High profile tyres, soft suspension
Discussion
MC Bodge said:
CampDavid said:
Neither have much in common with each other except their size, weight and they both run 195/55/15 tyres. This can't be coincidence.
It could be...
Its also close to the 195/50-15 common on MX5s, though to be fair the early ones ran 185/60-14 as standard.
It does stand to reason though that there will be an optimum tyre size (or range thereof) for any given vehicle weight/power/etc.
Edited by GravelBen on Tuesday 22 March 23:06
m444ttb said:
The last properly relaxing car I drove was a BMW e28 525e auto! Torquey engine, slush box and 14" wheels with high profile tyres! Very different to my e36 in 18's and Mrs B's 106 GTi with rock hard grp N Bilsteins! Next car will be an SE spec BMW without big wheels!
I had one of these a while ago, I've never driven so slowly in all my life - I was so chilled out!Since none of my cars are that new I'm pretty unafflicted by the hard tyres/suspension combination but the best car I've got for covering ground is the Mini, soft suspension (but still doesn't roll too much) and 10" wheels with big squishy tyres, brilliant!
Sam_68 said:
The sad thing is that even Caterham - who you would have thought would deliver what is necessary for the best driving experience and to hell with looks - readily admit that they fit wheels and tyres that are bigger than is optimum for their cars, simply because that's what their customers expect to see.
True; I remember reading about the original Elise when it first came out, that the optimum tyre (certainly on the front) would be a 135 profile. Lotus fitted 185s thanks to pressure from the marketing department and to meet customer expectations. Most cars these days are massively overtyred, meaning (for me at least) you lose a lot of feedback from the road, and have a surfeit of grip- so to have a bit of a play demands a much greater effort or a greasy road.
tr7v8 said:
unpc said:
Are all Audis as bad as the ones I've been in? even the modestly shod A6 I last went in rode like someone stole the springs. I agree this tyre business has gone too far although the 20's on my XK are staying. At least some companies can still make a car ride well.
Audis in my experience are particularly bad in any trim. Some BMWs I've been are no better. With my S-Type Jaguar being a sport it was on 18" & slightly lower stiffer suspension & everyone who rode in it remarked on well it rode. My wife & I almost rejected it because it didn't ride as well as our previous S-Type SE! That was on 16", the handling difference was negligible & in some ways better on 16" because it was more predictable. On a Focus or a daily car without much poke and/or if you live in an area with poor roads, then yes I agree, but I'm going to venture out and disagree the rest of the time.
I would (and did) happily sacrifice a bit of ride quality for better body control in the right car. For example, I test drove a 120d on 16's with SE suspension before I bought my 123d, and it rode well but was otherwise fairly rubbish. Wooly steering and turn in, plenty of body roll, and generally just not much fun.
My car has the total clusterf
k of 18" wheels, run flats and M-Sport suspension, and after a year with it I would still choose it over the SE spec any day of the week. I'd happily endure the odd jolt over a pothole for better steering and body control.
I'd even go as far as to disagree with the general journalistic opinion on the standard 997. It rides pretty well, but if you're pressing on it still lacks a bit of high speed body control and stability, if I had the choice I'd definitely have the stiffer S.
In fact when I had my Focus I went the other way with it, I'd stuck a spring/damper kit on and 17" wheels and the handling and body control was excellent. I went back to standard because I was doing big mileage and it was very, very hard, but the handling was most certainly not better for it. Ideally I would have had something in the middle, and personally that's where I find the BM.
I would (and did) happily sacrifice a bit of ride quality for better body control in the right car. For example, I test drove a 120d on 16's with SE suspension before I bought my 123d, and it rode well but was otherwise fairly rubbish. Wooly steering and turn in, plenty of body roll, and generally just not much fun.
My car has the total clusterf
k of 18" wheels, run flats and M-Sport suspension, and after a year with it I would still choose it over the SE spec any day of the week. I'd happily endure the odd jolt over a pothole for better steering and body control.I'd even go as far as to disagree with the general journalistic opinion on the standard 997. It rides pretty well, but if you're pressing on it still lacks a bit of high speed body control and stability, if I had the choice I'd definitely have the stiffer S.
In fact when I had my Focus I went the other way with it, I'd stuck a spring/damper kit on and 17" wheels and the handling and body control was excellent. I went back to standard because I was doing big mileage and it was very, very hard, but the handling was most certainly not better for it. Ideally I would have had something in the middle, and personally that's where I find the BM.
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