hi

i have 69 plate vignale with 235.40zR18 that cause tarmac roar & bumps

i want to change them to 205.60.R16 as they have more rubber & iv heard several 19 titaniums that are quieter i think

can my model be ?via OBD reprogrammed to recalculate speed etc 

will the automatic self parking  need to be reprogrammed

Any other issues mechanically ?

thanks

 

 

Using this tyre size comparison site shows that there is only a tiny difference between the tyre diameters, which is the thing that determines the speedo readings, and the chart shows the difference in speedo readings (less than one mph at 70:

https://tiresize.com/comparison/

As regards your other questions, I can't see why it should affect the self parking at all. The only other thing is to ensure that the wheels actually fit without fouling on the brakes.

17 hours ago, cee1bee said:

can my model be ?via OBD reprogrammed to recalculate speed etc 

You can set the tyre and wheel size in FORScan

 

17 hours ago, cee1bee said:

will the automatic self parking  need to be reprogrammed

No

 

17 hours ago, cee1bee said:

Any other issues mechanically ?

No, other than I had a Titanium on 16s and drove a Titanium X on 17s and the Tit-X rode much better, but was still as comfortable.

The 60 profile makes them handle very poor.

But, it's your car

205/55/16 has a better balance of comfort and handling.  The 60 profiles were only used on Mk4 to increase the rolling radius which improves MPG & emissions figures when road testing.

Just as a general comment, Ford's choice of 40 profile tyres on a supposedly luxury variant like Vignale has always seemed bizarre. Same with some of the Active variants. Virtually anything with a higher profile will ride better.

 

 

6 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

205/55/16 has a better balance of comfort and handling.  The 60 profiles were only used on Mk4 to increase the rolling radius which improves MPG & emissions figures when road testing.

my biggest aim is to reduce multi tone tarmac roars. I assumed the 60 would give more silent & cushioned ride , more effectively on both points than  55 ?  

6 hours ago, DaveT70 said:

You can set the tyre and wheel size in FORScan

 

No

 

No, other than I had a Titanium on 16s and drove a Titanium X on 17s and the Tit-X rode much better, but was still as comfortable.

The 60 profile makes them handle very poor.

But, it's your car

hi what in particular do you mean by "handle very poor" ?

The suspension will be designed for the 40 profile tyres. If you put 60 profile on it then the ride is going to be softer. When you try to corner at high speed the steering will not be as responsive as Ford intended and there will be more body roll.

1 hour ago, pcaouolte said:

The suspension will be designed for the 40 profile tyres.

That's an interesting point, but all models were listed as having "standard duty suspension" except for the Active (which was raised) and the ST Line and ST with sports suspension, which suggests all the other versions had the same set up. Earlier Mk 4s had multi-link rear suspension on the higher powered versions though.

@TomsFocus is the expert on Vignale ride, having had one, so maybe could comment further.

Certainly true generally that the higher profile tyres give a little less steering precision, but I tend to think this is somewhat overstated for normal use on our sub-standard roads.

Diverting slightly, one of the sweetest steering cars I had was an MG Midget on skinny 145x13 Michelins. (No profile stated in those days, but I think it was 80). 

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, cee1bee said:

my biggest aim is to reduce multi tone tarmac roars. I assumed the 60 would give more silent & cushioned ride , more effectively on both points than  55 ?  

I don't think 60 would be any quieter than 55.  55 is already a chunky profile.  I've had 205/55/16 on Focus's and Golfs for years.  They are my preference for comfort and noise.

marketing

engineers design the car and optimise the best set up - then along come the marketing team and want to make the top model look better to justify the higher price - so on go the silly wheels - and whilst it does look much better the ride and handling balance goes backwards

sure on the sporty ones driven by thieves with no brain you can go 1 second faster on the way to the osteopath - it would have been 2 seconds faster, but on certain bits the rock hard ride means the wheels come off the ground and so overall, whilst disgusting to drive the maths says its faster

I'd go with 17" as a sensible compromise and seek to buy tyres that are known to be quiet - so No Continentals 

 

14 minutes ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

That's an interesting point, but all models were listed as having "standard duty suspension" except for the Active (which was raised) and the ST Line and ST with sports suspension, which suggests all the other versions had the same set up. Earlier Mk 4s had multi-link rear suspension on the higher powered versions though.

@TomsFocus is the expert on Vignale ride, having had one, so maybe could comment further.

Certainly true generally that the higher profile tyres give a little less steering precision, but I tend to think this is somewhat overstated for normal use on our sub-standard roads.

