PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Hello Pontiac Bonneville Club,

I love getting other bonneville owners advice.

So I would like to hear from the tire experts and people with past experience.

Ok, im shopping for tires for a while now. I came to a thought of putting 225/55/17 instead of stock size 235/55/17 because I have a good deal.

Is it ok to do so...what are the pros and cons?

It's ok to do. They are a little smaller overall. I personally don't like the look, but it works for some people.

Here is a project car with 225/55R17's
http://andrewsuderman.com/01ssei2.html

Your speedo would show 60mph while actually going 59mph.

Yeah those are gonna look short.

What the heck is that white stuff in those photos???????

Yea that's what I thought too. They would be too small. I found a good deal on a set but I guess I'm better off paying extra to get my money's worth.

Thanks for ya input as I really consider your thoughts and opinions.

The 255/50-17 tires look so much better on my 2000 SSEi than the stock 235/55-17 tires. They also made the car handle better and it would stop so much quicker than the 235's ever would. I put over 200k miles on my SSEi with 255 tires, I always thought that the 255's should have been A option(or the stock tire) on the SSEi.

ROD

Wow! 255's are like 10" wide, aren't they? Do they rub at all?

I don't think the 10mm difference in width is going to be that noticeable. I really can't see the difference in the pics, they look just like stock tires to me. If the deal was good enough, I wouldn't hesitate over a mere centimeter.

Going to wider tires has its own drawbacks, primarily a traction penalty in adverse weather and increased weight and rolling resistance (provided sidewall height stays same or larger).

255's are perfect fit. No rubbing at all. I've been running them for five years.
Ohhh, it's just about time for a new set.....

jedwards83 wrote:I don't think the 10mm difference in width is going to be that noticeable. I really can't see the difference in the pics, they look just like stock tires to me. If the deal was good enough, I wouldn't hesitate over a mere centimeter.

Going to wider tires has its own drawbacks, primarily a traction penalty in adverse weather and increased weight and rolling resistance (provided sidewall height stays same or larger).

The extra grip from a good set of wider tires is a benefit that overshadows any potential deficiencies. If you're trying to justify a cheaper set of tires go ahead. Proper sized tires, or even slightly taller will give you better MPG, better look, better performance, etc.

This kinda went off topic,

I was comparing the 225 vs 235.

But now i guess i'll consider the 255 since im hearing good reviews.

Wider tires are gonna SUCK on snow and ice though. Keep that in mind if you plan on driving year round, as well as that 255's are even more expensive and you have a much smaller group to choose from.

I wouldn't go 255 for a year round all season tire, you will float on snow. Stick to the stock size then.

On my GTI It called for 225's stock, I ran 245 in summer and 205 winter tires. The BMW called for 225 front and 245 rear. It has 255's and will get either the 205 size the GTI ran, or 225 when I purchase winters.

Does anybody on this forum have these tires on their Bonnie?

SUMITOMO HTR A/S P01 235/55/17

BonneMe wrote:The extra grip from a good set of wider tires is a benefit that overshadows any potential deficiencies. If you're trying to justify a cheaper set of tires go ahead. Proper sized tires, or even slightly taller will give you better MPG, better look, better performance, etc.

That really can't be used as a blanket statement as it's only true to a point. Wider tires *do* have their own disadvantages, it's simple physics and you can't argue that. What I said wasn't false, I was just throwing some considerations out there. An OEM size tire in and of itself is a mix of many compromises whose goal is to balance all of the requirements for the car. It's really up to to OP to decide which attributes are important to him and decide accordingly.

So many things impact tire choice: where you drive, how you drive, practicality / justification of switching to winter tires annually, the list goes on. You can't simply say "wider tires grip better" or "taller tires are _____".