Finally upsized my 328 tires.....

Yep, it sure DOES make a handling improvement. From what I've seen on the board, probably AT LEAST nine out of every ten folks who make the change are happy they did. I'm certainly one of them.

 

Can you please post the exact tire specs? Also, approximate cost?

 

You put the stock rear tire size (225/50-16's) on the front and put 245/45-16's on the rear. This properly maintains overall diameter while putting additional rubber into your contact patch. Tire Rack prices for Yoko AVS ES100's are $97 per tire for the new rears and $86 per tire for the new fronts.

 

Thanks for the follow-up, guys.

 

After reading this thread, and since my 328 needed new tires, I went to the local WheelWorks and inquired about the Yokohamas. Spent some time talking about options with the staff, and finally went for their recommendation: Bridgestone Potenza #RE750. That's a pair of 225/50R16 ($132.99 ea.) and a pair of 245/45R16 ($218.99 ea.). For the four tires together WheelWorks then deducted a total of $117.96 to match their Tire Rack prices.

I agree that the new tires make for a noticeably nicer driving experience.

 

And this is with the stock wheels? Sh-t, I just replaced my worn out tires with the stock sizes. Wish I woulda stumbled upon this thread a few days earlier! Now I gotta wait another 20K or so miles.

 

Well, you *could* just keep those existing front tires for spares, and put your new rear tires on the front rims, since that's the way it works out. Then just buy a pair of new rears in the 245/45 size. Or if your existing fronts wear out first, start the process at that time.

 

Hmmm, that's true. Maybe I can unload my almost-new front tires . . .

 

I think I am going with the Potenza RE750. Anyone have pics of there car with the upgraded sizes on it. Don't want it to look ballonish or have the tires stick out. Will put 225/50/16 on the front and 245/45/16 on the rear.

 

I too am having the debate about putting the wider tyres on my 328 & I can see a few pros & cons that I wonder if anyone has an opinion on.

However, firstly, where people have done this and report good increases in grip levels I wonder how old were the tyres you took off the car? As tyres get older they get harder & so it would be normal for new tyres to feel much better - the question I wonder is how much of the improvement is down to the extra width & how much is just down to the fact that the tyres are newer, possibly softer and certainly of a new & better design than the old ones?

On the Pro's side of the equation I think the wider tyres would possibly look better as long as the sidewalls arn't bulging out too much as someone else mentioned, and secondly they should provide better grip and better braking simply because there is a bigger contact patch.

On the possible negative side I could see that there might be a degradation in wet weather grip (vs standard sizes) - not that I drive my car in the wet much if at all. Secondly I would imagine that slow speed maneouvering is harder work and thirdly I wonder if there might be any long term negative effects from the extra work being put into the steering and suspension systems. Then on top of that there must be an increase in weight though I'd imagine this isn't very much.

Any thoughts?

I.

 

Here's mine. I have 225/50/16 on the front, 245/50/16 on the back, running Kuhmo Ecsta 712s
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An additional benefit of the Bridgestone Potenzas is that they have those small "wheel protection" rubber ridges on them right next to the edge of the wheel. In short, if you are parallel-parking and get too close to the curb, you will rub against this rubber ridge (enough to sense it) instead of chewing up the edge of your $$$$ Ferrari wheel.

Some modern tires have this (great!) design feature. I don't know whether the Yokohamas have it or not. I do know that the original GoodYears did not have it.

 

I've got a pair of 245/45-16 Hankook Ventus R-S2 Z212 that I don't need. I've got them on ebay right now at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7989543493&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT
If someone here wants them, I'll sell them for $200 + shipping.

Thanks

Henry
(805) 813-0508
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