Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires 205/55R16 (complaints) vs 225/50R16

How much of a dropoff in handling and noise (hopefully) can one expect by simply switching from KDW to KDWS or is that an unrealistic "goal"?

According to tirerack, the 225/50/16 KDWS have the same noise/comfort rating as the dunlop SP sport 5000's which I've heard are less noisy. I'm just wondering if this is true.

I have 225/50ZR/16 KDWS and they are pretty quiet. After 10k on them they still have a lot of life on them (this with some harsh driving on nice roads). Heard a lot of people went through a set of KDW's betweek 8k-15k.

Hope that helps. Oh, and the 225's look better but I don't know if there's any noticeable performance loss.

Then I probably shouldn't have any problems. My KDW's have last to 33k. The only reason I can tell it's that time to get new tires is because of the rain we've had recently.

I've narrowed it down between the KDWS and the Dunlops.

Tire size is regulated for all brands. A 205/55/16 Dunlop SP-9000 (around $200 a piece) is exactly the same size as a General Ameri*AS 205/55/16 (about $70 per tire) Tread pattern and depth are the only difference, making one seem a little wider (because of tread design and depth) Tire size is also measured once the tire is mounted and inflated on a rim. Again, a General tire may indeed look thinner than a Dunlop simply because of the quality of the compound on the Dunlop is better and stronger, making the tire conserve it's size characteristics compared to the General's cheap construction.

You aren't accounting for the tread squirm of the new tires. If you want your new ones to perform like your old ones you are going to have to have the tread ground down about half to 2/3 down. That's a trick I learned from showroom stock road racing and it should help in this instance I would think.
Karl

Originally posted by pancho1181:

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Tire size is regulated for all brands. A 205/55/16 Dunlop SP-9000 (around $200 a piece) is exactly the same size as a General Ameri*AS 205/55/16 (about $70 per tire) Tread pattern and depth are the only difference, making one seem a little wider (because of tread design and depth) Tire size is also measured once the tire is mounted and inflated on a rim. Again, a General tire may indeed look thinner than a Dunlop simply because of the quality of the compound on the Dunlop is better and stronger, making the tire conserve it's size characteristics compared to the General's cheap construction.

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what ????

Tires vary wildly from manufacturer to manufacturer the size nomenclature is referring to the innerliner (the part that holds air) so, tire construction can make some tires alot wider than others