You know what I'm ralking about. I didn't take to the nuts category. Suspension plays a much bigger part than tires. Let;s just say suspension is much more critical than that of the tires and leave it at that.

 

When you hit a pothole, you can blow a tire or bend your rim if the sidewall is too thin. That is why it's good to have thicker tires here in Michigan.

 

So then why use the phrase 'totally incorrect'?


You know as well as everyone else here that a 3 inch sidewall will deflect more than a 1 1/2 inch sidewall. The tire is the 'first response' in a suspension system, and suspension engineers take that into account when designing a suspension system. If you take a mid-80's Cadillac that was designed to run a P235/75R15 tire and put a P235/60R15 tire on it, the ride quality will suffer. Handling may improve, but ride will suffer.

And if you do not believe me, then come on up to Michigan and I will take you for a ride in my F-150 with both the stock P235/75R15 tires and with a set of P235/60R15's. I took the low profile tires off because the truck was unbearable with them on.

 

100% correct! The engineers design the suspension to counter any adverse inbuild qualities. Thus: Radial Tuned Suspension.

Enough said in someone else's thread.

 

So, 'totally incorrect' is totally incorrect.

 

[QUOTE=nomadtgif;450370]I want to re[lace my stock tires, which are P215/55 R16 too a higher profile tire like a 65 or 70. Does anyone know what is the largest tire size that I can put on my 2006?[/QUOTE

215/60-16 is the max diameter that you can put on with out any modifications. I have them on my 09 HHR. Most people are worried about strut clearance I have plenty clearance on the struts up front. The close issue is in the rear. The rear inner fender just behind the tire has about 1" clearance which is OK but you could not go any larger without rubbing. I suppose you could do some trimming on the inner fender since it is plastic but I am not ready to start cutting on my new car. Maybe after I get over 50k miles on it I will start thinking of cutting things.

 

Say, I know this is an old post, but I wanted to know what speed rating you have on your 215/60R16's? As you most likely know the speed rating determines the sidewall thickness and effects handling. T, seems to mooshy, but I was looking at some H or V's. So, I wanted to know what your rating is on those tires and how they handle?

I'm curios if there is much difference between the H and V, besides price. T's are very inexpensive, but they seem like handling would suffer greatly. 215/60R16's are much cheaper than most 215/50R17's as well, which I like.

I too live in Michigan and about a month ago I was forced to hit a pot hole the size of a small writing desk. It wasn't pleasant, I need two new rims. One is holding air and the other I had to buy a steel replacement off craigslist. I'm looking to go with the smaller rim, bigger tire as well. I currently have the 215/50R17 OEM's on there.

 

You could also up-size the 17's, to a 225/50/17 or even a 215/55/17
They clear, cause there are members using both sizes.

 

Troo dat.

I'm running 225/50 R17's, they look and ride great with no clearance issues.

 

Ok yeah, I see what your saying.

From OEM - 215/50R17 --to--> 255/50R17 = 0.2" more side wall
From OEM - 215/50R17 --to--> 215/55R17 = 0.5" more side wall

But a 215/50R17 --to--> 215/60R16 = 0.9" more side wall

I'd feel more comfortable with the most side wall I can get. (for pot hole retention, lol)

I need two new rims, so I might as well get a set of 16's and sell my 17's. Plus, like I said, the 16 tires are much more affordable then 17's. Also, there is a lager selection of different tires in rim size 16".

My real question here takes the larger tire size to another aspect. Tire wall thickness. Not the size from rim to edge of tire (height - the number before the R), but the thickness of the side wall. That is translated in the speed rating.

- M: 81mph or 130 km/h
- N: 87 mph or 140 km/h
- P: 93 mph or 150 km/h
- Q: 99 mph or 160 km/h
- R: 106 mph or 170 km/h
- S: 112 mph or 180 km/h
- T: 118 mph or 190 km/h
- U: 124 mph or 200 km/h
- H: 130 mph or 210 km/h
- V: 149 mph or 240 km/h
- Z: in excess of 149 mph or 240 km/h plus
- W: 168 mph or 270 km/h
- Y: 186 mph or 300 km/h

If you go to a tire joint and push on side wall and compare a T rated tire to an H, you will see what I'm talking about. The H is much thicker and stiffer.

At first you look at that speed rating and think, well, I not going to drive more than 80mph! Why would I need a high speed rating? Theoretically, it will affect the handling at any speed, the side to side motion you might feel in a turn. Picture the tread on the ground and the rim floating above that and the rim being able to move side to side connected by the side wall. Stiffer the side wall, less side to side movement. Also, thats why you would have better handling with the 50R17 as compared to the 55R17 or a 60R16. Less side wall height also improves handling. So, in going from a 50R17 to a 60R16, in theory, you are degrading your handling. A thicker side wall thickness, higher speed rating, may increase some handling.

I wanted to know: What were peoples experience with the difference in handling between a T and an H or V? (In real world experience, not theory.) Especially in the increased side wall height.