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Sick of my Elantra Low Profile Tires

54K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  Gduranko 
#1 ·
I have put 2 sets of 215/45/R17 tires on my 2012 Elantra Limited, and am sick of the crappy low profile tires. Ride is rough and noisy. My last set I had some General tires on and have gotten around 60k on them with only one side wall blow out hitting a pothole in a Popeye's drive thru. I have read some posts in the forum about different tire sizes that can give more rubber between the rim and road. I talked to a tire dealer, and he says he can put a 215/50/R17 on it and it will give me about 3/4 of an inch more rubber. However, I have been thinking about putting 15 inch rims on and solving the problem all together because I am not sure I will be satisfied with the extra 3/4 of an inch. If anybody has any recommendations I would appreciate.
 
#2 ·
I have a '14 Elantra limited with the 17 inch rims. Last week my car was in the shop for a head liner rattle and I was given two loaner cars, both elantras. One was a base model with 15" rims, the other had 16" rims.
Both cars rode significantly more smoothly than mine and had WAY less road noise!

There are several dips in the road on my daily commute that I must slow down to ~10 MPH otherwise my car will crash/clunk/bang over them. I was able to drive the same route in the loaner Elantras and go ~30 MPH without sounding like the wheels were going to crack in half, lol.

I am now considering buying a set of 15" wheels for road trips just because of the difference in road noise.

I should mention that my car and the loaners I drove all had stock Hankook tires. I cant imagine the difference in ride quality and road noise if the smaller wheels were equiped with some decent tires!

Hope this helped!
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply. It supports what I have felt and been dissatisfied with all along. I put 215/50/R17 tires on my Elantra last Saturday, instead of the 215/45/R17 that was on it, and it has been fine, with no rubbing, and I have a little more rubber between rim and road.
 
#4 ·
Other Tire Solutions

Replacing worn out tires with new ones regardless of size or brand most often results in dramatic decreases in road noise.

Recently I got a little water in my car and removed it so it could dry out properly. While it was out I ordered some Cache sound absorber from Amazon. So far I have only done the floor from bumper to firewall and not the doors. Also I applied absorber to the inside of much of the plastic trim that had to be removed to get to the carpet. Previously I had installed some KDM (Korean Domestic Market) insulation of the soft fluffy type which did some good but the Cache asphaltic/TPM absorber had much more effect. The difference in road noise is dramatic. I have lowered the radio volume by 4 and get the same apparent loudness. Just got back from a long road trip. I could maintain a conversation with my wife in the back without raising my voice. These improvements have all occurred without addressing the doors (I ran out and had to order more). I fully expect a similar improvement once the doors are done. I am riding on 17" Michelins that weren't cheap which may have some effect. Will report back once the doors are done.
 
#7 ·
I hate my 17" low profile tires. A couple of years ago I needed a new tire and when they balanced it the tire shop informed me that I had a bent rim. Rather than buy a new rim, they sent it in to a company that could straighten rims. Now 2 yrs later, I just bought 2 new all season tires for the front and whala...the same story. Different tire shop. Slightly different story. Repair person noted that both rims are bent but the bead holds air OK so replacement is optional. It's a little tough to change to 15 or 16 inch rims after you've just bought & mounted 2 new 17 inch tires. Anyhow, before buying my next set of any new tires I hope to buy new rims in either 15 or 16 inch sizing.

My question is: Has anyone run into problems when switching to smaller wheels & taller tires and interference issues with brake calipers, rotors or struts? The technician at the tire shop just mentioned that this could be a problem on some vehicles. Since the GT package I got with my car upgraded the tires from 16" to 17", I wouldn't expect a problem but it seems every time I don't check on things like this, it comes back to bite me in the ass.
 
#8 ·
I have a 2014 Coupe with 17" wheels and haven't had any issues regarding bent rims. I also bought 17" steel wheels to mount snowtires on and again no issues yet. Both sets of tires are stock 215/45/17 size. My wife has an Elantra GT with stock 17" wheels and same size tires, no issues yet.

For snow tire package on my wife's Elantra GT, I ordered 15" steel wheels and a 195/60/15 snow tires. It's a smoother ride compared to my 17" tire/wheel combo.

