Front tyre sizes. How big can you go? Whats best?

[Tonylmiller]

Pirate, here's a FACT about tires .... not ALL 175/60-15's are the exact same size .... some will fit ( like the Cross-Climmate ) but not All ..... The manufacture's of tires are using a nominal mathematical formula ..... they don't / can't always make them that size ..... over to you Peter ..... Mike :thumbup:

In the end, the mold determines the final tire dimensions for a given wheel and inflation pressure. But every tire size has tolerances. The tire manufactures do have control over it, but the size will vary within those tolerances. For example, if a certain tire maker wants to save on materials, they can target the low side of tolerances.

So yes, there will be some differences among tires which are the same nominal size. But it is not based on some mathematical formula. It is based on the dimensions of the mold.

 

[Isopedella]

Ta for that pressure advice, especially backing it off a touch after a time.

re the "LESS than a 4psi increase means your cold start pressure was too HIGH, drop a psi out before your next ride; while MORE than a 4psi increase means your cold start pressure was too LOW, so add a psi before your next ride" :2thumbs: I was aware than a underinflated tyre will heat up and eventually cause a catastrophic tyre failure of the sidewalls and deflate without ceremony. So that makes a lot of sense.

I have a 90 minute ride to get the alignment sorted so I will stop at Patea which is about 1 hr into it and see if I get the Majic 4 psi. There are many sets of corners with much lower speed advisory signs along the way so it will be an interesting ride back home. :yes: Could be fun.

Any thoughts on Bobs comment to me that he believes on our local road type construction with the coarse chip and tar compounds used here the non directional tyre is a better choice? No concrete and the hot mix is not the norm for quite a bit of it. Mostly chip. He is a big fan of that Solus.

 

[Peter Aawen]

......

Any thoughts on Bobs comment to me that he believes on our local road type construction with the coarse chip and tar compounds used here the non directional tyre is a better choice? No concrete and the hot mix is not the norm for quite a bit of it. Mostly chip. He is a big fan of that Solus.

.......

I'd tend to agree - in my experience, directional tire treads that've been designed with a specific surface or traction situation in mind generally work best at that task, and it's usually at either of the further ends of the 'surface quality & traction' scale as applicable.... Tractor tires, sand paddles, ice spiked tires & their like, running various directional tread patterns designed to suit each of their specific low traction surfaces at one end; with High Performance 'directional tread' tires designed specifically for the modern smooth Highways, Freeways, & Autobahns etc working brilliantly under most conditions they might meet on those surfaces at the other end..... hyea: . But just like the tractor tires won't work all that well on those roads designed for high speed travel; the High Performance directional tread tires tend not to work nearly so well on those surfaces where their softer compound tread pattern & siping gets rapidly chewed away by aggressive chip surfaces, or instead may rapidly become filled with the cloying sticky tar goop &/or millions of those little stone chips that get stuck into every gap, just chewing away at it, & not letting go &/or being pumped out or flung out as the tire rotates at the (much??) slower speeds the tires tend to be turning at on those less than ideal roads!! :gaah: . Make sense?? :dontknow:

And yeah, I can see why he's a fan - those 'All Season non-directional' Kumho's that we get on this side of the World do really seem to work & last pretty well on this chip seal stuff regardless of the weather - just so long as you get their pressures reasonably close to 'right' for your riding, loads, etc on the surfaces & in the conditions that you ride on/in! :lecturef_smilie: . Mind you, it's not that there's a great variation in that pressure range, but you'd be surprised how much difference a variation of just 2 psi can make in the overall traction you get or in the life of a tire on these pretty aggressive surfaces!! :shocked: . And of course, there are other 'non-directional' tires that work well too, albeit possibly with slightly different specialities &/or strengths; some of the Michelin offerings, Hankooks, Coopers, & even Dunlop & Bridgestone spring to mind, but there's a lot more that can work & last really well.... just no Kendas that I'm aware of - yet! :sour:

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I'd tend to agree - in my experience, directional tire treads that've been designed with a specific surface or traction situation in mind generally work best at that task, and it's usually at either of the further ends of the 'surface quality & traction' scale as applicable.... Tractor tires, sand paddles, ice spiked tires & their like, running various directional tread patterns designed to suit each of their specific low traction surfaces at one end; with High Performance 'directional tread' tires designed specifically for the modern smooth Highways, Freeways, & Autobahns etc working brilliantly under most conditions they might meet on those surfaces at the other end..... hyea: . But just like the tractor tires won't work all that well on those roads designed for high speed travel; the High Performance directional tread tires tend not to work nearly so well on those surfaces where their softer compound tread pattern & siping gets rapidly chewed away by aggressive chip surfaces, or instead may rapidly become filled with the cloying sticky tar goop &/or millions of those little stone chips that get stuck into every gap, just chewing away at it, & not letting go &/or being pumped out or flung out as the tire rotates at the (much??) slower speeds the tires tend to be turning at on those less than ideal roads!! :gaah: . Make sense?? :dontknow:

And yeah, I can see why he's a fan - those 'All Season non-directional' Kumho's that we get on this side of the World do really seem to work & last pretty well on this chip seal stuff regardless of the weather - just so long as you get their pressures reasonably close to 'right' for your riding, loads, etc on the surfaces & in the conditions that you ride on/in! :lecturef_smilie: . Mind you, it's not that there's a great variation in that pressure range, but you'd be surprised how much difference a variation of just 2 psi can make in the overall traction you get or in the life of a tire on these pretty aggressive surfaces!! :shocked: . And of course, there are other 'non-directional' tires that work well too, albeit possibly with slightly different specialities &/or strengths; some of the Michelin offerings, Hankooks, Coopers, & even Dunlop & Bridgestone spring to mind, but there's a lot more that can work & last really well.... just no Kendas that I'm aware of - yet! :sour:

:agree: .. and let me add that I have never heard of anyone with a Spyder riding on " Chip Seal " surfaces had a good outcome. Tires are not the issue or answer to this type of environment. Chip Seal roads ar5e going to do what Chip Seal roads do .... THROW sticky crap, having a good drive belt shield is your only defense. .... good luck .... Mike :thumbup:

 

[Rattlebars]

Without altering anything ..... don't go larger than 165/60-15 ..... There are ZERO benefits to go wider front or rear, because MORE traction will actually upset the Nanny sooner... I learned after fitting ( not easy ) 185/50-15 Toyo Proxes 1 r tires ... Mike :thumbup:

as per mike's earlier recommendation I bought and installed Toyo Proxes T 185/55-15 and the nanny on my 2016 loves them as much as I do. No complaints from her at all. Ridden in all sorts of weather, no hydroplaning, grip like glue in all conditions & allows turning sharper & faster in all turns & curves. Slight mods on the fenders to accommodate. Details @ the link in my sig.