BFGoodrich Comp A/S 2 215/45r17

[TheGreenOne]

First of all, it's been a while. Hello again.

So I finally replaced the shitty Nexen UHP tires that were on my car when I bought them. It totally had nothing to do with a massive pot hole I hit that blew one of those tires. And since the selection for stock sized tires is pretty dismal, and I commute a fair distance over some of the shittiest roads in the world (ie Pittsburgh), I decided to get a tire to would provide a bit more support to my ass and spine, while not altering the performance of the car. These puppies are sweet. Stock height, no rub. The wheel gap looks less special ed now. And the ride no longer feels like I'm on a 70 year old rail car being towed by a steam locomotive through the mountains of Bengladesh surrounded by 300 other people who are all shitting in one bucket in the certain of the rail car. The steering is a bit heavier, but a welcomed change. Anyway, so that's why my car has been up to.

 

[milkman42]

I can confirm your description of Pittsburgh roads...

 

[J2FoRS]

How far off is your speedo now? Have you confirmed with GPS ?

 

[johnnyaf87]

I have the same in 205/45-17... after my first snow storm and digging myself into a snow hole. I got these and love them.

 

[JasonHaven]

Been driving on Comp 2 A/Ss for about 6 months now, very happy with them.

I'm not a hardcore driver though, so I have no idea if their dry traction sucks compared to stock... that being said, I haven't had any traction issues in any weather so far.

 

[marc89gti]

These 215/45r17 tires are about 5.1% bigger in diameter, general rule of thumb is you don't want to go bigger than about 3% bigger in a diameter. Hopefully you don't have any issues, from what I've read going too big can cause premature brake failure.

 

[haste]

I tried 215/45 on the stock wheels and had rubbing issues during spirited driving. Plus, they made the steering too heavy for my liking

 

[2Cool]

I am running those tires in 16", 205/50s. I am very impressed so far, decent grip in all conditions, steering response close to the stock summer tires. Plus the 16" size and bigger sidewall sucks up a lot of the cobblestone hell of Pittsburgh side streets.

 

[TheGreenOne]

How far off is your speedo now? Have you confirmed with GPS ?

Not a clue. According to willtheyfit.com, I think the difference was like 3% or something.

 

[TheGreenOne]

I tried 215/45 on the stock wheels and had rubbing issues during spirited driving. Plus, they made the steering too heavy for my liking

The steering is heavier, but it hardly makes a difference performance wise. Basically, to me, it makes my steering wheel more stable. There's a lot less wobble over bumps that should literally cause no wobble to begin with. And I've had 0 rub. Different tires vary slightly in width despite the ratings, so YMMV.

 

[TheGreenOne]

I am running those tires in 16", 205/50s. I am very impressed so far, decent grip in all conditions, steering response close to the stock summer tires. Plus the 16" size and bigger sidewall sucks up a lot of the cobblestone hell of Pittsburgh side streets.

Even 65 is miserable on the stock tire size. Every little metal grove in the bridges made me feel like my head was about to fall off. I had 0 issues doing 70mph the whole way home at 7am this morning with the ice and what not. They're not even broken in yet. I've barely put 200 miles on them.

 

[TheGreenOne]

These 215/45r17 tires are about 5.1% bigger in diameter, general rule of thumb is you don't want to go bigger than about 3% bigger in a diameter. Hopefully you don't have any issues, from what I've read going too big can cause premature brake failure.

I'll survive.

 

[marc89gti]

Not a clue. According to willtheyfit.com, I think the difference was like 3% or something.

Hate to burst your bubble but theywillfit.com shows 4.72% bigger in diameter difference. Other online tire calculators I looked at show around 5%. Been doing a lot of research lately and checking different sizes as my RE050A are worn out too. If I was you I would go to a Ford dealer or mechanic and get the tire size reprogrammed in the ECU, this should minimize most of the negative effects of being so oversized.

