Standard tyre for my NC Sport is 205/45/17. Some people have said 215/45/17 is better - they are certainly cheaper. But others have said acceleration will be worse, and fuel consumption will be worse. If I wanted to go with the 215 tyre, surely I would need to for a 215/40/17 tyre?
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Or maybe I should stick with the 205/45/17 tyre?Ā
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Help me decide whats best. I do like acceleration, I do like handling, but I also donāt want a rock solid ride that skips over every imperfection in the road. I am thinking Kumho PS71
Stay with Mazda recommendations. They have put considerable effort into chassis and tyre engineering. People generally take off old tyres and fit new then persuade themselves their choice is better than Mazdas engineering dept. 250 quid vs millions.
To say I disagree is an understatementā¦Iāll give a guarantee that should I fit 4x 215/45/17 tyres an do your alignment and you no likeyā¦Iāll give a full refund Ā£Ā£Ā£
āTo say I disagree is an understatementā¦Iāll give a guarantee that should I fit 4x 215/45/17 tyres an do your alignment and you no likeyā¦Iāll give a full refund Ā£Ā£Ā£ā
I hope all necessary engineering checks for abs esp stability control speedo readings have been done by registered engineers and recorded and registered with the relevant governing bodies and the manufacturer. As without that any change from a manufacturer recommended size is a step into the unknown . At best ok and at worst dangerous. Youād be a very brave man to guess all ok and give a guarantee. And if this size is not recommended by the manufacturer then insurance may also take a very dim view in case of an accident.
So irrelevant if we think they are better or not there are more implications in todayās world.
Having worked in this industry for 30 yrs I would only fit to my car tyres in the recommended sizing and ideally type where possible. So if this is not a manufacturer option then a def no from me.
I would be interested to learn how the fitting of tyres with such a small width difference as we are discussing here would affect the wheel alignment.Ā Ā
Many many owners on here have contacted their insurance company and YES they were happy for the owners to go to 214/45/17 tyres
if the guy above is saying he would prefer the Mazda supplied Bridgestone tyres heās obviously never driven a mx5 with good tyresā¦
re alignmentā¦Iām not saying you MUST have alignment done when you change tyres Iām just saying itās advisable to get the best out of the car.
my offer still standsā¦bring me any mk3 or mk4 with standard Mazda Bridgestoneās and Iāll fit and align with new rubber 215/45/17 you are then free to go for a 30 min drive and when you return Iāll either re fit your old Bridgestoneās FOC shake your hand and wish you a good day or you can pay me.
I donāt mind . The original poster asked for comments. I was involved in this professionally and gave a wider view of all implications in good faith.
If the original poster is happy with any insurance implications (in writing) and rodders is guaranteeing and underwriting all technical aspects then great.
All i can say is the manufacturer would not agree without relevant testing and I know that as we would often get asked for alternatives sizes and would always so no as no testing had been completed.
And for the later poster this is either for road use in which case its irrelevant who has track experience or itās exclusively track use in which case we in the UK can currently do what want.
Ps for the last 10 yrs Iāve been heavily involved in racing for a major oe .
Good on you for finding mk4 gearbox wasnāt up to the job. I support your work and admire what you do but doesnāt stop me giving a wider view of the legals on tyres .
