Taller profile tyres

Bikesnoopy

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2003 A210 Evo
My wife's A210's ride is unbearably harsh on the sort of roads that the car gets driven (country lanes & potholed B roads mainly).

Apart from the A210's stiffer suspension, I suspect that the real cause is the small air cushion provided by the 40 series tyres.

I was thinking about replacing them with 50 series tyres.

EEK i hear you all scream. This will increase the diameter of the wheel & alter the speedo reading, as the car will be going a higher speed because of the increased circumference of the tyre raising to overall gearing. . . and also, the car's ride height will be slightly increased making it not go round bends like Harpic anymore! Then there's the tyre clearance in the arches & the steering. . . and the car wont accellerate so briskly because of the higher gearing etc etc etc. . .

I hear all of the above. . . but apart from that, would it improve the ride quality?

The other option is to go down from a 7"x17" wheel/40 series tyre to the 6"x16" wheel/50 series tyre fitted to smaller engined models, but i like the Evo wheels, so would like to use them.
 
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Rockall

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My wife's A210's ride is unbearably harsh on the sort of roads that the car gets driven (country lanes & potholed B roads mainly).

Apart from the A210's stiffer suspension, I suspect that the real cause is the small air cushion provided by the 40 series tyres.

I was thinking about replacing them with 50 series tyres.

EEK i hear you all scream. This will increase the diameter of the wheel & alter the speedo reading, as the car will be going a higher speed because of the increased circumference of the tyre raising to overall gearing. . . and also, the car's ride height will be slightly increased making it not go round bends like Harpic anymore! Then there's the tyre clearance in the arches & the steering. . . and the car wont accellerate so briskly because of the higher gearing etc etc etc. . .

I hear all of the above. . . but apart from that, would it improve the ride quality?

Yes, where I live the roads are poor and I always go for a higher profile tyre - as do most locals. Noticeable improvement in ride comfort. No adverse effects and the increase in actual ground speed to speedo readout can be calculated and is quite small in most cases. The higher profiles are also often cheaper than the equivalent low profile.

Bill
 
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Bikesnoopy

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I went from 205/40 x 17 ( 7x17 rims) to 225/50 x 17 (8x17 rims) on my Saab 9-3 Aero with no adverse effects & had better ride quality. . . & yes, the speedo difference is very slight & bearing in mind speedos tend to under-read anyway. . . :)
 
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whitenemesis

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Add to your list, insurance approval..

Higher sidewall tyres will take the edge of the harshness but basically it is the shock absorber specification that creates the hard ride. The springs contribute a small amount but they basically set the ride height.

sspeed went as far as changing the suspension on his B class from sport to elegance but I don't think he found it acceptably better.

Have you driven an A class with different suspension/wheel and tyre combo? Might be worth trying before shelling out the readies?
 
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Bikesnoopy

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Have you driven an A class with different suspension/wheel and tyre combo? Might be worth trying before shelling out the readies?


Yes, my brother in law has one.
His is Elegance spec on 16" wheels & it rides much nicer & doesn't seem to handle any worse . . .
 

whitenemesis

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Yes, my brother in law has one.
His is Elegance spec on 16" wheels & it rides much nicer & doesn't seem to handle any worse . . .

Looks like that's the way to go then, elegance spec suspension?
 
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Bikesnoopy

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Oops, I think i answered my own question there. . . ! :Oops:

I think i'll try 50 series tyres on the 17" wheels first. . . then see where to go after that. . .
 

brandwooddixon

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Of course if you were able to locate some new rims, of a smaller diameter, of a size that were approved for your car then you wouldn't need to get insurance approval.
 

whitenemesis

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As long as the smaller diameter rim clears the brake calipers ...
 

whitenemesis

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Yes.
Hence my comment "approved for your car".

There will be a range of wheel/tyre combos "approved for your car" but that doesn't automatically mean the one you choose will fit. It will depend on the options fitted
 
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Bikesnoopy

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Theres a brand new 6x16 MB alloy with a new Conti tyre in the boot.
Maybe i only have to find 3 . . . :D
 

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