If you drive in an area where potholes (or other rim damaging environments) are bending the rims, then moving to a tire/wheel combo with a much larger tire sidewall may be the answer. You may want to consider an alternate route if that's feasible.

If the air pressure gets low, this reduces the ability of the tire to absorb impacts to the rim.

Hope this helps and keep us in the loop.
 
#9 ·
2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited Tires - Want to Upgrade

Like others here, the low profile tires are punishing. I see some folks have gone to 215/50-17 tires and have been pleased. Would it be too much to go up to 215/55-17 tires or would there be problems with rubbing anywhere?

Also, are there any suggestions that might have to do with upgrading the suspension that would smooth out the ride even further?

Thanks!
J
 
#10 ·
Like others here, the low profile tires are punishing. I see some folks have gone to 215/50-17 tires and have been pleased. Would it be too much to go up to 215/55-17 tires or would there be problems with rubbing anywhere?

Also, are there any suggestions that might have to do with upgrading the suspension that would smooth out the ride even further?

Thanks!
J
Anyone?
 
#11 ·
Switching rim sizes

I'm getting much more serious about going to a smaller rim and taller tires to help with a better ride, less road noise and bent rims from pot holes (since I have 2 bent rims now). Tire rack.com makes it look easy but in researching it further from posts on these forums, it appears the offset of our stock rims is 53mm and most of their common rims are in the 40 to 45mm range. Has anyone who's gone to a 15" or 16" run into a problem from the different offset.

Also, I saw a post somewhere about the tire pressure monitoring system sensors not lining up or syncing with different size rims. Can anyone shed some light on this issue?

If I switch to a smaller rim I was thinking about going all the way down from 17" to a 15" rim for getting the most rubber between me and the road.

I'd like any information I can get from anyone who's done this downsizing.

Thanks in advance.
 
#14 ·
I have a 2011 Elantra (Limited), in need of new tires and I'm looking into alternative tires for a smoother/quieter ride.

I'm just a little hesitant in switching as like others. Has anyone who's changed to the 215/50/17 (from the 215/45/17) have any problems in the long run after switching? Any problems with fit or noticeable effects to the speedometer readings, or any steering, braking and handling issues?

Thanks!
 
#16 ·
Low profile tires suck! Unless your mario andretti

First lets look at tires size and what that means 215/45/R17. The first number 215 is a metric number or 215 millimeters and measures the from sidewall to sidewall on the tire.

The second number is a percentage. In this case 45%. For example, in a size P215/45 R15 tire, the 45 means that the height is equal to 45% of the tire's width. The bigger the aspect ratio, the bigger the tire's sidewall will be. 45% of the 215 millimeters = 96.75 milimeter.

Switching to a to a P215/50 R15 will increase your sidewall 215 x 50% = 107.5 mm. So you would go from a sidewall height of 96.75 mm to 107.5 mm. A increase of 10.75 mm. To convert to inches here is the formula. 10.75 mm x 0.03937007874 = .42 inches which is almost 1/2 inch.

Not sure less than 1/2 inch of sidewall is going to result in a much smoother ride but it will help.

THE LOW PROFILE TIRES ARE MADE FOR GRIP NOT RIDE. BUT THEY LOOK COOL BECAUSE YOU CAN USE A LARGER RIM. UNLESS YOUR GOING TO THE TRACK NEVER BUY A CAR WITH LOW PROFILE TIRES. I was given a loaner car from a dealer with these low profile tires while mine was in the shop. I drove about a half mile turned around and told the dealer that I cannot drive 200 miles with a car that rides like a lumber wagon, the idiot from the dealership argued with me and so I made him go for a ride in that car and then in another with regular tires and he couldnt believe the difference. And he sales cars?

ALSO BEWARE THAT THE PRICE OF THESE TIRES THAT ARE LOW PROFILE AND FIT A LARGER RIM ARE VERY EXPENSIVE. TO REPLACE A LOW PROFILE TIRE ON A CORVETTE IS GOING TO COST YOU UPWARDS OF $400 PER TIRE.
 
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