[quickdraw]

Hi there friendly folk,

I am looking at changing the set of tyres on the mondeo upfront. Am currently running 235/35 tyres and have been having several problems as you must have guessed with running such a low profile.

I have zilch knowledge about this and have turned to you guys for suggestions. I called up many tyre dealers and most of them offered me the same thing and all offered me michilins which are very expensive I want a bigger sidewall to keep the OZ's safe and to improve drivability.

Currently running : 235/35 19

Options given to me were

245/45 - 18~19
255/50 - 17~19
265/35 - 19~22 (I have these on my rear wheels)

I dont have a very huge budget and would rather not buy michilins but I also know that anything in 19" is horrendously expensive. Basic requirements are the sidewall to be bigger, dont want to go huge on the front (265/35) because my poor steering rack will kill itself. Can you guys please suggest something? And also suggest where I can get the best deal as well, this is the first time I am doing this.

The Mondeo is just standing there and I hate to see her like that, I want this done asap and any help would be greatly appereciated.

Thank you!

[revtech]

to increase the profile you would have to actually go smaller in the width to keep the same ratio and avoid speedo error.

you want to keep the rims safe so i guess your sticking with them.from the options youve been given the 265/35 is the the best fit to your original size but doesn help cause the profile remains 35 and you dont want 265 in the front.


rev

[nitrous]

Is 215/40/R19 available?

[quickdraw]

No 215/40 is not available with the people I asked, or maybe they didnt push it to me. Any idea where I can get it?

[faithless_1984]

How about Maxxis tires ?

They have the following sizes in 19

215/35R 19
225/35R 19
235/35R 19
245/35R 19
255/40R 19

MA-Z1 Victra

[quickdraw]

I dont know about Maxxis pricing, I would not mind them at all. But my basic need of a bigger side wall isnt fulfilled. Except bearing the 245/35 & 255/35.

Please guys go ahead and recommend dealers in Mumbai/Pune for my needs.

[reignofchaos]

Please drop down to a more sane 17" if you want your tyres to last. With 19" rims, tyres won't last too long - atleast not in India.

[Nikhilb2008]

Look, from what I know, you will NOT get any proper tyres in those sizes.

Everything available is grey market stuff. Be it Maxxis or Yokohama. Plus, your ride quality will be atrocious.

There is no major advantage, make that NO advantage, on 19". As ROC said, drop down to 17" wherein a plethora of options open up. All legal tyres will B&W. Yokohama A drive R1s(not recommended for your blackbird ), Ad07s, Advan Sports, Michelin Pilot Preceda, Continental, etc...

Ride quality will be better and the grip will be just as good because you anyway dont plan on going larger than 235 or 245.

This is my sincere suggestion. If I'm wrong on any point, I'm open to corrections

EDIT: I vaguely seem to recall that some Michelin tyres are available in 19"(legal, with B&W). I'll let Ishan correct me if I'm wrong.

[Mpower]

hi profile on a 19 will look like a tracktor wheel

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

Please drop down to a more sane 17" if you want your tyres to last. With 19" rims, tyres won't last too long - atleast not in India.

Same thing came to my mind. Ask the seller to give you the OE rims or go buy a set of 17s. That way you can throw the car around the curves enjoy it rather than driving with your heart in your mouth.
You can then sell your 19 to the Q7 types.

[sukiwa]

@ quickdraw:

In order to have bigger sidewall, one can't just only increase tyre width.
If you need bigger sidewall, drop wheel size to 17" or 16" wheels.

Was this 19" upgrade meant for race track or else?

Tyre Gurus:
What was stock tyre size for mondeo? Was it 205/55R16?

[quickdraw]

Guys thanks for so much feedback, it kinda makes me smile that there are so many good people here to help when you need it.

I cannot change the RIMS. I am in love with them, and I am more then sure there will be no one here who will buy them for what they're worth. I have a daily driver car and I rarely take out the SR-71. For me she is like a show car she is just pampared, taken out sometimes at night usually when I can let go off all the horses on known roads.

I really would rather stick to my 19". I just want a little bigger sidewall thats it. I dont mind the brand or is it grey market as such.

The Michilins are sold with warrenty but its useless because they wont do anything for sidewall balloons.

@regins : The tyres dont have issues its just the damned roads. Wear wise my tyre had 7~8k kms to go before the dreaded sidewall balloon popped up.

@nikhil : Thanks for your inputs and thanks for calling her by her name

@mpower : I dont think there is anyone who will be buying the OZ's for what they're worth and I dont want people to make horrendous "offers" for them it will hurt me way too much. The OE rims arnt available and the car isnt used that extensively (for now)

@sukiwa : 19" are there for the P.I.M.P quotient. Us people arnt blessed with a track sadly, but if there was one you will surely find the blackbird there with the owner making a *** of himself on a bike on the track!

[Indian1979]

Originally Posted by quickdraw

Currently running : 235/35 19

Options given to me were

245/45 - 18~19
255/50 - 17~19
265/35 - 19~22 (I have these on my rear wheels)

The stock on Mondeo's in India were 205/55 R16.

