A softer ride

[Shrink]

Rather going against the grain here but have managed to find some 16 inch coloumba alloys in quest for softer ride for my 850 t5r .Now which tyre,is any particular tyre likely to result in less hard ride?

[john h]

Were 17 inch wheels the original fitment? If so, you may find that your insurance won't cover you with smaller wheels. Better to check.

[Shrink]

Thanks for that,sticky moment as already bought some Columbas off forum member here but no problem.Now any suggestions as to what tire?

[JoeC]

i always find Continental had a forgiving side wall which helped the ride. i went with sport contact III last time and they were great on 16's. HTH

[mikealder]

Just fitted a set of Avon ZZ3 tyres to my V70 it's on 17" rims and has transfomed the car, no harsh ride, no tramlining and little if any tyre noise, huge improvement, cost £367 from BlackCircle - Mike

[mixa]

I have Michelin 205/55/16primacy hp great ride on the V70 have them on my ST and the ride is very harsh due to the Imishcer sports suspension it has smaller wheel dia dont make much difference if any on sports springs as for insurance if the T5R was ever available with 16 in rims youll be ok anyway the other thing is your speedo will be out ,cant think which way at mo but will be out enough so easiest way around it is use a satnav to find out hqw far out and drive acordingly or recal clocks expensive
i have done it before by striping clocks ( removing front perspex pulling needle off and pushing back on at 20 mph on the sat then checked at 30/40 took a couple of goes to get it perfect ,use a private bit of road like i did, honest well there was no one else about

[JoeC]

or..... just get a bigger tyre so the overall rolling size if the wheel doesn't change.

Just a thought.

[GP1]

Originally Posted by Shrink

Now which tyre,is any particular tyre likely to result in less hard ride?

Michelin & Toyo have weak sidewall's, one last's a long time the other does'nt but grips more. Continental also has a soft wall and is in the middle of the other two for wear & grip. .

[foggyjames]

You'd be better off fitting softer springs and shocks if you want a softer ride. My S70 had "non-turbo" springs and shocks, and the ride quality on 15s and 17s was more or less identical, whereas the V70R (same size wheels and tyres) was much more firm. Of course it also went around corners a lot better!

cheers

James

[Shrink]

Thanks,have bought 16" alloys but not tyres yet.To be honest not really mechanically minded,is it difficult(ie expensive) to fit softer springs/ shocks?