Increasing tyre profile from 50 to 55?

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by Spetsnaz GSh

Get RainSport 3 in the correct size.

Michelin Winter tyres aren't really fantastic and moneywise, the Uniroyals are much better value!

The German Police use them for both good braking distance figures on cold or wet roads, low wear and impact resistance. With the Uniroyals you will get what you pay for in both stopping distance and traction terms.

[Volvophile]

I had issues using 205/55/16 myself. I could not carry passengers in the back at all without the wheels rubbing and they frequently came into contact with the arches when going over speed bumps. Ended up keeping them on the car for less than a year.

Maybe my suspension at the time wasn't tip top, but I still would advise to stick with the standard tyre size that is recommended for the car.

[ww1dm1]

Originally Posted by v40alex

ABS could potentially be affected - if the circumference of the wheel is very different and not programmed to the car, this will give incorrect sensor readings as it will think the tyre is travelling at a different speed than it actually is.

The ABS sensor will report a bit higher speed readings, but why would ABS system itself care what speed the tyre is travelling at? It doesn't know or care about the real vehicle speed. It's looking for brake lock.

[v40alex]

Apparently they try to detect the moment just before the wheels lock. It's not going to be a problem going from a 50 to a 55 profile tyre, it's only going to make a difference when some boy racer fits 18" wheels to his previously 14" fitted car

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by v40alex

Apparently they try to detect the moment just before the wheels lock. It's not going to be a problem going from a 50 to a 55 profile tyre, it's only going to make a difference when some boy racer fits 18" wheels to his previously 14" fitted car

My Twingo in town race car (1.2 BUT 16 valves AND a cam phaser) has 14 inch alloys, BUT the V40 classics should not use less than 14 inch wheels.
The best winter tyres are 185/55/15 (The OEM ones are also allowed in the UK as a winter tyre, but not in the EU) and 195/60/15 was OEM and best dry braking for my BAB (Battered And Abused) V40 compression ignition job.

With my summer Dunlop Blue Responders on, the speedo is over reading by 4 kmph at 50 kmph, so my max in town speed is 59 (10% allownace for camera traps). I know dat cos I got a 20 Euro ticket and free picture for 60 kmph.

[baldmosher]

I'm on 55s on the front. Would be on the back too, but I keep buying wheels and they never wear out

[Spetsnaz GSh]

Originally Posted by skyship007

The German Police use them for both good braking distance figures on cold or wet roads, low wear and impact resistance. With the Uniroyals you will get what you pay for in both stopping distance and traction terms.

Well, to be honest, in this circumstance, we aren't talking the police with tax payers' funding here where they can use as many tyres as they want and change them when the weather changes again because money isn't really an issue.

Most people will not do the "enthusiastic" police style driving or braking, let alone in these extreme conditions and also most people don't have the money to change the tyres between the seasons so in that respect, a summer tyre like the Uniroyal Rainsport 3 is a better all year all rounder, and if it means you can get your tyre in the correct size (not impacting the ABS algorithms) then even better.

The RainSports have superior wet stopping distance and wet traction than a lot of equivalent and some superior tyres so I don't see why you want to make them seem like such an inferior product.

Personally, I run Pilot Sport 4 - known for being simply one of if not the best road tyres you can buy and I will admit they are a cut above the uniroyals, but not everyone wants to spend crazy money on tyres and if given the choice, I would run RS3s over Michelin Winters all day long.

[Ryan69]

My S40 came with 205/55/16 only rubbing I get is off the mud flaps.

[ww1dm1]

Originally Posted by v40alex

Apparently they try to detect the moment just before the wheels lock. It's not going to be a problem going from a 50 to a 55 profile tyre, it's only going to make a difference when some boy racer fits 18" wheels to his previously 14" fitted car

Okay, but how does it matter what the wheel size is, even if it's barely fitting R18? All the ABS sensors will report a higher speed than actual, that's all I can think of.

[skyship007]

Originally Posted by ww1dm1

Okay, but how does it matter what the wheel size is, even if it's barely fitting R18? All the ABS sensors will report a higher speed than actual, that's all I can think of.

The ABS self check will detect a difference fore and aft if you are daft enough to fit different radius tyres thinking you own an F1 race car.
The self check will also check RPM vs wheel spin, so that might not allow 18 inch wheels as the max OEM fit for one particular sport model was 17 inches.

Just to remind all would be boy racers that you only have a fully valid insurance if you fit one of the tyres listed in the owners handbook.

One typo in a previous post of mine inferred 14 inch wheels are OK, THEY ARE NOT, the minimum is 15 inch wheels.