Does anyone fit narrower-than-OEM tyres?

[HustleRussell]

Putting insurance and legal implications aside for a while;
I find the handling of my car a bit inert as it grips very well up to the limit, but once you've exceeded the limit it becomes a bit snatchy and abrupt.
The current tyres are old fashioned 230/55/390 so I would like to fit imperial wheels and narrower tyres with taller sidewalls to keep a simular rolling circumference. The wheels will be 16x7J.
-Is there any gotchas I have overlooked (aside from insurance etc)
-Does anyone else do this or am I strange
-With a '55' profile, how narrow can I go on a 7J rim without it looking like some horrible 'dub' stretched monstrosity?

ETA: I should add before anyone replies that I'm aware that my stopping distances will increase, however I reckon replacing 80s technology tyres with decent quality moden tyres will offset this to an extent.

Edited by HustleRussell on Wednesday 25th July 17:37

Edited by HustleRussell on Wednesday 25th July 17:42

[Mr Sparkle]

I thought some people put smaller than OEM front tyres on the VX220, but that was because it was originality designed smaller then increased later.

[Plotloss]

Mr Sparkle said:

I thought some people put smaller than OEM front tyres on the VX220, but that was because it was originality designed smaller then increased later.

Some people put rears on the front to make them more arsey as well.

[Lordbenny]

Mr Sparkle said:

I thought some people put smaller than OEM front tyres on the VX220, but that was because it was originality designed smaller then increased later.

I don't think you're right, the OEM on the front of a VX220 is a 175 Bridgestone, I never met anyone putting narrower on them however a lot of people put slightly wider as the OEM tyre was/is hard to find and not cheap.

As for putting rears on the front...thst sounds very unlikely too as the rears would be far too wide.

[HustleRussell]

It's not a VX220 by the way...

[ED209]

Lordbenny said:

I don't think you're right, the OEM on the front of a VX220 is a 175 Bridgestone, I never met anyone putting narrower on them however a lot of people put slightly wider as the OEM tyre was/is hard to find and not cheap.

As for putting rears on the front...thst sounds very unlikely too as the rears would be far too wide.

A lot of people (including me) put 195's on the front as it reduces cost and increases choice.

[s m]

I know a couple of people who have gone for the staggered E36 M3 sets on a 3 litre ( meaning 225s rather than the OE 235s on the front )

[TonyRPH]

A trait of very low profile tyres is sudden breakaway on the limit.

Higher profiles give a more progressive breakaway.

I'm guessing you have some kind of 90's BMW? A '6' Series maybe?

[redgriff500]

I have de wheeled / tyred an E46 BMW

I had the optional 18's on with IIRC 245 tyres which is ridiculous for a 200bhp car.

I changed them to 17's with 215's - but it still wasn't fun.

On a 7" rim really a 195 is as narrow as most would want to go.

TBH tyre price varies massively with size take a look on Camskill and see what size makes financial sense.

[Viperz888]

ED209 said:

A lot of people (including me) put 195's on the front as it reduces cost and increases choice.

195/50/15 is one of the cheapest tyre sizes i've found. Can get good tyres for less than £40.
I change the size on the rear of my car, anything from 185 to 235, depending on weather and use for maximum arse out action

[BlitzE34]

Sounds like you have an E34 with metric tyres. 16X7 wheels should have 225/55/16 tyres. You could also fit 15" wheels with either 225/60/15 or 205/65/15 tyres.

I'm thinking your issues could be with the metric tyres as most are often quite old.

[DrTre]

out of interest, is it something ins companies would try to use to not pay in the event of a claim?

[HustleRussell]

TonyRPH said:

I'm guessing you have some kind of 90's BMW? A '6' Series maybe?

So close! I'm aware of how lower profile tyres are generally more snatchy (which is why my Caterham wears 185/70/13s!), however these old Metric Dunlops are an early attempt at making a 'runflat' tyre- and we all know how well that went! They're damn heavy and very stiff. I reckon a modern tyre, even a slightly lower profile one, will have less mass and also more 'give' in the sidewall. I'd be fitting something supple like Uniroyal, perhaps. I'll be expecting a slight improvement in ride quality, actually.

BlitzE34 said:

Sounds like you have an E34 with metric tyres. 16X7 wheels should have 225/55/16 tyres. You could also fit 15" wheels with either 225/60/15 or 205/65/15 tyres.

I'm thinking your issues could be with the metric tyres as most are often quite old.

Spot on with the make & model. The Dunlops are all 9+ years old, so I'm sure they're past it anyway. I want to fit BMW BBS wheels so I have a choice of 15" wheels off an earlier E34, 16x8" ones of an E38 (with spacers) or 16x7" ones off an E39 (with spigot rings). 225/60r15 would've been standard, as you say, but I think I slightly prefer the look of the 16" ones- but don't want them to be 8" wide! So it has to be OEM 15s or E39 BBSs, which seem much less common.

Re: insurance- yes, an eagle-eyed estimator could spot they aren't standard and it could compromise any claim- so any non standard parts must be declared.

[redgriff500]

DrTre said:

out of interest, is it something ins companies would try to use to not pay in the event of a claim?

I suspect they might try but it would be hard for them to prove.

A decent 195 will have more grip than a Linglong 245

Although when you get into the "only changing the shape of the contact patch" argument you could question if there's any point fitting narrower tyres anyway

[HustleRussell]

Well, just won a lovely set of 4x 15" OEM BBS wheels with ancient tyres for £60



So, 15x7J wheels it is, just have to chose tyre size now.. Standard would be 225/60r15 so I'll have a play with the tyre circumference calculator and figure out what my options are.

Edited by HustleRussell on Wednesday 25th July 23:16

[StottyZr]

I put 225s on my rear because they cost £78 and the 245s cost £130. Haven't noticed a difference at all. The rears are not pretty low again, I will be replacing with the correct size this time as I have a bit more spare cash.

Probably going to get told I'm a dick for that^ But I was completely on my arse and the rears were borderline illegal so I had to replace them with something.

[redgriff500]

StottyZr said:

I put 225s on my rear because they cost £78 and the 245s cost £130. Haven't noticed a difference at all. The rears are not pretty low again, I will be replacing with the correct size this time as I have a bit more spare cash.

Probably going to get told I'm a dick for that^ But I was completely on my arse and the rears were borderline illegal so I had to replace them with something.

I'd think it strange that having tried it and found it fine, that you'd pay more this time around.

[aka_kerrly]

For £60 - you got a good deal there as sometimes the centre caps go for more than that!

[Lordbenny]

HustleRussell said:

It's not a VX220 by the way...

[T16OLE]

Some cheap-skates fit 195 instead of 205 to Clio 172/182's