Tyres?

I'm currently running 225/45/17 front and 245/40/17 rear. Can i put the following sized tyres on my 1998 Z3M which have the standard wheels on it:

215/45/17 front
235/45/17 front or rear

Many thanks

Jim

Fitting such sized tyres - particularly a 215 on the front 8 inch rims - will mean that they are stretched to the limit, resulting in sudden breakaway and excessive wear on the shoulders.

While there are small advantages to slightly increasing the size of tyres - for those who actually use the massive amount of grip provided by the standard setup, there is no reason to reduce the tyre size,

There cannot be a sensible reason for this proposal, so it must be a manifestation of the current silly fashion for fitting small tyres on wide rims.

This kind of thing is a good reason why the UK should have a Type Approval system similar to that of the German TUV.  Even in France, we have to carry the registration document, which gives the aproved tyres and rim sizes, and les Gendarmes are now very hot on checking for such modifications, along with noisey exhausts.

While 235-45 would be OK on the front, they will be stretched on the rear 9 inch rims, which will probably break away a little earlier, and increase response to the application of power.  At least they would be a little more suitable than 215.  Overall gearing will be increased slightly, but not enough to be noticed.

Why do you want to do this?


Edited by Mike Fishwick - 17 Jul 2009 at 8:42am