Low Profile Tires - Not For Me

[nthach]

I had 215/45R17 Michelin Pilot Sport AS4 on Scion tC 17” wheels on the Prius. Loved the handling, the car felt locked in and solid. It begged to be tossed around. But… I took a big MPG hit, I was getting 35mpg from my usual 42-45mpg, and potholes now became a bigger concern.

Went back to the old wheel/tire combo(185/65R15 Michelin X Tour A/S T+H). I’ll be going a 195/65R15 BFG Advantage Control or Conti TrueContact 54/SecureContact when the fall or the wear bars show up. A friend is trying to get me to lift it using a PriusOffroad lift kit, which might not be a bad idea with bad Bay Area roads.

 

[nthach]

All of the econo cars my wife and I owned back then came with 13 inch wheels. One of the more popular sizes was 185/80 - 13. I remember buying a set of four tires, of that size, mounted and balanced for around $125. That would be $378 in today's money. That's pretty cheap.

Still can get Chinesium(likely LingLong/Leao, WestLake or similar) in that size. 14-15” sizes are increasingly Chinesium only. Costco is now stocking the BFG Advantage Control for fitments no longer available in Michelin.

 

[Legs4Arms]

I always heard them referred to as bacon skin tires lol

Or rubber bands

 

[MCompact]

I would have been okay with 18” wheels on the C43 were it not for the fact that MB would only derestrict the top speed to 155 mph if you took the 19” wheels. I’ve found getting rid of RFTs affects the ride more than reducing the wheel diameter.

 

[edyvw]

I would have been okay with 18” wheels on the C43 were it not for the fact that MB would only derestrict the top speed to 155 mph if you took the 19” wheels. I’ve found getting rid of RFTs affects the ride more than reducing the wheel diameter.

No low profile tire can mess up ride as much as RFT.

 

[andyd]

Yup. my wife's '16 Camry SE rode better on the 215 70 16 General snow tires than it did on ?? 60 17s. BTW, 17s may give you room for bigger brakes, but Camry brake rotors are the same regardless of trim level. Ram pickups have a low profile on 20" rims tire/wheel option . the rotors clear the rims by a good inch. All the go fast/ hard ride and no better brakes.

 

[The Critic]

For those of us who stay on pavement and do not go hunting for potholes.....low profile tires can be just fine as long as the vehicle manufacturer tuned the suspension appropriately.

Our daily driver wears 255/45R22's and the ride quality is pretty good.

 

[barryh]

What's surprising is the silly fashion for ultra low profile tyres on big wheels is being carried over to EV's. Off hand the only EV I can think of with designed fit for purpose wheels is the original BMW i3 which had large diameter narrow tyres to minimise rolling resistance, wind resistance and weight. All of these things matter more on an EV but it seems form wins over function as usual.

Is it the manufacturers or customers driving this trend ? Just as a ridiculously hard ride, I don't believe huge wheels and ultra low profile tyres are being entirely driven by customers. Each to his own and people are welcome to prioritise fashion in exchange for regular repair bills and a hard ride, but what's particularly annoying is the lack of choice for the customers who don't want the function of their vehicle destroyed by the latest fashion trend.

 

[charbaby]

Don't get me wrong, I love the look of larger diameter wheels as long as it's proportional to the vehicle & wheel well.
However like many of you, I don't like the harsher ride over broken pavement in the everyday drive. To sit there and look at the vehicle in the driveway, the view is fantastic...just sitting there!
I typically buy the vehicle with the smaller/smallest(standard wheel diameter) for the vehicle. Meaning that I often get the lower trim level of that vehicle. And that's okay with me as the upper level of vehicles come with more fluff than I will most likely use anyway! I want vehicles that fit my the high 90% of how I will use & drive that vehicle.

 

[zzyzzx]

Bring back 13" and 14" rims!!!

 

[robbobster]

Nothing says “I skipped leg day” quite like tiny brakes hiding behind giant wheels.

 

[supton]

No fan of low profile here in the land of frost heaves and potholes. I rarely drive hard enough that 70 series tires ever made noise. Also no love for washing rims, and I think I prefer the look of steel rims.

 

[IndyIan]

For those of us who stay on pavement and do not go hunting for potholes.....low profile tires can be just fine as long as the vehicle manufacturer tuned the suspension appropriately.

Our daily driver wears 255/45R22's and the ride quality is pretty good.

Yep, it does depend on the suspension tuning, and bushings and isolators, and tires. Impreza still does absorb cracks and broken pavement pretty well with 205/50R17's. I do run them at 32-33psi which helps too. I rented a '22 Kia Forte on similarly short sidewall tires and it was loud and harsh despite having pretty soft springs and dampening overall...
When I had to buy a set of winters, I went with 15" rims though, as 195/65R15 is just a better size tire for winter usage.

 

[iCurious]

For those of us who stay on pavement and do not go hunting for potholes.....low profile tires can be just fine as long as the vehicle manufacturer tuned the suspension appropriately.

Our daily driver wears 255/45R22's and the ride quality is pretty good.

Does your vehicle have air suspension? If yes, that is the reason why.

When driving on crappy road it sucks to have low profile tires.

 

[The Critic]

Does your vehicle have air suspension? If yes, that is the reason why.

When driving on crappy road it sucks to have low profile tires.

No air suspension - only adaptive variable suspension which uses solenoid-type actuators to modify damping force.

 

[iCurious]

No air suspension - only adaptive variable suspension which uses solenoid-type actuators to modify damping force.

Adaptive variable suspension does help with comfort as it can adjust the firmness.

 

[S62MPOWER]

When it was time to buy tires on my Accord Sport with 19" tires, I did a -1" to 18". 1st time in my life as I always went the other way with LARGER wheels and tires, lol! Exact same ET offset and width. Dropped 36lbs, rides and drives beautifully. Would do it again in a heartbeat, very happy with this mod, definitely improved the factory setup in every measurable way except perhaps at the margin of ultimate grip. I rarely live there, so no sacrifice whatsoever and improved the looks and decreased future cost of replacement rubber.