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Can I fit 225/50 R17 tyres to my Superb?


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My 2011 CR140 TDi SE is fitted with the standard 17" Triffid alloy wheels shod with the recommended 225/45 R17 94W tyres (Goodyear Efficient Grip).

 

Whilst at work yesterday I was parked next to a colleague in his 2012 diesel Audi A4 Avant, I noticed that it too has 17" alloys but was instead fitted with slightly higher profile tyres: 225/50 R17 94W (Michelin Primacy 3 on the front and brand new Dunlop SP Sports on the back).

 

I was surprised at how much of a difference the extra profile tyre made. The wheels and tyre combination filled the arches much better, looked to offer better kerb protection as well as the additional pothole absorption capabilities.

 

It just looked a better solution. In comparison the lower profile tyres on my car looked unnecessarily low.

 

Now I understand that the higher profile tyre in 17" is not approved for use on my car, I checked inside the fuel filler flap and the 50 profile is only available on 16" alloys.

 

My question is what will be the implications of me swapping from 225/45 to 225/50?

 

Insurance?

Speedo Accuracy?

Handling / braking effect?

 

Anything else I need to consider?

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Insurance - yes, as it's a change from the spec. SWMBO had to do that for her i10 as I couldn't get all seasons in the OEM size (which is slightly wider on the auto than the same-engined manual) and they were fine with the change.

 

Rolling circumference would be up by 3.55% and when the speedo reads 70 mph the actual speed would be 72.5. Given how the speedo tends to be a bit optimistic anyway that would likely make it bang on. I did the opposite and was on smaller wheels (205/55/16 WR A3 winters) which dropped the RC by 3.8%, and that made the speedo very optimistic - 70 on the speedo was 63 on GPS. I know others on here have gone up a profile size when selecting winter tyres, for the same reason as you, and within 5% it doesn't appear to be an issue.

 

I didn't notice a great deal of difference when swapping between the 225/50/17s and 205/55/16s, and having now changed to Nokian all seasons I can tell that most of the difference in feel was down to the tyre, and not particularly the size of alloy/overall size, as the new Weatherproofs feel more like the smaller A3s than like my old Dunlops. I can't see braking being much different, unless you're going for a very different tread pattern.

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Not exactly the same dimensions but the same principal I suppose - I switched to 225/45/18 from a 225/40/18 profile so an increase in profile by 5.

 

Insurance - didn't make any difference and as long as the body type of the car wasn't modified in any way there was no issue.  This may vary from company to company of course.

Speedo - as dbg400 says above, the 3/4% due to increase in rolling circumference would be probably bring the speedo in line with actual, as mine tended to read about 5kph over prior to changing tyres.  Once you are aware of the change in tolerance, you can mentally adjust with speed limits anyway.

Handling/braking - only noticeable when cornering at very high speeds and even at that, I would say its minimal.  Braking hasn't been impacted in my view.

 

There are other members on this forum who have changed from 45s to 50s on 17" tyres with no real issue.

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A deeper sidewall will allow the car to roll a little more and be a bit more compliant over bumps and pot holes. You may need to check clearances on full lock just to make sure there is no fouling of the wheel-arch area. Although I would think there is enough space in the Superb's arches not to cause a problem ? I have also thought about doing this at the next tyre change so would be interested in the results :sun:   

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Very helpful gents, thank you.

 

My rear tyres are new and I have a set of Michelin part worns from a fellow member on here to go on the fronts in the next month or two so it will be a while yet before I do it.

 

I'm now determined to give this a try, after checking with my current insurer first though.

 

It will of course require all four tyres to be changed at the same time so I may have to do a little bit of tyre rotation to ensure they are all wearing evenly!

 

I will however be buying a full set of winters (17's again) in the next few weeks so will try a 50 profile on them!

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I'm running 225/50/17's (A6 wheels) at the moment, moved from 18's and I'm not going back.  I did check with insurance and the company I'm with at the moment  had no issue with the change.  

No problems whatsoever with clearance and the speedo is still within range. They are actually listed as original equipment in some of the tire fitters manuals.

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My 2011 CR140 TDi SE is fitted with the standard 17" Triffid alloy wheels shod with the recommended 225/45 R17 94W tyres (Goodyear Efficient Grip).

I went to 225/50r17 on my last set of tyres on my Octavia Elegance - which is lowered about 35mm and had 7.5" ET45 rims.

The speedometer on the Elegance with OEM 205/55r16 under-reads 10% from the factory (110kph speedometer is 100kph actual). The 225/50r17 made it 100=100, which I love (it actually stops me from speeding).  Keep in mind it also adjusts the odometer.  My odometer was 5% out (15,000 odometer kilometres was only 14250km actual kilometres) which was annoying because your car is piling on the mileage at a greater rate.  The larger diameter tyres swung this the other way, which didn't worry me at all.

 

On my lowered Octavia with 7.5" ET45 rims I did experience some guard rubbing when going around corners.  If the car was at standard height I doubt it would have happened.  There was no damage done but it did put you off going through a corner at 8/10th and I tended to pull back a bit to avoid the annoying noise.

 

If you think 225/50r17 (+23mm diameter) will make the speedometer read less than actual or cause any rubbing then 235/45r17 (+9mm diameter) is a better compromise.  It has a a fraction more diameter and a fraction more width and fills the guards quite well.

 

I've gone back to standard diameter with my latest set of tyres after being oversized (225/55r16 and 225/50r17) for the last 100,000km and I really don't like being back to standard.