Diverting slightly, one of the sweetest steering cars I had was an MG Midget on skinny 145x13 Michelins. (No profile stated in those days, but I think it was 80). 

Mine wasn't a Vignale hatch.  No way I could've coped with the rubber band tyres on those.  Mine was an Active Vignale, so suspension would be very different as well as the tyres having much more sidewall.  The ride on that was awful anyway though.  Rough and jittery at slow speed then wallowed and pitched on corners or throttle/braking.  Don't know what Ford were thinking tbh.  It should have had adaptive suspension as standard.

4 hours ago, TomsFocus said:

Mine was an Active Vignale

Oops! Keep forgetting that, Tom! Meanwhile, our search for a good ride/handling compromise continues - though personally I feel it is basically down to the current state of our road network, exacerbated by the sort of thing @Botus mentions above!😀

 

15 hours ago, cee1bee said:

hi what in particular do you mean by "handle very poor" ?

Mk4 never handled as well as MK3, unless you got independent rear suspension, but on 60/16s it was terrible.

Poor cornering performance, back end used to try to step out, understeer

 

8 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Oops! Keep forgetting that, Tom! Meanwhile, our search for a good ride/handling compromise continues - though personally I feel it is basically down to the current state of our road network, exacerbated by the sort of thing @Botus mentions above!😀

I did also have a Mk4 Titanium X hatch on 17s with IRS briefly.  That rode better than the Active despite a smaller sidewall.

Also for reference, all of the Vignales had IRS, regardless of engine type or year.  So the OP will at least have IRS on their Mk4.

1 hour ago, TomsFocus said:

Also for reference, all of the Vignales had IRS, regardless of engine type or year.  So the OP will at least have IRS on their Mk4.

Not Ecobooms, only 1.5 Petrol and 2.0 Diesel I believe

They may have had them at launch but TVM soon removed them

6 minutes ago, DaveT70 said:

Not Ecobooms, only 1.5 Petrol and 2.0 Diesel I believe

They may have had them at launch but TVM soon removed them

Even 1.0EB gets IRS on Vignale.  

The salesman did not know this in 2021 when I was buying mine so had to do my own research.  All Vignales and Active Vignales still had IRS in 2021 regardless of engine type.

1.5 EcoBoost hatch lost IRS in 2019.  2.0 TDCI & Estates were always IRS.

even though i have ecoboost 1.5 182bhp 69plate, i recall it had spring struts to the rear as well as front , so that is IRS ?

5 minutes ago, cee1bee said:

even though i have ecoboost 1.5 182bhp 69plate, i recall it had spring struts to the rear as well as front , so that is IRS ?

Yours is a Vignale.  They all have IRS.

On 8/1/2025 at 9:12 AM, TomsFocus said:

1.5 EcoBoost hatch lost IRS in 2019

 

29 minutes ago, TomsFocus said:

Yours is a Vignale.  They all have IRS.

 

tom , u r right i have vignale but your above 2 comments contradict ?  unless im missing something subtle

1 minute ago, cee1bee said:

 

 

tom , u r right i have vignale but your above 2 comments contradict ?  unless im missing something subtle

You've cut that line out of context.  At the very top of that post it says that even 1.0 EcoBoost gets IRS on Vignale.  Then goes on to say again that all Vignales got IRS regardless of engine type or year.

1.5 EcoBoost hatch or Active in any other trim level (not Vignale) lost IRS in 2019.  Sorry if that wasn't clear above.

got it Tom , I will know on tues when new allows & michelin primacy 4's get fitted . I love the hugging on bends , though not at 2 wheel speed , hate the multitone tarmac tunes. hope fears of others on here arent true for me whereby the whole car becomes a wobbly jelly  lol

16" wheels won't make it a wobbly mess.

for most of the time it will be a bit brittle and ride a bit stiff just like all modern cars do, but come a bend, the front will wash wide, the steering will be disgusting and vague.  And overall the car will be slower, less responsive and less fun to drive

 

On 7/31/2025 at 6:14 PM, TomsFocus said:

I've had 205/55/16 on Focus's and Golfs for years.  They are my preference for comfort and noise.

I've been searching to confirm what I had on my Mk 2.5 Focus Titanium that handled and rode very well. Just found an old brochure on line (courtesy of the Talkford site - a very useful facility) and they were indeed 205/55x16.

Very interested to see how Chas gets on with the new wheels. It doesn't seem that long (though it is!😀) since a 60 profile tyre was regarded as pretty sporty stuff - I had them on several cars in the 80's/90s.