Guest EUROTRASH Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Buying new tires, taking into account 505's outstanding ride comfort (yes, I'm being sarcastic) I'm looking for the most comfortable tires on planet Earth. I don't know how well you guys rate your cars on this area, but I have several issues to resolve before my car can be described as "comfortable" on the road. So, for tires... first on my list: Goodyear Assurance Comfort Tread Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 You basically want to find a good tire with softer side walls, so any sort of perfomance tire will not be what you want. You also might want to go with a higher sidewall to give you more sidewall flex. So maybe a 205/65-15, or a 195/70-15 if you can find them. The tire rack reviews might be a good place to start too. BTW - if you find the ride rough with your winter tires still on - then you're likely not going to find a smoother tire for summer since winter tires are usually really soft and offer a very "cushy" ride - but poor response due to all the sidewall flex. As for the comments to ride quality - to each their own. For me Peugeot's can't be touched for anything less than $30+K in todays car market - and even then it's still better than most. (My tastes are a bit more performance oriented though.) Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EUROTRASH Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Interesting Rabin. I didn't know it was safe to deviate from the tire size specified by the manufacturer. I agree with you on "performance tires", they're completely useless to me. I will probably go with the tires I mentioned earlier. I'd like to know exactly how far I can deviate from the suggested sidewall meassurements. Standard as you know is 205/60/-15, is 65 the maximum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Interesting Rabin. I didn't know it was safe to deviate from the tire size specified by the manufacturer. I agree with you on "performance tires", they're completely useless to me. I will probably go with the tires I mentioned earlier. I'd like to know exactly how far I can deviate from the suggested sidewall meassurements. Standard as you know is 205/60/-15, is 65 the maximum? There should be no safety issues at all running different sizes of tires as long as it fits the car, and you're using a matching set. (no rubbing, no restrictions in movement), the only concern with running a larger tire is that it throws the speedo off - which isn't a concern if you're aware that it now reads lower than actual. The width is going to be limited to 205 section in the front, but the rears will accomodate up to 225's which is the limit of the rim - not the car. Since you want comfort, the higher the sidewall you can fit will give the best results. Some places will refuse to fit larger tires onto a car so be aware of that. When I've run into that I just take in rims and they never ask any questions. As for size - I'd probably look for a 195/65-15 or a 195/70-15 if you want maximum comfort and still be close to the overall diameter. You can often compare tire heights, or circumference dimensions of tires - then choose the one with the highest sidewall that's closest to the 205/60-15 dimensions. I was going to suggest 14" rims, but I don't think they fit over the ABS front ends... (They fit on my 86' Turbo though) With 14" rims you can run 205/70-14's and it'll soften the ride a lot. Part of the reason the base 505's and the old 504's rode so cushy... Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EUROTRASH Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 OK, now I'm thinking 205/65 15 on the front, and 215/65 15 on the rear. What size tires do you have on your rear wheels Rabin? I guess I was not aware of the limits, especially when it comes to the width... I had the missconception that anything wider than specified would cause the tires to snap out of the rims or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 I'm currently running 195/60-15's on my rims, but if I were to replace them I'd probably go with 205/55-15's since I'm wanting more perfomance than all out comfort. I have run 215/60-15's and they definitely filled the rear arches and gave the car a bit of rake - but when loaded the wheel arch would contact the tire - so I'm not sure if the height of a 215/65 becomes an issue... I think the max I'd recommend is a 205/65-15 in a comfort tire. I think if you go any bigger the height of the tire will become an issue when the car is loaded - but you won't know unless you try. If you do all four the same size - you can then rotate them for max tread life too. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EUROTRASH Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Makes sense, thanks a lot bean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N9TE Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Yokohama Avid H4S I have the discontinued model AVS dB S2 and have bought two sets of them. I used to be a Michelin customer only, but Yokos are as good as Michelins at 60% the cost. My Yokohamas are very quiet and handle the PNW rain extemely well. Forget snow in all season tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EUROTRASH Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 wow... the Yokos cost half as much as the Goodyear ComfortTread, really good to know. What do you think about extending the sidewall like we were talking about... 