 

 

Not exactly the same dimensions but the same principal I suppose - I switched to 225/45/18 from a 225/40/18 profile so an increase in profile by 5.

It's not the same principal at all. You only changed the tyre diameter 3mm and 225/40r18 is an approved tyre size on the fuel flap. The OP is considering adding 23mm to his tyre diameter and the tyre size isn't approved.

Edited by brad1.8T
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It will of course require all four tyres to be changed at the same time so I may have to do a little bit of tyre rotation to ensure they are all wearing evenly!

If your vehicle is FWD then you can change 2 at a time. Just put the bigger tyres on the rear.

Another benefit I noticed is that the apparent fuel consumption improves. Partly because of the change in the odometer "calibration" and partly because of the reduced RPM at a given speed. At standard diameter I average 6.9L/100km, with 225/50r17 I average 6.6L/100km.

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It's not the same principal at all. You only changed the tyre diameter 3mm and 225/40r18 is an approved tyre size on the fuel flap. The OP is considering adding 23mm to his tyre diameter and the tyre size isn't approved.

I'm a bit confused on that. How does going from 225/45/17 to 225/50/17 add 23mm but going from 225/40/18 to 225/45/18 only adds 3mm? I'm pretty sure I went from 638mm diameter to 661mm which is 23mm increase. Do the diameter and circumference not stay the same pretty much anyway? The tyres I put on are not approved actually and the tyre fitters were reluctant to fit them as they are not standard manufacturer tyres but there are no issues in reality.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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brad1.8T's maths are out.

 

The changes in overall diameter for both changes (17" and 18") are both 23 mm / 3.61%

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I'm a bit confused on that. How does going from 225/45/17 to 225/50/17 add 23mm but going from 225/40/18 to 225/45/18 only adds 3mm? I'm pretty sure I went from 638mm diameter to 661mm which is 23mm increase. Do the diameter and circumference not stay the same pretty much anyway? The tyres I put on are not approved actually and the tyre fitters were reluctant to fit them as they are not standard manufacturer tyres but there are no issues in reality.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry, misread your post as going from 225/45r17 to 225/40r18.  My bad for skimming. 

 

You are right.  You added about 23mm as well. 

 

I'd love to see photos as it must look great.  No clearance issues if you hit a bump under hard cornering?

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Sorry, misread your post as going from 225/45r17 to 225/40r18.  My bad for skimming. 

 

You are right.  You added about 23mm as well. 

 

I'd love to see photos as it must look great.  No clearance issues if you hit a bump under hard cornering?

No hassle!  I don't have any issues with clearance - well not that I've noticed anyway.  There is still a decent amount of clearance there and I think they look much better actually.  I'll try get some pics

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just had the tyres fitted this morning, loving the chunky look from the higher profile.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice and help...

 

IMG_8309.thumb.JPG.7953ea7e437ec257768a62a9b63754f2.JPG.6e3280e773650ab828b59c060472eb33.JPG

 

IMG_8312.thumb.JPG.5d0e5f07e6767e781000700f37d26239.JPG.791f98d63e6250b73e82eaaf5dcf8e38.JPG

 

IMG_8305.thumb.JPG.819b2e6785d32ecf40baee29b20ad5a6.JPG.32fa7de0129d308805c8d802b0e9d590.JPG

 

Edited by silver1011
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depends, in many states in Europe if you have another tyres than in you COC, in case of accident you will have problems that having non-approved wheels on your car.

 

Most it use insurance companies to reject repair payments from yours contract...

Edited by Kazimir80
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Hi again.

I checked a skoda presentation of the car, in a pdf i downloaded on erwin. And 225/55-17 is a tire size there.. That must be way to big?? :o

It is. Are you sure it wasn't 225/45r17?

How about a screen shot of the document?

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If your vehicle is FWD then you can change 2 at a time. Just put the bigger tyres on the rear.

Another benefit I noticed is that the apparent fuel consumption improves. Partly because of the change in the odometer "calibration" and partly because of the reduced RPM at a given speed. At standard diameter I average 6.9L/100km, with 225/50r17 I average 6.6L/100km.

 

Not quiet correct, on a car without ABS and ESP this may be the case but on a car with ABS and ESP you MUST change all four at the same time to match size wise. Failure to have all four the same size will confuse the ABS and ESP into believing there is a fault and trigger the ABS and ESP fault lights due to the rotational differences across front/rear axles. ABS/ESP expects all four wheels to be rotating at roughly the same speed, if they are not ESP will try to correct the issue and the fault is triggered when it is unable to do so.

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Here :)

 

Where is that from!?

 

225/55 R17 must be a mistake surely!?

 

What's with the wheel names too, 'Sparing' is almost as bad as 'Triffid' that we call it here in the UK  :D

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Here :)

i'm thinking typo - the car would look like a tractor / 4WD

 

Not quiet correct, on a car without ABS and ESP this may be the case but on a car with ABS and ESP you MUST change all four at the same time to match size wise. Failure to have all four the same size will confuse the ABS and ESP into believing there is a fault and trigger the ABS and ESP fault lights due to the rotational differences across front/rear axles. ABS/ESP expects all four wheels to be rotating at roughly the same speed, if they are not ESP will try to correct the issue and the fault is triggered when it is unable to do so.

In theory I think you are right but in practice they have a fair bit of "gimme" in the calibration to allow for spacesaver spares, a mix of new tyres & old tyres, etc.

 

I wouldn't do it on an AWD though as I've seen the outcome of different size tyres on a centre-diff.  What a nightmare.

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