Summer RF Tire
 

I'm in the process of changing over to summer tires; my current setup is: 205/45/RF17 (all weather). I want to increase the width but maintain or stay close to the existing diameter. Appreciate anyone providing: Tire MFG and size information.

mahalo,
wayne

Take a look at tirerack.com. When I change tire sizes I look at the revs per mile column on the tire specs. you can find the revs per mile for your current tire and scroll down and see them all for a particular tire. Right off hand if you want to go wider and keep the same height you are probably looking at a 225/40 but that size is not readily available. 235/40 is available but only a few options in a pricey tire and it's meant for a 8" wide wheel but some are running it on the stock wheel. The best tire upgrade on the stock wheel for us is the 225/45/17. It is a hair taller by 0.7" but it only raises the car by 0.35" which is barely noticeable. And its .8" wider, that's what we are looking for.

Stephen

Update: I couldn't pull the trigger to +up on tire size; subsequently I missed out on Michelin's PSS4S tire. Instead I installed Michelin's Pilot Super Sports 205/45ZR17/XL (88Y). Wow what a difference from the run-flats: (1) Improved handling tremendously; on the way home I took a few S curves (normal drive home for me) steering very responsive/positive feedback to the steering wheel it feels lighter and direct. Powering through a 90 degree turn it's point and turn very grippy. When pulling on the straights you fell the tires digging in. (2) Ride improved smoother/softer and firmer not that jittery feeling on the run-flats. (3) Tire noise has gone down noticebly too. All in all I "love these tires". I rolled out of the shop just north of $800. Tires weighed in at 19.5lbs each, the run flats weighed in at 23lbs so I was able to drop 3.5lbs per tire. I had a chance to weigh my OEM Conical Spoke Alloy Wheel 7Jx17 - 23lbs. Last bit of info; I'm running 38 psig.