'ever done that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcal505 Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 I'm currently running Bridgestone Turanza's all around. Theyre pretty nice, good ride. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N9TE Posted March 5, 2008 Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 wow... the Yokos cost half as much as the Goodyear ComfortTread, really good to know. What do you think about extending the sidewall like we were talking about... 'ever done that? I put 205/65-15 on my by accident. I want to Discount Tire (back when they really were "discount", I buy my tires from TireRack now) and said replace them with AVS dBs. The previous owner had the wrong size on them. Anyway, that size does not rub or anything under any conditions. You're just messing around the edges with such small tire size changes. I guess I can say you can go with my size and not have any problems but the quality of the tire is everything. I love the Yokohamas as it's an awesome rain tire - even in straight-line decelleration. It's the best street tire I've ever driven on and my next set will be the ones I linked to. That said, my car is rather harsh riding. This is on Seattle's woefully neglected and underfunded roads (they spend money elsewhere). Just the way it came from the factory. I've ridden in and drove other 87 cars V6s, and they're more luxury. The turbo cars have a significantly different suspension system and it's never gonna be the cruiser the STX and STi's are. I've quelled almost all squeaks and rattles. I've got to addrss the weatherstripping around the doors and add some insulation and I figure I'll be pretty happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EUROTRASH Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 "The turbo cars have a significantly different suspension system and it's never gonna be the cruiser the STX and STi's are." Well, I own an STI and it rides like absolute CRAP, and I can't figure out why. I don't know if some of the bushings need to be replaced or what... I hear all kinds of noises, knocking... grinding, and every bump feels like the car's gonna fall apart. Very frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bean Posted March 6, 2008 Report Share Posted March 6, 2008 Tires are the least of your worries then - something is wrong with the suspension as these cars are usually very quiet over bumps and usually handle the rough stuff with ease - even the turbo suspensions. If you can get under the car check for play in the bushings, tie rods, and ball joints (and use a pry bar cause shaking with your hands won't cut it.). We've discussed it before as well - but if there's a rattle or noise in the front over smaller bumps it's likely the strut bearings that are gone. Also check that the exhaust system is hung properly and not hitting anything - even when shaken hard. Another thing to check is the shocks and struts for oil leakage - if they've leaked out their oil they can either get really bouncy - or they can start to seize up and hardly move at all. I've had 504's with clapped out bushings that STILL road better than domestic cars, they usually get crappy when it's the hard point stuff like ball joints and tie rods that the handling and ride suck. Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EUROTRASH Posted March 7, 2008 Report Share Posted March 7, 2008 Tires are the least of your worries then - something is wrong with the suspension as these cars are usually very quiet over bumps and usually handle the rough stuff with ease - even the turbo suspensions. If you can get under the car check for play in the bushings, tie rods, and ball joints (and use a pry bar cause shaking with your hands won't cut it.). We've discussed it before as well - but if there's a rattle or noise in the front over smaller bumps it's likely the strut bearings that are gone. Also check that the exhaust system is hung properly and not hitting anything - even when shaken hard. Another thing to check is the shocks and struts for oil leakage - if they've leaked out their oil they can either get really bouncy - or they can start to seize up and hardly move at all. I've had 504's with clapped out bushings that STILL road better than domestic cars, they usually get crappy when it's the hard point stuff like ball joints and tie rods that the handling and ride suck. Rabin Ball joints and tie rods were replaced 3 months ago, rear shocks replaced, and front shocks rebuilt. That leaves the strut bearings, and joints... so that's next. What's strange is that I hear the same exact noise in the front as in the rear. Best example is when going over a speed bump really slow, it's the sound of two metal components rubbing against eachother. The only componets present both in the front and the rear, are the joints. No strut bearings in the rear, correct? Disortex California doesn't have any strut bearing in stock, but they said if they did they would cost around $150 a piece or something like that. Anyway, at least we're getting somewhere. Thanks again Rabin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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