I'm looking to replace my stock Pirelli P6s with some other tires and looking at larger tires on the OEM multi-spoke rims. I'm wondering if it would be fine to go with 235/45/17s rather than the stock 225/45/17s on the OEM rims. I'm not looking at new wheels just yet (I do like the look of the stock OEMs for now).

Any issues with flexing on the sidewalls, etc?

Any of you running with larger sized tires on the OEM rims?

 

i think you'd be safer at a 225. 235's [at least the falken fk-452's] have a 9.2" print. thats a lot ofwidth and would cut it close. might be okay with going to 45 series tire, but it'd raise your height a lil, which im sure you know.

 

your speedo would be off by a bit.... 235/40/17 would be closer in diameter i think

 

For reference, your stock tires are 8.9" wide, and 25" tall.
235/45/17 are 9.3" wide and 25.3" tall.

So... I wouldn't worry at all about the difference in diameter. Sure, it'll SLIGHTLY change your speedo, but so does normal tire wear - even tires with the same size vary in ACTUAL dimension among manufacturers and tire models. I'd also doubt that less than 1/2 inch more width is going to rub or cause you much headache. German tolerances are tight, but .4" is a very small amount.

I think you'll probably experience a better ride - a bit more cushion in the sidewall is always nice in a luxury car. You're probably not taking the thing on the racetrack very often, so sacrifice a modicum of skidpad performance for comfort if you can

 

Thanks for the tips. The shop I'm headed to said it shouldn't be a large issue as the extra width is not going to impact the ride comfort, which is what I'm ultimately going for here. I'm looking at the Bridgestone RE960AS Pole Positions to replace the stockers which are starting to be noisier than a friend's Yokohama Advan S4s, which are pretty nice as well.

And yes, I'm not tracking it at all as this is my daily driver. Nice to have the grip when I need to do some spirited driving but also comforted by the fact that it's quieter than the P6s....ug.[:@]

I was also advised to go with 235/40/17 as well to maintain a lower profile than the 235/45/17 would give. Any one who's done this before?

 

You might want to checkabout putting the 235/40's on stock 7.5 rims - they'll be a bit pinched. The 235/45's aregoingto fit better on a stock rim. Go to tire rack and look up the specs on the tires you're buying before making a decision. Tires are designed to work well with a small range of rim widths, and changing the sidewall angle can have adverse consequences.
I'm personally running 225/45 17's (RE050A's) on 8" wheels ET 48, and they work great. I tried 235/45 Michelin PS2's, but didn't like the extra width's ride and slower transient response for daily driving.
I also didn't state the obvious here - the 40 series tire is unlikely to ride as well as the 45 series in the same model, if ride improvement is your goal.

 

I bought a set of A4 5 spoke rims with 235/45/17s and they do rub in the rear when you hit a dip. I am debating whether to sell the tires only or the whole set.

 

I've changed the size on other similar cars before and haven't been all that happy with the results. I had the same debate on my A3 when I replaced the first set of tires, and I'm happy that I went with the stock size. My suggestion would be to keep the stock size, unless you change wheels, then you need to re-evaluate. Just buy a nicer set of rubber and you'll be very happy. Definitely go with a high performance tire if the weather permits.



Cheers!

 

I surely agree that stock size is best for daily driver. Those RE960's will be very nice on your car. As for handling, adding a Neuspeed rear bar willl make a much bigger improvement than a small increase in tire size.

 

Thanks for input everyone. I may just stick with stock size and still go with the RE960AS Pole Positions. Will definitely look at suspension upgrade and lowering next year after I save up some more $$. I think if I was going into a wider set of tires, I'd have to look at new wheels too. And I'd not worry about any issues during servicing if it was wheel/tire/alignment related as I'm maintaining stock size. Maybe I'm thinking too logically and too safe but it's not hit 5K miles yet! Soooooon though, soon!