Has anyone tried switching tyres from 195 45 16 to 195 50 16. It will give me 10mm extra sidewall, reduce curbing, improve ride and stop my allows bending having bent 4 already. The speedo will change by 3% but then it will just be more accurate than present.

I may even think of 205 50 16 which will give 15mm extra sidewall and a speedo change of 5%

How will changing the tyres stop your wheels 'bending'?

& I doubt it'll do much to reduce 'curbing' either.

Just be careful parking, :)

Thats exactly what I would like to do once my tires are worn down, I have noticed that the MK7.5's with 16" come with the 50 profiles, were as mine still has the 45's I'm sure a little bit more profile on the wheel can help a bit, especially in SA were the potholes are bad in some parts. I have found that the 205/50/16 are easier to get hold of than the 195/45/16 as well.

The alloys on the MK7 Titanium are notorious for buckling.

A combination of low profile tyres (hence the MK7.5 having 50 profiles) and being made from soft alloy.

The larger tyres will throw the the speedo off, but you might be able to have it re-programmed. Ford allow this, so if you change the alloy size it can be corrected.

The alloys on the MK7 Titanium are notorious for buckling.

A combination of low profile tyres (hence the MK7.5 having 50 profiles) and being made from soft alloy.

The larger tyres will throw the the speedo off, but you might be able to have it re-programmed. Ford allow this, so if you change the alloy size it can be corrected.

It all depends on what alloys you have on,mine are the ZS ones,person before had the X pack so the up-grade and

i have the 45's/205 and been down some bad holes and not a thing all fine.

Just the road noise for me and why i would try bigger tyres if i ever did.

If it's the pre-facelift fiesta titanium wheels (mk7) they are known for bending but if it's the mk7.5 they are not known for bending as for wheels I have 50 on my tyres and mines is brill love them big sidewalls make going over bumps great my mate has 45 on his same car and his ride is a little stiffer than mines

Mine are no good for grip so will look at what people say about these tyres.

Mine are the 17'' ZS

It had a poll on here about wheels and ZS didn't do that bad and that's pre-facelift

I think its the standard tit ones mainly.

My Grandad has the Mk7 16" titanium alloys and has had buckling issues.

Recently had to have a wheel refurb'd as it was letting air out...

My Grandad has the Mk7 16" titanium alloys and has had buckling issues.

Recently had to have a wheel refurb'd as it was letting air out...

yes mate i know a few but as you said the titanium ones,i need 2 new tyres soon so will see about

mine then but hit some bad holes and all drives fine.

Keep my eye on this post as i'm seeing what people say about the tyres,going bigger.

Gary, higher profile has more rubber and air to absorb impacts hence it will help reduce buckling. regarding curbing, if the rim is 15mm higher, then it might just miss the kerb. regarding parking more carefully, its my 20 year old daughters car who thinks driving is a contact activity.

Gary, higher profile has more rubber and air to absorb impacts hence it will help reduce buckling. regarding curbing, if the rim is 15mm higher, then it might just miss the kerb. regarding parking more carefully, its my 20 year old daughters car who thinks driving is a contact activity.

Haha my gf is 20 and I gave her a shot of mines to teach her how to drive she's had a few lessons off her dad she skiffed the Kerb but lucky my wheels are higher up and she said sorry and never drove my car again! haha

I have just bought 2 x 12 spoke alloys and now I see these 15 spoke on ebay.

Sorry cant seeem to past the link. Item number 231472227691

Gary, higher profile has more rubber and air to absorb impacts hence it will help reduce buckling. regarding curbing, if the rim is 15mm higher, then it might just miss the kerb. regarding parking more carefully, its my 20 year old daughters car who thinks driving is a contact activity.

Using the method of 'parking by touch' obviously ;)

Regarding curbed rims, I had some Dunlop tyres on my old car and they had some sort of lip that was about 1cm above the rim if you understand what I'm saying, this helped tremendously with the curbing problem, When replacing my tyres I would like to get hold of a tyre with the same sort of protective lip that will take a small impact instead of the alloy taking the impact as is the case at the moment.

You can buy 'rim protectors' to put on your wheels.

Has anyone tried switching tyres from 195 45 16 to 195 50 16. It will give me 10mm extra sidewall, reduce curbing, improve ride and stop my allows bending having bent 4 already. The speedo will change by 3% but then it will just be more accurate than present.

I may even think of 205 50 16 which will give 15mm extra sidewall and a speedo change of 5%

That sounds like a good idea, and you're right about it making the speedo more accurate (assuming you calculated it right). I think the speedo over reads by almost 10%, so even a 5% larger tyre will be ok. I wonder about the odometer though, maybe that will under-read, which could be a good thing lol.

Great thinking Phil. I am now thinking of 255x 65 x20. That should do it.

You should only change by +/-2.5% otherwise you need to recalibrate your speedo see this link

http://www.etyres.co.uk/tyre-size-calculator/

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Etyres don't say what the basis of their recommendation is, so I guess its just their opinion. The fiesta sppedo is about 10% out, so puting 205 50 16 will make it more accurate. Win, win for me. I have just bought the wheels, now, just waiting for the old tyre tread to wear a bit more.

Why do you think it is 10% out? And which way over reading or under reading

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Why do you think it is 10% out? And which way over reading or under reading

That's what I've seen on all 3 of my cars, and one or two other cars when comparing to the speed on a satnav which as far as I know is accurate to 1 mph. I've heard that all car speedos are set up to over read a little, maybe to stop the manufacturer being blamed if someone goes a little over the speed limit.

If you have a sat nav or a phone with a GPS speed app (e.g. SpeedView) you'll see that 70 on the speedo is about 65, and 30 on the speedo is probably about 27. Most of the time I stick to 5 mph above any speed limit when I look at the speedo, and never had a speeding ticket or anything like that. But then there's that 10% +2 rule so it all gets a bit complicated lol.

All cars over read and have done so over many decades. The allowance is 10%. Most cars are between 5 and 10% out. In the fiesta 30mph on the sat nav reads 27. 70 mph reads 66 on the satnav.

So, as long as you don't do what Top Gear did and put monster truck wheels on your car, making 1st gear seem like 4th gear, you should be ok ;)

Or do what neds (non educated delinquent ....Scottish Chav) put whatever tyre on and drop it as low as you can go then try n race ppl I love laughing at them at speed bumps! Funny as he'll

Or do what neds (non educated delinquent ....Scottish Chav) put whatever tyre on and drop it as low as you can go then try n race ppl I love laughing at them at speed bumps! Funny as he'll

Lol, yes I've seen a few of them on police shows, the ones where the tyre rubs against the arches even when the car isn't moving.