I am having to buy new tires soon and want to upgrade from the stock 205/50/17 Pirelli Four Seasons that came with it.

My question is that im looking to go with a 225/45/17(wider tire) Does anyone have any experience on how bad gas mileage will suffer due to the upgrade?I put a lot of miles on my balt so its important to me.

Im running stock 06 SS Cobalt 2.4
Also if anyone has any suggestions on tires please hit this threat up.

 

.5-1 mpg at most. I have 225/45/17 Fuzion ZRi's, believe they are discontinued now. The extra weight is slightly noticeable at first during acceleration as this size weighs 2-4lbs more per tire than the stock 205's. You will forget about it after 1 day though, plus the added traction and handling benefits outweigh any cons of going to this size.

 

I just had some Goodyear Eagle Gt's thrown on my car what ever the stock tire size is for the Cobalt SS/SC beleive its 215/45/18 but im sure they make the same tire for your size. I have noticed a big improvement over the stock perellis even on just dry pavement. Rain conditions are awsome just waiting for some snow, we got tons of snow when i had my stock perellis lost month and now that i got these put on we have been getting rain... But I recomend these tires.

 

How do you like the Eagle GTs? Road noise any better over the Pirellis? Those are the tires I think im going with.

 

Running Michelin Pilot Sport AS+ @ P225/45R17 on stock rims. You will feel some sidewall flexing, but you get used to it.. make sure its at the right PSI though... them moment it gets low, if feels like your driving in mud. Since I got them, I havent been able to make them talk under normal driving like I could with my 205 Falkens. Only down side I know of the Eagle GT's is that they wear out fast.

 

Are you looking for a good all season tire or just a summer tire? I got the bfg super sports A/S tires on mine in 225/45/17 and they are a nice all year round tire, when I picked them up they felt lighter compared to my bald pirrelis, didn't weigh them or ne thing so can't be certain but if there is a weight difference it's not much

 

Mainly for Dry and wet weather. No snow. I am really trying to find something with decent tread life and low road noise.

Did gas mileage suffer too much with your BFGs 225s? Whats your average MPG at?

 

well i work at a tire shop and my first question to you would be why do you want to increase tire size if you mainly only do highway driving at normal speeds?

 

I put these on my car, driven on them foe 3 months
they are aswome on dry & wet roads and I even had a chance to try them in the snow, the traction in 4 inches was great

Goodyear Egale F-1 A/S

 

I love them so far. Road noise i havent really noticed a diffrence than with the stock perellis. The only thing i have noticed so far is turning feels kind of spongy with the Eagle GT's dunno if that makes any sense to you.... But I definitly noticed a little more cushion going over bumps.

 

gas mileage seems to be the same, i dunno what my average is, i vary from city driving one week and maybe all highway the next

 

Well to be honest mainly for looks and price. They are about the same. Maybe a few bucks off and I like the look of a wider tire. I figure the extra traction would be nice being that it rains all the time here as well.

I hate the road noise now that my stock pirellis are giving off now that they are worn in. And for the same price I could go for wider Eagle GTs for less than stock size Pirellis.

Being that you work at a tire shop, would you not recommend the upgrade in size? If not why?

 

Wider tires give you WORSE traction in the rain, sleet, ice, and snow (wider tire means a larger contact patch meaning lower engagement pressure). And wider tires will mean wider tread which will be louder as well.

If you aren't AutoX'ing or racing the car, stick with 205/50R17's.

 

Part of the reason is because 225 is a little wide for the stock 7" wide wheel. It's not way too wide, but it isn't optimal. Second is a reason you already mentioned....lowered gas mileage. That's pretty much it though, so if the pro's out weigh the cons for you, then I would recommend doing it.

p.s. I work in a tire shop too

 

probably is the only one dumd enough to buy tires before researching and put 215/45/17 they look "ok" but it looks that it need to be lower

 

i like my eagle gts all around pretty damn good

 

this is good advise...the road noise from those lower profile tires gets real old, real fast.

 

x2 i have 215 35 18s on my car and i cant stand the road noise and the bumps the little bumps in the road feel like massive speed bumps. dont go wider just a little bit taller. the fuzion zri is a great tire