I have the latest Honda Accord with the optional 17 inch alloy wheels. The car was delivered with Mitchelin Pilot 225/45/R17. I had not realised they would give so much more road noise, especially at higher speeds.After a short time I changed the tyres to Bridgestone Er 300 Touring tyres 225/45/R17. Noise levels in and around town were much improved but not at higher speeds.
Not sure to revert to the standard 15 inch alloys with 195/65 R15 or try to find a tyre they will run quieter on the 17 inch alloys than the current Bridgestones.
I have heard that Continental tyres are very quiet albeit soft and wear out quicker.
At the moment I am leaning towards going for the 15 inch tyres and although this would lose some grip should give me a quietr ride over the 17 inch wheel size.
Your comments please.
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Thought the standard Accord wheel size was 16". There was an earlier post about Accord wheel sizes:
Accord - do 17" wheels mess up its ride? - Vista1100 Wed 5 Jan 05 09:55
(Sorry, I know there's a better way a including a link to another post.)
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The Tourer diesel comes with 16" wheels, as standard. I think that also applies to diesel saloons. Petrol saloons have 15" wheels.
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by changing to a smaller size you will definitely notice a loss of grip, and you will also notice a lot of understeer. if you are so keen to dispose of good tyres, why not try either the goodyear F1. the quietest tyre i have ever driven on, or the dunlop SP01. When the SP01 was demonstrated to me I was amazed how quiet the tyre was. You are obviously from the wealthy south to be able to afford three expensive sets of boots in such a short time...
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"by changing to a smaller size you will definitely notice a loss of grip" is not true of the Accord. 16" are fine. 17" may look better but mess the whole thing up. Whichever of the three engines or two transmissions or two bodies the car may have.
HJ
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No one has questioned the tyre pressure. What pressure are you using and where did you get the figure from. Regards Peter
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I disagree that smaller tyres give less grip, ones which are too large for the design of the car give less grip, especially when cornering on less-than-perfect surfaces.
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Tyre presuures are always as per the Honda recomendation as duplicated on the drivers door post. They are 33 /32 psi f/r.
It all seems to point to the wheels size as mentioned by other authors.
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Thanks for your comments. The standard fit wheels for my particular Honda Accord model which is the 2 litre excecutive model are 15 inch and not 16 inch. I suppose if anything the road noise factor will reduce more on 15 inch than 16 inch. I am interested to know how the 15 inch wheels will affect grip? I am already leaning towards going back to the 15 inch wheel set and would be interested to know what tyres would give the quieter ride.
Katja
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There will be more noise from the 17" wheels as not only is it a smaller sidewall but the 17 s also come with a wider tyre (our fleet manager has a saloon on 17s). Mine is a diesel on 16" Michelin Pilot Sports and there is very little noise (except concrete roads) and rarely experience understeer.
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What can't be denied is that 16 inchers on a car as slab-sided as the Accord look plain undersized. The 17" option loses the fleet-car look and gives off some sports-saloon vibes.
Personally, I don't find the combination of 17" wheels and extremely firm damping on my 04 Civic Type-R remotely uncomfortable, and that's some statement as I do most of my miles in London and the South East. A supportive seat is far important for driver comfort than feeling the odd bump through your backside.
Yer' all soft I reckon...
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