wheel question

[Ed Kellock]

My recently acquired 91 Avant has a GVWR of 4805.

I'm thinking about going with 215/50-17's on it, having played all the big,
wide tire game in the past with the results being heavy, expensive and lots
of tramlining.

I would not be considering this except is has Porsche brakes and my urS4
wheels don't fit over them.  I'm thinking of trying a 3mm spacer but I
really don't want to go any thicker than that.

Current wheels are a 16x7 TSW of some kind that I'm just not thrilled with.

The 215/50's in the brand I'm considering have a load rating of 91 (5424
lbs) and they have a V speed rating.

Tire Rack recommends 235/45-17's which are only marginally less taller than
the stock diameter, but way wider and heavier.

For my purpose I can't think of any reason not to go with the 215/50-17's,
if I decide to go with 17's at all.

Ed


On 2/23/06, Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> You cannot go by curb weight- you should use the car's gross vehicle
> weight
> rating
> that is stated on the driver's doorjamb as the correct weight, then divide
> by 4.
>
> I think you'll find that your Audi has a GVWR much higher than 3500lbs.
>
> If you use that tire that is only rated to 992lbs., you can't even have
> 4000lbs. total- once you have a full tank of gas, a few passengers, you'll
> be way over that rating.
>
> If you don't believe me or think my statements are incorrect, check Tire
> Rack's FAQ- they have an excellent explanation of load rating that will
> expound this info much more clearly than me.
>
> Do some research- any OEM approved tire is going to have a load rating
> that
> exceeds the vehicles GVWR. Having an inadequate tire is asking for trouble
> and no reputable tire installer will install tires that have an inadequate
> load rating due to liability concerns.
>
> Taka
>
> On 2/23/06, tmb <the_questionist at yahoo.com> wrote:
> >
> > > I don't believe you'll find a tire with enough
> > > load rating for a 5ktq in
> > > 205/40R17- that's a size that's usually used on
> > > cars like Civics. Make sure
> > > you're over a load rating of 90 or you're
> > > asking for a blowout at highway
> > > speed.
> >
> > i've been looking around for some info on load
> > ratings vs. vehicle weights, and i've found that
> > a load rating of 90 = 1323lbs.
> >
> > according to audi, the audi 200 wagon curb weight
> > is 3439lbs.  that means that i would need a tire
> > that can handle a max of 860lbs (load rating of
> > 76) to be safe.
> >
> > while not my cup of tea, the specs are online, so
> > i'll use them: bridgestone potenza RE750s in a
> > 205.40.17 spec out at 992lbs (load rating: 80).
> >
> > for a guy who knows not a lot about this black
> > art, i'll have to say that the numbers tell me
> > that a 205.40.17 (at least from bridgestone) will
> > safely work with these cars, and leave some room
> > for loading the car as well.
> >
> > to be extra safe, i might consider the
> > 215.40.17s, because they offer a load rating of
> > 83 (1074lbs), which would allow nearly another
> > 1000lbs of gear to be loaded in.
> >
> > keep in mind that i really have no real world
> > experience with this.  this is purely info that
> > i've found online.  if there's anything amiss
> > with my numbers, please let me know.
> >
> > jason
> > tmb
> >
> >
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