Are low profile tyres a bad idea?

dillo2k10

Hi,

My dad just bought me a new set of allows for my car, but they have low profile tyres on them.

Will the tyres cause any problems? I was told that it makes you feel every little bump in the road! And puncture very easily.

I like the look of them but don't know if they are practical.

Any advice appreciated.

WestWing

Will you get more road feedback - yes.

Are you more likely to get a puncture - possibly.

VinnyTGM

Personally I prefer the feel of low profile tyres, just take it handy on bad roads and as always avoid potholes.

Zubeneschamali

dillo2k10 wrote: »

I like the look of them but don't know if they are practical.

You are a bit more likely to wreck a tyre or wheel on a pothole, but the biggest drawback is that tyres will cost more.

gizmo555

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

You are a bit more likely to wreck a tyre or wheel on a pothole, but the biggest drawback is that tyres will cost more.

No, the biggest drawback is that they make the ride so bloody uncomfortable.

coylemj

gizmo555 wrote: »

No, the biggest drawback is that they make the ride so bloody uncomfortable.

+1 Expect a kick up in the arse every time you go over a rut or tarmac bump left behind by the cable companies.

Honourable exception: Sierra.

Nissan doctor

Low profile is a very vague term though. How good or bad road feel will be depends on the exact profile of the tyres, the cars suspension, the weight of the car itself etc etc...

Anyone with any mechanical sympathy for their car will be avoiding bad bumps/potholes etc anyway so there shouldn't be any difference with alloys.

My yoke has 225 45 18s and it's quite comfy, admittedly one does feel little bumps but it's not at all uncomfortable.

coylemj

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Low profile is a very vague term though. How good or bad road feel will be depends on the exact profile of the tyres, the cars suspension, the weight of the car itself etc etc...

Anyone with any mechanical sympathy for their car will be avoiding bad bumps/potholes etc anyway so there shouldn't be any difference with alloys.

Take your point ND but if a cable company digs a trench from one side of the road to the other, it's pretty diffcult to avoid driving over the rut or tarmac bump they leave behind.

On some roads like the Rock road in Dublin where there isn't huge HGV traffic (to flatten the bumps), you can be driving over the same bump day in day out for a few years afterwards. There is exactly such a 'speed bump' outbound just after you pass Frank Keane BMW (formerly Maxwell Motors).

I recently changed from low profile (45) to 60 and believe me, there is a difference.

There's no doubt there's a difference, low profiles aren't half as bad as folks are making them out to be here though.

sidewaysdrivin

have had 225/40/18's on a passat for years not a bother, i got a puncture once when i drive into a crater the size of a small car.... what i love is the handling, you dont get this rolling feeling with a low profile, they stick to the road a lot better

depends on what car its going on, and what size alloys, width and profile you have, the tyres might not suit.... for instance a low profile on a 15" alloy on a passat wont suit

wickan

You need to realise you have a puncture pretty quick or you will totally destroy the tire happened to me twice

sidewaysdrivin

wickan wrote: »

You need to realise you have a puncture pretty quick or you will totally destroy the tire happened to me twice

depends on how low of a profile you have, the lower the profile the harder the sidewall, and in effect you get a runflat idea, blowouts are kinda like oh theres an awful lot of roadnoise all of a sudden and the car's power is kinda gone a bit...
whereas blowouts with a high profile tyre the car drops about 3 foot and nearly puts ya in over the ditch with the skew ya get

Nissan doctor

coylemj wrote: »

Take your point ND but if a cable company digs a trench from one side of the road to the other, it's pretty diffcult to avoid driving over the rut or tarmac bump they leave behind.

On some roads like the Rock road in Dublin where there isn't huge HGV traffic (to flatten the bumps), you can be driving over the same bump day in day out for a few years afterwards. There is exactly such a 'speed bump' outbound just after you pass Frank Keane BMW (formerly Maxwell Motors).

I recently changed from low profile (45) to 60 and believe me, there is a difference.

I can't imagine any excuse for damaging wheels on a bump you drive over every day, you know its there so just drive over it at an appropriate speed.

Yes it can be difficult if its a road your not familiar with but constantly reading the road ahead will see you avoid the worst. My last car had 19" alloys with very low profile tyres and, while you had to be mindfull on everything but perfect surfaces, I never had a problem with them.


The problem, I think, is that people have the impression that damaging wheels on potholes is 'normal'. My view, if someone hits something hard enough to damage their car, they have crashed. It may be a pothole, it may be a wall, its all the same. If someone couldn't avoid hitting a pothole, then they wouldn't have been able to avoid any other obstacle that could have been in the potholes place.

Ardennes1944

My frotn two are 225/35/18 and the rears are 40 and i find them perfectly ok.

EPM

Been driving on them for the last 5 years covering about 200k km in that time and I've never had a problem related to the profile of the tyre. I am however careful on poor roads.

