[danrichman]

I realize few of us have replaced tires yet, but I'm thinking ahead.

I'm wondering whether tires identical in size to OEM, but with a higher aspect ratio (i.e., "taller"), would decrease road noise and increase ride comfort? Would they throw off the odometer? Slow acceleration or braking? Would they even fit in the wheel well?

Thanks for input.

 

[Boldlygo]

Go to Tire size calculator

It's a great page for calculating tires sizes. You input the stock size and then the size you want to change to. As long as you're within, I'd say 2% difference, then there is no problem. So if you went from the factory 17" 215/45-17 to 16" tires, you would go to 205/55-16 to stay the same.

Ride comfort and road noise are problably more dependant on the brand of tire you choose.

Also check out www.tirerack.com

 

[Kostamojen]

Ride comfort would improve, odometer would be off, acceleration might slow, and they might not fit in the wheel well without rubbing.

The better idea would be to down-size to 16" wheels to run taller tires if you are concerned about road comfort.

The main reason most people go to a "taller" tire is to run a off-road tire that gives more ground clearance... This isn't the case here.

 

[jimmyc13]

Ride comfort would improve, odometer would be off, acceleration might slow, and they might not fit in the wheel well without rubbing.

The better idea would be to down-size to 16" wheels to run taller tires if you are concerned about road comfort.

I agree completely on ride comfort (though not sure how noticeable it would be) and yeah, the speedo is off a small amt. as well as your odometer and acceleration, but if you're at stock height and not lowered, you will not rub if you increase the aspect ratio by 1 size. The stock ride height is so jacked up, you could probably go up even more!

 

[Kostamojen]

Sometimes it ends up rubbing at odd spots during hard cornering if you up the size. I've had A LOT of experience with fitting larger tires into small wheel wells... Its a bit of an art to get it right

 

[Bill Broderick]

I'm wondering whether tires identical in size to OEM, but with a higher aspect ratio (i.e., "taller"), would decrease road noise and increase ride comfort?

If you're just looking to decrease road noise and increase ride comfort, get the same size tires, but don't get Low Rolling Resistance tires. LRR tires are harder than regular tires, which makes them louder and bumpier.

The down side to getting rid of LRR tires is that you will likely also experience a decrease in fuel economy.