Your current front set up just marginally passes through the 3-4% plus or minus allowance to upgrade tyres without causing suspension and braking issues. ( as discussed here http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...-your-car.html )

The options listed by you and your rear set up could cause extensive damage to your suspension as well as harm your brakes.

[reignofchaos]

In that case you'd only get Michelin PS2. You can try 255/40 ZR19 but not sure if you'd have scraping issues while turning.

Here are the available sizes

Michelin India - Pilot Sport 2

[iraghava]

Originally Posted by Nikhilb2008

EDIT: I vaguely seem to recall that some Michelin tyres are available in 19"(legal, with B&W). I'll let Ishan correct me if I'm wrong.

Yaar dukaan tum chalao aur correct mein karoon eh? Not fair, everyone here thinks I'm some sort of tyre dealer and keeps asking where my shop is.

But yeah, you're right Michelin does carry 19" for the Porsche's, his tyre are also the same spec. Specifically they are N-spec which are specially prodced for fitment on Porsche cars and built to their standards & tolerances.

Originally Posted by Mpower

Ask the seller to give you the OE rims or go buy a set of 17s. That way you can throw the car around the curves enjoy it rather than driving with your heart in your mouth.
You can then sell your 19 to the Q7 types.

Stock is 16" Deep, I doubt QD wants a wheel that small.

Originally Posted by quickdraw

I cannot change the RIMS. I am in love with them, and I am more then sure there will be no one here who will buy them for what they're worth. I have a daily driver car and I rarely take out the SR-71. For me she is like a show car she is just pampared, taken out sometimes at night usually when I can let go off all the horses on known roads.

I really would rather stick to my 19". I just want a little bigger sidewall thats it. I dont mind the brand or is it grey market as such.

If that is your final word QD then I'm sorry no one can help you. 19" wheels with 35 series profiles will NOT work in India at all. There is no way you can survive with such low-profile tyres for long given our road conditions.

There are only two options available for you from here 1 Get yourself a saner size in 17" (I still think that with the 2.0 Duratec engine, the 235/265 is massive overkill your car especially given that the hottest version of this generation the ST 220 with 222 bhp was sold with 225/40 R18 all around in the UK) or 2 Start buying cheap Chinese or Taiwanese etc tyres for your cars and replacing them as they keep busting every now & then.

See thing is, given the ultra-low sidewall you cannot expect ANY tyre to last too long in our conditions. If you do, it's not the tyres at fault, it's your faulty expectations.

Originally Posted by quickdraw

The Michilins are sold with warrenty but its useless because they wont do anything for sidewall balloons.

No company offering 19" in India is going to entertain a claim for a sidewall cut in a 19" tyre. They don't entertain claims for 14", forget 19".

Originally Posted by quickdraw

@regins : The tyres dont have issues its just the damned roads. Wear wise my tyre had 7~8k kms to go before the dreaded sidewall balloon popped up.

BINGO! Now you hit the nail on the head.

Originally Posted by quickdraw

@mpower : I dont think there is anyone who will be buying the OZ's for what they're worth and I dont want people to make horrendous "offers" for them it will hurt me way too much. The OE rims arnt available and the car isnt used that extensively (for now)

You're right there too. No one's gonna offer you any decent money for the 19"ers. No one wants them here unless the person has got dead smooth roads to drive on.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

In that case you'd only get Michelin PS2. You can try 255/40 ZR19 but not sure if you'd have scraping issues while turning.

Here are the available sizes

Michelin India - Pilot Sport 2

I do have some minor scraping issues now but only with full lock, so I can tolerate that. I dont operate the car on full lock even while reversing etc.

Originally Posted by iraghava

But yeah, you're right Michelin does carry 19" for the Porsche's, his tyre are also the same spec. Specifically they are N-spec which are specially prodced for fitment on Porsche cars and built to their standards & tolerances.

Exactly the rear's are the NO series which are Porsche Series.

Originally Posted by iraghava

Stock is 16" Deep, I doubt QD wants a wheel that small.

Its not exactly about want per-say.

Originally Posted by iraghava

If that is your final word QD then I'm sorry no one can help you. 19" wheels with 35 series profiles will NOT work in India at all. There is no way you can survive with such low-profile tyres for long given our road conditions.

I have explicitly mentioned that I want something bigger then 35 profile because I am facing issues, I guess you read me wrong there.

Originally Posted by iraghava

Chinese or Taiwanese etc tyres for your cars and replacing them as they keep busting every now & then.

Where, how? What brand/price?

Note:
I really am facing many issues with the 235/35 mainly for two reasons.

The sidewall is really really thin. At the bottom it must hardly be a inch!

The OZ's are extremely delicate and to save them I have already sacrificed the tyres by keeping the reccomended pressure low so the tyres take a beating.

I want something in 19" which has a bigger sidewall but dont want the width to be overkill like the 265 rear tyres. I want something cheap as well. Any brand will do and I dont mind if they are second hand as well. Right now I dont have the choice to change the rims etc. Hope I made myself clear. I am although extremely thankful for your valuable inputs on this.