I don't find my cars ride too firm, although it is a little at low speeds and while tyre costs are higher because of the size if you shop around you can find decent deals.

dgt

I use 205/40R17s on lowered springs and other bits and bobs.

Comfort? My arse will get sore after very long journeys (in excess of 300 miles) but generally stay to the good roads and you won't notice the difference

Wet performance? Be careful on wet roads, wide tyres with little flex are a recipe for aquaplaning (been there, done that)

Punctures? Drove home in the snow on a completely flat tyre (my fault for not checking if it had a spare). It held its shape very well (who needs runflats?)

Handling? Droolworthy

Prices? Tyres for me are £60 a shot, it pays to shop around

Nissan doctor

dgt wrote: »

I use 205/40R17s on lowered springs and other bits and bobs.

Comfort? My arse will get sore after very long journeys (in excess of 300 miles) but generally stay to the good roads and you won't notice the difference

Wet performance? Be careful on wet roads, wide tyres with little flex are a recipe for aquaplaning (been there, done that)

Punctures? Drove home in the snow on a completely flat tyre (my fault for not checking if it had a spare). It held its shape very well (who needs runflats?)

Handling? Droolworthy

Prices? Tyres for me are £60 a shot, it pays to shop around

Aquaplaning is much more down the the brand of tyre rather then the width of tyre.;)

Compton

runnin 55's at the minute so much more comfortable than 35s I have too! even though the others look a lot better I can't be bothered changing back!

dgt

Nissan doctor wrote: »

Aquaplaning is much more down the the brand of tyre rather then the width of tyre.;)

True, I use budget summer stuff

Less flex don't help though! :pac:

bazz26

I have 40s on the front and 35s on the rear with 18" rims for the last year and have no problems with them other than one puncture. Ride was hard alright but that was mostly down to the stiffer walls of the now retired run flat tyres. I am careful though as I am more concerned about ruining an alloy wheel than just replacing a tyre.

Really depends on the roads you are driving however. I drive pretty decent roads except for the last 2km to my house.

Paulw

I have 245/45/zr18 tyres.

I blew one, doing 100kph on the M50. Barely even noticed it in the driving response (rear left) but it did sound bad. I ran through a metal strip which went through the tyre. But, driving on the tyre shredded the side walls.

Expensive to replace.

I don't find the drive bad, don't mind doing distance, and grip is good.

Anan1

RoverJames wrote: »

There's no doubt there's a difference, low profiles aren't half as bad as folks are making them out to be here though.

I think it varies a lot from car to car. When a car has had its suspension designed around a low profile tyre it's generally fine, but some cars have very firm suspension from the factory and they might rely on the extra compliance of a taller sidewall.

dillo2k10

Anan1 wrote: »

RoverJames wrote: »

There's no doubt there's a difference, low profiles aren't half as bad as folks are making them out to be here though.

I think it varies a lot from car to car. When a car has had its suspension designed around a low profile tyre it's generally fine, but some cars have very firm suspension from the factory and they might rely on the extra compliance of a taller sidewall.

I drive an old focus (01) so I'm sure it wasn't made for low profiles.

Eoin

I had 18" tires a few years ago, but can't remember the important measurements. 215/45/18 seems to ring a bell, but not 100% sure.

Although I obviously tried to avoid potholes, it wasn't always possible and I got a fair few punctures - can't remember exactly, but I reckon I had at least 2 or 3 a year. I didn't get any at all in the next car that had a larger wall in the 2.5 years I owned it.

I'd definitely second the reduction in comfort; it really wasn't worth it.

Dilbert75

Mine are "only" 55 section but, having driven a similar car with 50 tyres, but with non-sports suspension, I find that the stiffness of the suspension has a bigger influence on comfort than the tyrewall height.

challengemaster

Nissan doctor wrote: »

I can't imagine any excuse for damaging wheels on a bump you drive over every day, you know its there so just drive over it at an appropriate speed.

Yes it can be difficult if its a road your not familiar with but constantly reading the road ahead will see you avoid the worst. My last car had 19" alloys with very low profile tyres and, while you had to be mindfull on everything but perfect surfaces, I never had a problem with them.


The problem, I think, is that people have the impression that damaging wheels on potholes is 'normal'. My view, if someone hits something hard enough to damage their car, they have crashed. It may be a pothole, it may be a wall, its all the same. If someone couldn't avoid hitting a pothole, then they wouldn't have been able to avoid any other obstacle that could have been in the potholes place.

I'll have to disagree with that. There's plenty of potholes that can be filled with rain and just look like a puddle, and unless you know it's there from habitually driving on that road in good weather... you won't notice it until you hit it. If you were to try dodge every little puddle on the road in Ireland, you'd stop driving after 2 minutes Combine that with night time... it's just not possible to see every bump or pothole in the road all the time. To say that you didn't avoid hitting it means you'd have hit anything else that was there doesn't make sense, unless it's a ninja being invisible :pac: