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S-Max Ride/comfort Tyre Advice


Sanjualf
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Hi all,

I've got a 2013 smax 2 litre diesel Titanium. Though I love the car like handling and the

Sublime steering , getting tired of the jiggly ride ( definitely not crashy or harsh) over road imperfections/small bumps in slow speed (bumby vertical movements, more pronounced for the rear seat occupants)and also to an extend in motorways where after a long drive it becomes slightly tiring. This wouldn't be a problem in Continental Europe's silky smooth roads, but definitely an issue in Britain's pot hole ridden road surfaces. I do have 17 inch wheels with Michelin Premacy HP 225/50/17 tyres which originally came with the car.

Would love to trade in some of the driving dynamics for a bit more comfortable ride. Short of changing to 16 inch wheels ( the wheel arches in my car already feel under filled with even the 17 inches) has any one had any other experience with other tyre makes which makes the ride/comfort better?

Heard some positive reviews regarding Kumho ecsta KU39 tyres re their ride comfort /low road noise levels, though they seem to wear sooner. Has anyone had any experience with them. Thanks in advance for your replies

Sanjay

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The truth is its the low profile tyres that are giving you the harsh ride, you can try adjusting the pressures and trying different makes of tyre, but unless the tyre you are running has an especially harsh ride, its unlikely to make a big difference (im not a big fan of Michelins, they can be noisy and sometimes a little harsh)

Ultimately you need to get a tyre with a taller sidewall (higher profile) this means fitting a higher profile tyre to your existing wheels (215-55-17s will fit) this will give you a slightly higher gearing 1.75% the

the 55 - series sidewall will give you a better ride than the 50, coupled with a less harsh tyre and careful choice of pressures could transform the cars' ride

Alternatively you could fit 16" wheels and fit 225-55-16s (the closest to 225-50-17 - -0.44%) or 215-60-16s, that would give you an even better ride - the higher profile tyres making the cercumference similar

I rate goodyear tyres over michelins and the goodyear efficient grip performance is a quiet, comfortable tyre

(reconed to be quieter, better ride and better wet grip than the Michelins)

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Thanks FOCA for the detailed reply,

Looking at Ford's official stats, the only tyre size recommended for the 17 inch wheels are 225/50, So I'm a bit nervous about trialling 215/55 on them, also not sure will be covered by insurance incase of any accident if used not the recommended tyre size. I am sure changing down to 16 inch wheels and using the 215/60 tyres would greatly improve ride, but just pondering the cost of getting a set of 4 16 inch wheels and new tyres.

I might try other makes which are a bit quiet and comfortable than the michellins first, when time comes to replace the current ones. Which model of Goodyear tyre did you mention which were a bit quieter and comfortable, thanks.

Sanjay

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Thanks FOCA for the detailed reply,

Looking at Ford's official stats, the only tyre size recommended for the 17 inch wheels are 225/50, So I'm a bit nervous about trialling 215/55 on them, also not sure will be covered by insurance incase of any accident if used not the recommended tyre size. I am sure changing down to 16 inch wheels and using the 215/60 tyres would greatly improve ride, but just pondering the cost of getting a set of 4 16 inch wheels and new tyres.

I might try other makes which are a bit quiet and comfortable than the michellins first, when time comes to replace the current ones. Which model of Goodyear tyre did you mention which were a bit quieter and comfortable, thanks.

Sanjay

Hello again, i think for you, goodyear efficient grip performance -

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Goodyear/EfficientGrip-Performance.htm

Goodyear also produce eagle F1 tyres, that are exellent performance tyres, but the efficient grip performance is quieter/ more comfortable/ economical so would be more suitable for you

I have tried Michelins, Continentals, and other makes and have found the goodyears (definately quieter and better grip than the Michelins, the Michelins i had did not seem to wear evenly, either but that may not have been the tyres' fault) to be all-round better, (in my experience) i use vredstiens in the winter

I used to drive a Mondeo mk3 titanium x 2.2 155PS (similar to an ST-TDCI) it had 18" low profile wheels on it, they had only slightly better grip than the 16" 205-55-16" (and you had to drive VERY hard to notice the difference) tyres i use on my ( more powerful than the 2.2) "souped up" 2.0L Mondeo i drive now, but the 18" low profile tyres/ wheels had a MUCH harsher ride than the 16" (205-55-16) wheels/ tyres, the 16" wheels & tyres weigh 17.4kgs and the 17"/18" wheels/ tyres can weigh upto 22kgs, each,(18.4kgs difference with 4 wheels/ tyres) which makes a big difference to performance/ economy (the wheels have to be "spun up" and are not a "static" weight)- so much so Ford produced 2 sets of economy figures for the Mondeo mk3, depending on the wheel/ tyre size

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Cheers many thanks for the advice, will look into those Goodyears

Sanjay

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  • 5 months later...

Hi just to update everyone, that I have changed all 4 of my tyres from Michelin Premacy ( which came with my smax) to Goodyear efficient grip performance on advice from Member FOCA. Wow what a difference , the car is quieter and more importantly comfortable as well , lots less of the vertical movements I got from small bumps from the previous michellins. Motorway journeys are so calm due to this.

There was more steering feel and the handling was marginally better from the michellins but I am happy to compromise on these for lots more quieter/less tiring journeys

Sanjay

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