thanks in advance,

BennyC

 

[word_easy]

Where's king stromba when you need him!

I would stick with standard sizes, for looks if nothing else!

 

[gashead1105]

4-5mm on the back will last you a good while yet!

55s will change the rolling diameter of the wheels and you probably should not run different diameters (45s on the front, 55s on the rear) on a 182 - would look pretty odd as well!

Having larger tyres generally gives you a better ride. I would query whether 55's would fit in the wheel arches though on 16" wheels.

Conti 2s are about £100 fitted, they are the other OE tyre. I've previously had some on the front, with pe2s on the rear, I found turn in to be even sharper, but they wear quicker than PE2s.

To be honest, if you can't afford to fit the correct size tyres, can you really afford the car?

 

[Vish]

http://www.alloywheels.com/tyrecalc.asp

This will show about 7% difference between sizes which is more than usually recommended IIRC. Maybe try 195/45/16 instead.

If you're on standard suspension, 55 may fit ok but I personally wouldn't want to try.

 

[Benny06]

Cheers for the replies

4-5mm on the back will last you a good while yet!

55s will change the rolling diameter of the wheels and you probably should not run different diameters (45s on the front, 55s on the rear) on a 182 - would look pretty odd as well!

Having larger tyres generally gives you a better ride. I would query whether 55's would fit in the wheel arches though on 16" wheels.

Conti 2s are about £100 fitted, they are the other OE tyre. I've previously had some on the front, with pe2s on the rear, I found turn in to be even sharper, but they wear quicker than PE2s.

To be honest, if you can't afford to fit the correct size tyres, can you really afford the car?

Thanks for that.

So there is more to it than purely the 'look' of the tyre when on the alloy. I can afford the correct sizes but was curious as to whether there was any actual reason to stick with 205/45 as they were substancially more expensive but having experienced the quite frankly ridiculous amounts of grip I can understand why!