Slee256

Hey guys, I blew out 2 of my factory tires when I hit something on the highway the other day, so I just ordered 2 new aftermarket tires and had a question about how they will affect the operation of the car. The OEM tires are 215/45/18, but I ordered slightly larger 225/45/18 tires, which will be 10mm wider and about 5mm larger in radius. My mechanic is concerned that this may cause problems with the electronics, transmission, ABS function, or other sensors/gauges on the car, so I was wondering if anyone else has done this and if it has caused any problems in your experience. Thanks for your feedback!

jkennedy293

I wouln't do this. You will completely screw up the AWD. AWD cars require that all four tires be the exact same size and compound. Any variances will cause the ACD to wear out very quickly. This will also void your warranty on the drivetrain.

EricJ@AMS

iTrader: (1)

NO! You will wear out your ACD clutches, and eventually need a replacement transfer case at the tune of about $3300 plus installation and fluids.

SOG RA

iTrader: (7)

Nooooooo

Slee256

Great feedback guys, you potentially saved my butt! So, what if I order 2 of the exact same size as stock, but go with a different brand than the stock Yokohama's. In other words, I would be running the stock 215/45/18 tires on the front, with the new Continental 215/45/18(same stock size as the front) on the rear. Keep in mind my stock tires only have 6200 miles on them. Would that be OK?

EricJ@AMS

iTrader: (1)

That would be fine. As long as all of the tires circumference (rollout) is within a few tenths of a perfect, no damage will happen.

ralliartblitz

Get 4 new 225/18/45...

You will not believe how bad the stock tires are until you get rid of them.

They are worse than the all-seasons on the GTS.

03chi-town0Z

iTrader: (7)

we actually had a car come into the shop with acd-off condition because of different size tires. first off, i couldnt help but call the guy strange (in my head of course) for putting chrome 20s on a sportback in the first place (to each their own i guess), but the thing was, he had 225/30s on the front and 225/35s on the rear. only 5% sidewall diference (roughly 10mm) was enough to throw the car completely out of whack and make the dashboard light up like a christmas tree.

this is why tire rotation is also so important on such a sophisticated awd system. like eric said, rollout needs to be within a certain % difference or it will trip a warning.

Slee256

Thanks for everyone's help. I finally decided to go with a pair of these:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+ENVigor +%28W%29&partnum=145WR8ENV&vehicleSearch=false&fro mCompare1=yes

nyczlegacy

iTrader: (2)

arent our stock tires summer?

Slee256

Yes, but eventually I want to switch over to 4 all-season tires, so that's why I decided to go with all-season tires in replacing the two that I blew out. When it's time to replace one or both of my remaining 2 stock tires, I'll order 2 more all-season tires, and then all 4 of my tires will be the all-season type.

Slee256

Well, the new pair of Yokohama Avid Envigor tires finally came in and got installed this week, and so far I'm really liking them. I put both the new ones on the front rims, and moved the other 2 factory tires to the rear. I'm just sooooo glad to be back on the road again!