265 or 285? I'm stuck

Ozzie

Ozzie

Member
Car
2008 FX35 AWD
Name
Tony
Hi guy's, hoping someone can push me one way or the other, need new summer rubber on the 21x9.5 Enkei's. Have 265/45 on now and would like a bit more meat with 285/40, 2 thing's holding me back, (a) wider rubber generally causes the rims to drift and search more on less perfect road's, and over here the road's aint always perfect! anyone gone wider and noticed change's in steering? any feedback is welcome! (b) the FX is a stiff ride and 285/40 will be a 5mm shorter sidewall, but will it be noticeable ?? even with 265/60 winter's the FX is still a hard ride, so I wonder if those 5mm less will be felt?? all opinion's are welcome!

P.S.
275/45 is not a option(high sidewall!) or 295/40(slight bulge!!). I will be getting BC coilover's, just waiting for a shock to die.
 
don't forget, if you're going wider, a 40 series sidewall isn't really much shorter. side wall on a 265/45/R21 = 4.7". side wall on a 285/40/R21 = 4.5".

you plug various sizes into this calculator to see the differences in specs:

Tire Size Comparison
 
Thanks for your reply Banjos! but even if you use that calculator, the difference is still 5mm.
 
Ozzie said:
Thanks for your reply Banjos! but even if you use that calculator, the difference is still 5mm.
Click to expand...

correct, i guess i misread your original post. i'd surmise a slightly shorter sidewall would be noticeable, but by how much i cannot say.
 
Thank's Banjos, I don't think anybody can say how much, just looking for a push, one way or the other! (but I'm secretly hoping a push to 285's)
 
On 9.5's you're already 1.5 inches wider than stock... So getting 265's you'd be kinda stretching the rubber... I'd go with 285's or 295's to match with the rims... Stretched tires look good on compacts, but not SUV's IMHO... And if you haven't bought the rims yet, why go with 21's? 22's will give you MANY more tire options... 21 is just a weird number... I assume your 265/60 winter setup is on 18's? The larger rims will obviously be the biggest change with stiffness... And if you're planning on going with coilovers anyways, the ride harshness will be removed once you install them... Not worth it to go with a weird tire / rim size since you'll be upgrading the suspension anyways... If you haven't bought the rims yet, see what's available in 22"... You'll be stuck with those rims much longer than your OEM suspension so might as well get something that you'll want for MANY years... Same thing with the tires... Unless you've got money to burn, you'll be stuck with those tires over 4-5 summers, so might as well get something that you'll like... VERY few options in 21" and some really suck...
 
Ok DatMan, I hear you, but you got a bit off track, I have had the 21's with 265/45 for the last 3 years, that's how I bought the FX, and I'm not going to do 22's. Summer rubber is bald, so I have to choose now which size, 265's are a bit stretched, 285 will look square, I've seen that on the latest Q7's, most of them come OEM with 21x9.5 wearing 285/40, look's good. Don't agree with you on tire choice in 21's, some decent rubber out there, Dunlop sport maxx RT2, Pirelli P zero, conti sport contact, Nokian Z line suv. Thank's for your input DatMan!
 
Sounds like you have better rubber choices in the Netherlands for 21's than we do in North America... I know the American's complain, and we Canadians have even less choice!
 
If I go for 265/45 it will be a pick between Dunlop sport maxx RT2, Conti's sport contact or Pirelli's P Zero's, 285/40 will be between Goodyear's Eagle F1 Assymetric 2, Conti's or Pirelli's. Starting to lean toward's 285/40, the 265's are a bit stretched and that stiffen's the sidewall's a bit, giving it less "bounce", while the 285's will sit square and have max "bounce", I figure that might even out the 5mm shorter sidewall.
I can't imagine that Conti's,Pirelli's,Goodyear +Dunlop etc aren't available "over there", alway's find it odd to see a lot of FXer's put a lot of money in mod's and rim's and then buy "all weather's", which basically ain't great summer OR winter tyre's, if you think about it, the only thing connecting all that money to the road are 4 pieces of rubber, but then again, I am pretty anal when it come's to tire's!
 
I read somewhere that it's less than a palm print at each tire touching the road at any given time (while you're driving) so yeah... Tires are important! Only thing is that weather is really unpredictable here... Especially lately... I used to have dedicated summers and winters, but a surprise snowfall one day made for very scary driving... And then it all melted away and the temperature rose so much if I had put on winters, I would be melting them off as I drive as well... Right now, I'm more concerned about cruising comfort in my "summer" tires so I went with All-Seasons. There's only 1 summer only tire I can get in the 20" sizing in Canada, and that's the one I used to have and hate now (hard to balance and REALLY noisy KDW/2's... And they were REALLY heavy due to reinforced sidewalls to make "handling" better)... Even then, I couldn't buy my 1st choice (sold out and no idea when stock would return) so had to go to my second choice, which I'm still regretting... Oh well... I'll buy my first choice when I get new tires... In four or so more years... ... ...
 
