I run 215/ 45 Khumos on mine. No downsides.
2 Likes
I went from 205/45/17 to Kumho PS71 215/45/17 a few months ago too. Great handling tyres and the ride is more positive now too. Really liking them.
4 Likes
Hi Nick
I have an NC3.5 SportTech with no mods apart from WIM’s Fast Road alignment. I very much enjoy driving this car in a reasonably spirited way. The tyres will soon need replacing all round and I am considering switching to 215/45/17 from the standard 205. In your opinion would this make the car more or less enjoyable to drive?
Thanks
3 Likes
I use 215/45/17 since last year and IMHO the clearance is good nothing bad to say about the size but it does depend what tyre brand you go for.
@NickD do you know whether the 225/45/17 will clear the arches and fender with stock 17" wheels (ET55) mate?
That very much depends on how spirited your driving is.
If you are at 6 out of 10, I the differences I would expect you to notice is that the steering may feel marginally heavier and the ride marginally better over high frequency ridges. You will feel your wallet being heavier too.
If you dial it up to 9, then you will notice a bit more grip, and the car should be more planted, given like for like tyres. You may consider, at this level the car is not quite as playful as the additional grip will make the car more stable. Of course if you go faster then the feeling is the same.
If you crank it up to 11, then you won’t notice the difference other than you will be doing is at a faster speed.
1 Like
Sautah… Thank you
1 Like
Mr Two… thank you!
2 Likes
Search function brought me here :-
Any thoughts / opinions as to whether the advantages in acceleration of the 40 profile tyre over the 45 are of significance other than pursuing fractions on track ?
I use 215/45 R17 and the only thing I have noticed is that the odometer is more true to the GPS speed.
I hope this explains the difference in the “ideal” tyre OD, in reality the tyre will bulge a bit
| Width | Aspect Ratio | Rim | Width % change | Tyre side wall | Tyre side wall % change | Tyre Diameter | Tyre Diameter % change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [mm] | [%] | [in] | [mm] | [%] | [mm] | [%] | |||
| Standard | 205 | 45 | 17 | 92.25 | 616.3 | ||||
| 215 | 40 | 17 | 4.88% | 86 | -6.78% | 603.8 | -2.03% | ||
| 215 | 45 | 17 | 4.88% | 96.75 | 4.88% | 625.3 | 1.46% | ||
| 215 | 50 | 17 | 4.88% | 107.5 | 16.53% | 646.8 | 4.95% | ||
| 215 | 55 | 17 | 4.88% | 118.25 | 28.18% | 668.3 | 8.44% | ||
| 225 | 45 | 17 | 9.76% | 101.25 | 9.76% | 634.3 | 2.92% | ||
| 225 | 40 | 17 | 9.76% | 90 | -2.44% | 611.8 | -0.73% |
5 Likes
Be aware: I decided to upgrade 205 to 215… ordered from Blackcircles… delivered and booked for fitting at ATS… when I rolled up in my NC I was told… “sorry can’t fit these tyres, they are not the ones for this car, company policy says we cannot fit them”… “But you can take them to another tyre fitting company and Blackcircles will refund your fitting charge”
I was very frustrated (see: fuming)… next issue was I could not get them safely into my 5, luckily I do have another car… a Mazda 3… Half hour later I collected tyres, drove 20 mins to another fitter (who I have used before and, in hindsight, should have used this time albeit tyres would not be delivered there, anyway… )
I dropped the tyres off, then drove 30 mins to swap cars, then 29 min back to the fitter in my 5.
Tyres fitted without issue… but a bill of £50 for fitting which equates to the most expensive tyres I’ve ever had on my car… But following ATS instructions I am trying to claim the £50 back off Blackcircles…
Moral of story… beware up grading and expecting ATS to fit them!!! 
Wish me luck!
But on a positive, £50 to fit 4 tyres is very cheap.
2 Likes
From Blackcircles own website …
“Every car owner has their own driving style and when choosing a new set of car tyres, we know it’s important to consider how the tyres will perform in certain circumstances. To meet the eclectic requirements of our customers, Blackcircles.com stocks a vast array of different car tyres.”
But don’t expect us to fit them to your car.
1 Like
willtheyfit.eu is my usual go to website
1 Like
Sadly it was £50 for just 2 tyres… only replaced the rears.
I know that means my rears are (slightly) wider than the fronts… but that is ok… my son has a Jaguar XE and his rears are wider than the fronts.
tbh if I had a tyre shop and someone asked me to fit tyres of different width size front and different width size back (unless its a car that was designed with such tyres) I would also probably refuse. If the tyres had the same size all around - even slightly wider I would not have an issue.
So their policy may be that they only fit the same size of tyre as fitted elsewhere on the car. Had you bought 4 you may have been ok.
Porsches among others use staggered fitment which are designed in to the car.Mazda don’t.
Black Circles does not have fitting centres, they send tyres to garages that have signed up to their pricing policy. As such it will be totally pot luck as to if they will fit tyres or not. You also have to realise you are highly unlikely to be dealing with anyone who has any particular specialist knowledge.
Here are my Potenza front tyres after Curborough. 205/45/R17 88W. (does the code suggest they are over 7 years old!?)
With my stock suspension setup (and probably original alignment gone bad) I certainly wouldn’t want a weaker side wall given how much the car and my cack-handed cornering technique leans on the tyres.
The Pilot Sport 4’s appear to fit the bill (at a price) but I wonder if I would have seen similar wear on, say, Kumhos.
I believe the date code in the photo reads 0116 so 1st week of 2016. So yes that tyre is now more than 7 years old.
4 digit date code:
1st two digits = week of year
2nd two digits = year (I.e.20XX)
1 Like
Well in that case the PS3’s on the back are late 2015!
According to the MOT history of the car, the tyres have done 32,000 miles! I suspect this was dual carriageway commuting. It also implies that the alignment can’t be THAT bad.
1 Like