Hey guys. I have a 02 TL Type-S with 17x6.5" rims. I need new tires and cannot decide between 215/50/17 or 225/50/17. I would like a wider tire for the possible extra grip and a better looking tire. But I have heard that it will not increase grip since the rim is so skinny at 6.5". I am also worried about the thicker sidewall causing sloppy steering since the tire will roll more. Gas milage, gearing/acceleration, looks and grip are all factors in my decision.


If anyone can provide feedback I would greatly appreciate it.

 

Stick with your stock size, 215/50-17. If you want better grip, get a stickier tire. Remember, what makes tires sticky are the tire make and model (and its corresponding combination of design features, such as tread pattern, compound, etc). If you want better grip, get better, stickier tires, not wider tires.

A couple of the new summer tires are available in that size at an affordable price and worth trying - the Continental ExtremeContact DW and the Hankook Ventus V12 evo K110.

 

Ok cool. Ill go with the stock size. I've actually been looking at the Yokohoma S.Drives. I dont like te hankooks for some reason although they are cheap.

 

The S-Drives are good tires, I ran them on my last set of 19s

 

Yes, the S.drive is a very good summer tire, with excellent traction on dry pavement, very good in rain, and affordably priced.

 

*Update*

I went with the S.Drives (215/50/17) because they just look so much better than the Hankook Evo's. I've always liked Yoko's too.

So far they are nice. I've only drived like 10 miles so I really cant say but so far so good.

I got them for $520 shipped with road hazard from discounttire.com. Discounttire.com is great also, fast shipping and great customer service.

 

i had a 2003 acura cl-s and changed the tires to kumho 235/45/17's and gained some serious traction and its the same diameter as stock..falken 452's are the best tire for the money right now in my opinion btw...

 

The biggest factor in traction is not the tire size and it's not the tire brand. It's the tire model - which you don't even mention. FWIW, Kumho makes a wide variety of tires, everything from supersticky racetrack tires (Ecsta V710), to supersticky summer tires for the street (Ecsta XS), to longer-lasting summer tires (Ecsta SPT), to pretty good all-season tires for snow and sun (Ecsta ASX), to not so good all-season tires (Ecsta AST), to truck tires, to...

Wow, I sure disagree with that statement. But "best tire for the money" covers a lot of ground. You'd have to narrow down what people are looking for in terms of usage, weather, price vs performance, etc. No matter how you narrow it down, though, I would never never NEVER call the FK-452 the best tire for the money.

 

okay, well i'm sorry if you totally disagree with what i said, and i'm sorry i wasn't real specific..
i had kumho spt and they were decent tires, but when i put 20x8.5 on my cl, i had bought falken 452's, and they were an awesome tire in the rain and cold and heat and rode awesome, with a great sidewall..i have had pirelli, and bf g's and fuzions, and nankangs and many other, and to me, the falken 452 was a great price, and a great performing tire that lasted.....

 

I think the best tire for the money is a Michelin Pilot Sport Cup, but I love my racing wheels wrapped with bubble gum..

 

Nobody's talking about racetrack tires in this topic.