I'm looking to get the Michelin Super Sport 285/35/21, I think it has pretty okay reviews. But I used the calculator in the above link and found quite a bit of difference in speedometer reading with this tire size, there's 3mph difference at 60mph (Michelin shows slower speed). The only advantage of that is you save miles on your odo! lol but doesn't help with sticking to a police-friendly speed..

Does the speedo have to be re-calibrated to accommodate for the change in the sidewall? Can this be done?
 
It CAN be done but not sure how... There was a recall on the 1st Gens cause the speedos were off, and therefore the warranty expired too early... So they did a recall to fix it, but not sure if the CONSULT II or III is capable of doing it without the engineers stepping in...
 
I was hoping i could do the adjustment kinda like the way ATWQ tmps device changes between winter and summer setup lol guess its not that easy.. I'll ring up the stealership and see which body parts and critical organs need to be sold to pay for this.
 
I have to resurrect this thread (really want to avoid creating new threads about tires) as its that time again to choose summer tires. My Dunlop SP 265/45/21 are bald, i have a set of winter tires (Blizzak DMV2) and looking for summer only tires.
I'd appreciate if anyone can help with selecting a summer tire that I can find in Canada. Here are my tire requirements:
- Don't want the ride to be any stiffer or tread wear to be any worse and the Dunlops
- A tire size that does not bulge or overly stretch on the stock 21" rims
- Provides same or better grip than the Dunlops
 
Don't know if they have them in Canada but I ended up buying Goodyear's Eagle F1 Assymetric 3 in 285/40. These replaced Dunlops in 265/45, beat the Dunlops in every area by a mile, look great and no bulge.
A0E6B791-FDC6-4168-B214-3B1E5350BA54_1_201_a.jpeg E8A50605-B7F1-4946-8582-FA2B3FC456C5_1_201_a.jpeg
 
Thank you!
That looks great. I just tried looking up these tires, but could only find Asymetric 2 (not 3); maybe I'm not looking right?
And the treadwear for the 2's is rated slightly worse than the Dunlops (240AA vs Dunlop's 280AA). How's your experience been with wet grip (summer rain), treadwear and noise?
 
It depends which Goodyear site you are browsing, it is possible that goodyear.ca does not have the same selection as goodyear.eu, over here they have a Goodyear Eagle F1 Assymetric 3 SUV (which I run) but it's possible they are not available over there. Funny thing is, we don't use (or have) a treadwear rating over here, Europe has a uniform tire rating for 1) roll resistance (gas consumption) 2) wet grip 3) noise measured in db.

In 285/40/21 this Goodyear has the best ratings hands down, with a Pirelli P zero and a Nokian Z line SUV being close second places, most high-end SUV's over here run on P zero's (they look super sexy:cool:) but are known to wear quicker. My personal experience (18k miles till today) is absolutely positive, going from a 265/45 to a 285/40 I was worried about a heavier, nervier steering, less ride comfort and more noise, it was the other way around, it actually improved my driving experience in every area.

Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to buy these again, but......... considering there is absolutely no bulge with 285's I will buy 295's next time, and I am really curious about the Pirelli P zero's.........:tdown: in 295/40. What also helps is the fact that 295/40's are cheaper than 285/40 in the same tire:)
 
I never thought much of Goodyear tires all my life; and now I'm reading your review which is swaying my vote. Still, I wonder how the Asymetric would compare to Continental Conti Sport Contact 6 tires. I'll have to wait until March or so before committing to a purchase, so there's some time to read and do research.
You are brave for wanting to try 295 lol
 
Goodyear was never on my shortlist either, but that does not mean they will never make a good tire. I checked out the Conti's you mentioned, in Europe they are rated roughly the same as the Goodyear's I mentioned, no better, no worse, cost the same as well(over here). Very slick looking too:rolleyes:, but..... no 265/45,285/40 or 295/40, only size that would fit is a 275/45 which I think gives a (too) high sidewall:(. Let me know how it ends up!

Nothing brave about 295's, I was very reluctant to jump to 285 but that was so positive I see no reason not to go the extra 10mm, plus the fact that some members here have that combination without any drawbacks.
 
I'll be sure to post here once I purchase the new tires; but that won't be until spring 2021. For now I'm running on winter tires.
 
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