Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
View Threaded
Tue 2 Oct 2012 12:28
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - Penner

I bought my 2008 Hyundai i30 Premium diesel as a used car, a few months ago. I'm delighted with the car, except for the harshness of the ride, which I'm sure is due to the low profile tyres (225/45R17 on wheels 7.0Jx16).

Good quality new tyres will cost me about £150 each. So far as I can see, for not much more money I could buy a new set of (non-Hyundai) alloy wheels and put the car on to higher profile tyres, which are considerably cheaper. The following tyres are specified for other i30 models:

185/65R15
195/65R15
205/55R16

It seems to me that this would improve the ride of the car and - in the long run - save me money on future tyre changes.

I'm not very tech savvy on this matter. Could it be done without problems? Would I have to advise my insurers that the car has been modified in this way?

Many thanks for any advice!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Oct 2012 12:41
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - unthrottled

Check that the smaller wheels will clear the brake calipers.

The change of overall diameter is pretty small so don't need to worry too much about speedo accuracy.

If you change to a narrower whee, you need to make sure that the offset (ET) isn't too far removed from the OEM wheel.

Finally, you need to make sure that the stud pattern of your chosen wheel matches that of the hub!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Oct 2012 13:32
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - daveyjp

Buy your tyres elsewhere - £150 seems OTT.

I never paid more than £90 for the same size for Audi and Jaguar and this included Goodyears and Pirellis. I tend to use camskill.co.uk.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Oct 2012 14:17
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - thunderbird

Camskill do 225/45 x17 from £46.20 inc vat + postage but I would not put them on a wheelbarrow. However, for £66.70 they will supply a Khumo KH31 which is an excellent tyre.

If you swap the 15" or 16" you will obviously have to buy new wheels plus you will also have to inform your insurance company since you are modifying your car, this could make it an expensive swap.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Oct 2012 15:39
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - Penner

Thunderbird - many thanks. I note what you say about my insurance. I'll perhaps ask them whether this will push up my premium before I go ahead.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Oct 2012 15:38
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - Penner

Thanks daveyjp. If I stay with the current wheels I'll definitely do a bit more shopping around!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Tue 2 Oct 2012 15:37
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - Penner

Thanks very much for that help, unthrottled. I've looked at a couple of websites that sell alloy wheels - if they are specified for the i30 do you think I can be confident about the brake calipers, the stud pattern and the offset (what is that?) are correct?

The ones I've been looking at are branded Wolfrace.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 4 Oct 2012 00:06
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - MikeTorque

The highest tyre wall will provide the most comfortable ride. For that you need to use 195/65R15 tyres and 15" rims.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Thu 4 Oct 2012 12:06
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - Talking Hoarse

I use 195-65x15 winter tyres (on genuine i30 rims) on my i30 in place of 205-55x16 tyres. I dont notice any improvement in ride - but then I run tyres quite hard at about 36psi. However there is very little clearance between the front wheel rims & brake calipers - so beware aftermarket 15" rims & even stick on weights. Also - ensure you have correct wheel nuts /bolts for any aftermarket rims.

Edited by Talking Hoarse on 04/10/2012 at 12:07

Reply | Report as offensive | Link
Fri 5 Oct 2012 09:02
Hyundai i30 - Getting rid of low profile tyres - paulc924

How come your car has 17 inch tyres fitted to 16 inch wheels?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

From choosing the right tyre to what to do when it goes wrong - we have the answers.

Tyre News And Advice