225/40's on the rear for winter?

L

Leatherneck

Member
I am planning on changing my 18" Potenza run flats for tyres more suitable for winter (either all weather or winter tyres).

Has anyone used 225/40's on the rear instead of the usual 255/35's, or heard of others fitting them?

I have heard that they should fit the rear wheels (that I think are only 1/2 inch wider than fronts) and being narrower should be even better in snow etc. (as well as being cheaper too :) ).

Thanks

LN
 
Never used them but there is no reason why you can't. The rolling radius is almost identical and they will be ok on an 8.5 rim although they will leave it a little exposed to rim damage if you kerb it.
 
I use a set of 225/45/17 at all four corners on the appropriate wheels. I use the Hankook icebears. While not as fully dedicated to ice and snow as a set of Q rated supersoft blizzaks. They are a good compromise to "get you home safely" in the event of snow or ice. The are V rated. So will still allow one to enjoy a LITTLE bit of a spirited drive if the roads are clear. If however you are disciplined enough to stay away from the throttle pedal when it's not snowing. The blizzaks are top shelf. But will just about melt on dry roads and makes your car wallow about like you are on a waterbed.
 
No problem at all, though they tyres will not offer any rim protection whatsoever
 
Thats what i'm going to be putting on mine in November time as i already have a set of 4 225/40/18 Goodyear Ultragrip 2's that I had on my Audi A3 last winter.

At £600 for the set i'm certainly not forking out for 2x 255's for the rear, ill just have to be careful because as sars stated there will be no protection from kerbs as there will be a mild stretch on the rear tyres.
 
any snow and i will be using one of these
picanto-black.jpg
 
I just had a set of 2 x 225/40/18 and 2 x 255/35/18s fitted to 18" OEM staggered wheels and the numpty tyre fitter fitted the wrong tyres on each wheel, i.e. 255s on the 8.0s and 225s on the 8.5s. TBH they looked a bit too stretched for my liking although I know it's apparently within the safe tyre/wheel compatibility.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone.

I hadn't thought about the 'curb protection' offerred by the wider tyres, thats a good point, but I think as long as I am my usual careful self when it comes to parking by a kerb (after once in my younger days badly kerbing a set of alloys I had only bought the day before) the pros of the narrower tyres would outweigh the cons.

Regards

LN
 
For the sake of £80 when ordering my Falken winter tyres i went for 255/35 rears instead.
 
aquazi said:
For the sake of £80 when ordering my Falken winter tyres i went for 255/35 rears instead.
Click to expand...

If you're keeping the same rims then this is sensible - could cost you £80 to repair the damage from sliding into a kerb by accident, which can happen to anyone.
 
Bing said:
aquazi said:
For the sake of £80 when ordering my Falken winter tyres i went for 255/35 rears instead.
Click to expand...

If you're keeping the same rims then this is sensible - could cost you £80 to repair the damage from sliding into a kerb by accident, which can happen to anyone.
Click to expand...

Well some DIY refurb'ed 108's that i picked up.... but i plan to have them on Nov to say March, prob not in much snow (but who knows in this country!).. more cold weather... so i would prefer to have them with a wider rear for better non snow traction/ grip - and minimize getting the alloy lip damaged which even a deep pot hole hidden in snow/ ice could cause :x
 
aquazi, wider rear tyres will give you less grip, not more. Narrower tyre - more lbs/square inch of pressure. By reducing the footprint - so 17/225/40 - you put more weight on less rubber, therefore Ou have more grip. With the right tyres that work in low temps. Add a bag of sand in the boot and you will have a lot more traction than with 255s.
 
Bing said:
aquazi, wider rear tyres will give you less grip, not more. Narrower tyre - more lbs/square inch of pressure. By reducing the footprint - so 17/225/40 - you put more weight on less rubber, therefore Ou have more grip. With the right tyres that work in low temps. Add a bag of sand in the boot and you will have a lot more traction than with 255s.
Click to expand...

i dont get it!

I think narrower tyres in the snow would work better (extra weight to dig in over a smaller area) and promote traction, but surely in dry conditions the more surface contact you have will promote grip which is why we have the staggered offset in rear wheel drive no? :?
 
Dry conditions, I guess yes, but on snow, water, and cold icy/slushy roads you'd want the narrower tyres surely ?

TBH, I am just repeating learned knowledge (sars edukated me :P ) and using the recommended set up. I guess in this country the winter tyre compound is most important, but I'd still stick a bag of sand in the boot 8)
 
My winters are 225 all round as that's what BMW recommend. I'll also have one if my summer wheels in the boot for a bit of extra weight on the rear
 
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