My tires are now down to a few 32nds before the wear bars and I was looking for new ones. The door says 235/45-18 and I have always assumed that was what was on my car. Today I was looking to see how old the tires were and finally actually read the sidewall. The previous owner put 225/45-18 tires on it! No wonder my speedo was a 2% off! I was this close -><- to buying 245/45-18 tires to get the speedo error closer.

I've checked the tread, the pressure and they need to run higher than the rated pressure to wear properly, which makes since if you stretch a smaller tire across a wide rim.

I'm glad I looked once in the year I've owned it to be sure.

 

Any real driving difference between 245 and stock 235? I'm getting ready to change my tires soon.
Do you still plan to get 245? Or will you stick with stock 235?

 

I decided to go with one size up and chose the Pirelli Cinturato P7 Plus All Season in 245/45R18 100V with a 70,000 mile warranty. I bought the tires from Discount Tires. I am very pleased with the tires. I highly recommend them... I seriously doubt you would notice any 'real' difference between 225, 235 or 245 widths when street driving. I personally wanted the 245 width to increase the footprint a little and increase the sidewall a tiny smidgen, and I think the 245 looks better.

 

I've never had 235s on my car. It came with the 225s so I can't say. They are not that much taller but a bit taller, about another .3" taller than the stock or 1.33% oversized. So, at 60MPH indicated, they would show 59MPH if 235s were correct already.

 

I have the same tires, and bought them for the warranty and performance. They are great but I am at 40k miles and they are 3/10s so I will need new ones soon. Lets see how the prorate goes......BTW I drive the car like I stole it

 

40k miles is not all that bad with 3/10s remaining if you drive it hard. As long as you've rotated the tires you should get your prorated adjustment. Doesn't California allow 1/32" tread remaining before tires must be replaced? Will you have to wait until only 1/32" remains or can you get replacements now? Let us know how it goes.

 

Tires were rotated and alignment has been checked so the wear is pretty even. The tread indicator I think is at 2/10. I was hoping I would get them swapped at that time.

 

Yes that makes sense. What you get out of your tire make a big difference based on how you drive.

 

I had no idea there was a tire for our cars with a treadwear rating of 700, good advice on the extra sidewall and width of the 245s.
I just wishlisted these on tirerack as my next set.

 

I have a set of the Cinturato P7 Plus P235/40R19s right now.... I am very "conflicted" about these tires. They are noisy as hell compared to the Michelin MXM4s the car came with (although not snow tire noisy, but the difference is audible... on the flip side, the tread life is incredible and the rain handling is also incredible. Next week I am getting Michelin PS4S and a new set of wheels and the Cinturatos and my banged up original wheels will be sidelined for Nov-Mar intermittent winter use....

Of course, mileage varies. And what I experienced with one size of the tire might be nonexistant in another, so grain of salt and all that...

-Mike

 

That's strange...because the Cinturato P7 All-Season Plus tires are known for being one of the quietest (low noise) tires available.

 

bclexus: What's you opinion on grand touring versus performance tires?

I always had grand tourings on my Camry, and they were great: quiet and comfortable, adequate in poor weather, but I never threw it around either.

I've always put performance all seasons on my GSs, never really thought about options. I'm not driving aggressively these days, once in a while maybe.

 

I think the ones in the high performance category have a stiffer side wall. Grand touring should give you a better ride quality.
I used to have the Continental DWS 07, highly rated in the High performance category and my current Cinturato P7 Plus All Season Plus rides better. Unless your tracking the car high performance category is unnecessary.

 

Yes, exactly, that's why I bought them... because of the glowing reviews for the tire as a generality. I had one tire with bum runout value, and the tire shop replaced that one for free (they sent the bad one to pirelli).

The only other thing I can think of is that there is something wrong with my wheels which in turn makes the tires noisier, but I can't think of that would be. I had them road force balanced which got most of the vibration
out... The noise is especially prominent at speeds above 50-60 or so. Like if you drive my car at 80, you "know you're going 80 mph". With the MXM4s at 80, the car was so quiet it was pretty crazy...

-Mike

 

It's a heavy, luxury 4-door daily-driven sedan that's a tiny bit on the sporty side, which is driven 100% on the street. I personally don't see where a performance tire is necessary.

If the car was tracked...or if it was a high-performance collector car that was driven only on pretty days or to car shows, then sure - put performance tires on it.