 

[haste]

Hate to burst your bubble but theywillfit.com shows 4.72% bigger in diameter difference. Other online tire calculators I looked at show around 5%. Been doing a lot of research lately and checking different sizes as my RE050A are worn out too. If I was you I would go to a Ford dealer or mechanic and get the tire size reprogrammed in the ECU, this should minimize most of the negative effects of being so oversized. View attachment 9355

My Ford dealer said there was no way for them to reprogram the ECU for different tires revs/mile.

 

[marc89gti]

My Ford dealer said there was no way for them to reprogram the ECU for different tires revs/mile.

Ok I didn't know that, I've heard of people in my area getting their ECU reprogrammed for pickup trucks with much bigger tires so the odometer reads correctly. Maybe with our cars that programming option isn't option.

 

[JasonHaven]

I am running those tires in 16", 205/50s. I am very impressed so far, decent grip in all conditions, steering response close to the stock summer tires. Plus the 16" size and bigger sidewall sucks up a lot of the cobblestone hell of Pittsburgh side streets.

I'm on 205/45-16s and am thinking about about 205/50 next time I swap tires, because DC.

Stupid DC.

 

[haste]

The 215/45/17 Continental Extremecontact DWS tires I tried and had rubbing issues with(only during spirited driving) are only .1" wider than these when installed on a 7" wide rim. I highly doubt that difference will keep these tires from rubbing.
Maybe it is a difference in driving styles or roads...

200 miles on a set of tires and saying they don't rub...dunno about that. That is only 2/3 of a tank of fuel. Hardly a true road test.

 

[marc89gti]

The 215/45/17 Continental Extremecontact DWS tires I tried and had rubbing issues with(only during spirited driving) are only .1" wider than these when installed on a 7" wide rim. I highly doubt that difference will keep these tires from rubbing.
Maybe it is a difference in driving styles or roads...

200 miles on a set of tires and saying they don't rub...dunno about that. That is only 2/3 of a tank of fuel. Hardly a true road test.

From what I've seen every tire manufacturer has varying tire widths for the same size. My last car I had a set of aftermarket tires that never rubbed and when I replaced them with the same size but different manufacturer I ended up with rubbing in the rear, primarily when I had two more people the car (89 Suzuki Swift GTi). Think those newer tires on that car were 0.1" bigger in width, I ended up rolling the fender lips.

So maybe that 0.1" wider with your setup would be enough to make it rub occasionally.

 

[haste]

From what I've seen every tire manufacturer has varying tire widths for the same size. My last car I had a set of aftermarket tires that never rubbed and when I replaced them with the same size but different manufacturer I ended up with rubbing in the rear, primarily when I had two more people the car (89 Suzuki Swift GTi). Think those newer tires on that car were 0.1" bigger in width, I ended up rolling the fender lips.

So maybe in his case tires he bought have a slightly narrow width to them. But would check for signs of rubbing if it was me.

I compared the specs of the OPs tires and the Extremecontact DWS, directly from their websites. The DWS I tried in the same size(215/45/17) are .1" wider and the same height when installed on a 7" wide rim. These tires/wheels came off my Focus SVT and had about 15k miles on them so they weren't even full stock height compared to brand new rubber. Just saying, but I believe the OPs tires will rub, he just hasn't experienced it yet. I am running stock suspension.

 

[marc89gti]

I compared the specs of the OPs tires and the Extremecontact DWS, directly from their websites. The DWS I tried in the same size(215/45/17) are .1" wider and the same height when installed on a 7" wide rim. These tires/wheels came off my Focus SVT and had about 15k miles on them so they weren't even full stock height compared to brand new rubber. Just saying, but I believe the OPs tires will rub, he just hasn't experienced it yet. I am running stock suspension.

These wheels and tires (Extremecontact DWS 215/45r17) that was from your Focus SVT, were they non FiST wheels? Just wondering if your wheel was different from the 17" x 7" 47.5mm offset on the FiST, that could make a difference. But I do agree and I could see the OPs having potential issues, he will just have to keep an eye on it. I'm just amazed that some tire shops don't properly advise people on sizing that's ok and sizing that's questionable or not ok. Crazy thing is I read on a online forum that an employee of Tirerack said that up to 5% bigger in diameter is ok with them, but from what I've read on different websites regarding this so call rule of thumb 3% seems to be the limit.