Which rear tire size for 2017 RTL

[Wmoater]

I am confused. I have read a bunch of different posts and a bunch of people referred the Altimax to me as a good rear tire. I actually purchased an Altimax RT 215/60 R15. I had a bunch of people tell me this is a great tire and my dealer could get it really cheap for me. I just dropped my tire to have it swapped and he came out and told me a 225/50/R15 is on there. He said go back and ask and make sure this is ok. I just looked and a bunch of posts say R215/60 R15. Do I have the correct tire for a 2017 RTL? I just pulled my owners manual and found it does say 225/50/R15. My bad I guess should Havel looked there first. Is the 215/60/R15 OK?

 

[Lew L]

The 60 series will fit just fine and correct the speedometer at the same time.:riding:

 

[larryd]

I too run a 215/60/R15... Michelin Hydro Edge which they no longer make...My next tire will also be a 215/60/R15, Just not sure what brand...The 215/60/15 makes the speedometer almost right on...They also handle GREAT...You'll be very happy with the 60 series...larryd

 

[Wmoater]

215 is OK? I'll take it back and get it installed. He just wanted me to check before He did it. Once mounted he can't take the tire back.

Thanks guys

 

[Highwayman2013]

Yep, 215/60/15 is fine. We ran it on our RT and currently on our F3L.

 

[2dogs]

215 is OK? I'll take it back and get it installed. He just wanted me to check before He did it. Once mounted he can't take the tire back.

Thanks guys

Yep, when your suspension is totally compressed you'll still have a 1/2" of clearance.

 

[Baron14y]

I put on a 205/55R15 and the speedometer is within 1 mph of the GPS speed.

 

[Peteoz]

Just be a bit careful there, Wmoater. You are putting on an aftermarket car tyre, but looking at info in your user guide, which is referring to an OEM Kenda. They are two different species.

Also, the tyre width shown on the aftermarket tyre is nominal. Some car tyres show a nominal width of 215mm, but the actual width could be anywhere from 205 to 225. I am actually running a Kuhmo 205/55. Always make sure you get a tyre that is recommended by someone who already has one on, for a similar model Spyder to yours. There are several of those recommendations above, so you are good to go.

When you start looking at tyre pressures for your new tyre, just remember one thing. Aftermarket car tyres have been run anywhere from 10psi to 30psi with NO safety issues, so you can do your own research and testing as to which psi suits you best without fear. Although 16psi is the lowest that riders tend to use. The 10psi was not deliberate, but was included to show that the tyre will not come off the rim even that low.

Pete

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I am confused. I have read a bunch of different posts and a bunch of people referred the Altimax to me as a good rear tire. I actually purchased an Altimax RT 215/60 R15. I had a bunch of people tell me this is a great tire and my dealer could get it really cheap for me. I just dropped my tire to have it swapped and he came out and told me a 225/50/R15 is on there. He said go back and ask and make sure this is ok. I just looked and a bunch of posts say R215/60 R15. Do I have the correct tire for a 2017 RTL? I just pulled my owners manual and found it does say 225/50/R15. My bad I guess should Havel looked there first. Is the 215/60/R15 OK?

The number 1 reason for using a 215/60/R15 is the fact that there are very, very, few car tire options available in the 225/50/R15 size. The 215 fits and is just a bit larger diameter than the 225, hence the speedometer shows closer to actual speed.

 

[2dogs]

The number 1 reason for using a 215/60/R15 is the fact that there are very, very, few car tire options available in the 225/50/R15 size. The 215 fits and is just a bit larger diameter than the 225, hence the speedometer shows closer to actual speed.

Yes! Exactly what IdahoMtnSpyder said!

 

[h0gr1der]

Shouldn't this general topic become some kind of sticky recommendation guide? I know that at least for myself I had all the same questions, and this line of discussion is gone over by most folks (myself included) that make the swap to the car tire. Someone eloquent and knowledgeable on the subject (I'm talking about Peter Aawen and BLUEKNNIGHT911) could post a sticky in the How To section. Something along the lines of how the aspect ratio makes a 205 or 215 tire match the 225, how to correctly tell, and test for, a properly inflated tire, and all the other useful tips that would quickly guide a new guy to a correct choice. I know I read until my eyes bled before making my tire choice, and was very uncertain of the low tire pressures until I finalized my tire testing protocol, which satisfied my mind.

 

[Marek]

The diameter 215/60/15 is 33 mm higher than 225/50/15 and the speed at 100 km / h will be 5 km / h higher

 

[Peter Aawen]

The diameter 215/60/15 is 33 mm higher than 225/50/15 and the speed at 100 km / h will be 5 km / h higher

That might be true ONLY if the nominal size of your chosen 215/60/15 tire is EXACTLY what the actual size of that tire is..... and very VERY few tires are!! :sour: Those Internet comparison guides are only correct IF the tire sizes you are comparing are exactly the same size as their nominal sizes, and for most, that's simply not the case!

And the 5km fast thing is only likely to be correct if you assume your Speedo is accurate too, and virtually all Spyders leave the factory with speedos reading faster than what your true speed anyway!! :lecturef_smilie: In fact, virtually all vehicle manufacturers try very VERY HARD to make sure that every Speedo in a car they sell reads anything up to about 10% faster than the vehicle's true speed! Let alone doing this to avoid potentially expensive litigation if one of their Speedos reading slow can ever be shown to have resulted in a speeding ticket, many States & Countries around the World actually legislate to make sure that speedos don't read slow!! Supposedly, amongst other things, it's intended to keep everyone safer.....

So there's a really good chance that by fitting a 215/60/15 tire to your Spyder, its Speedo reading will be closer to 'correct' than when it was running the OE Spec Kendas, and you might actually be doing 95 kmh when the speedo reads 100 kmh instead of the 91 or so it was more likely doing with the OE Spec Kenda fitted!! :shocked: hyea: :2thumbs:

There again, there are some speedos that DO read closer to 'accurate' with the OE Spec tires fitted..... but you won't ever really know that unless you check your speedo reading at a given speed against a certified correct speed device.... and I can tell you, they ain't cheap &/or all that easy to access! :shocked: Altho a 'proper GPS' that uses multiple satellite signals & adds in at least one relatively strong land based signal can get fairly close.... :dontknow:

 

[Wmoater]

Thanks for all the replys. I had the 215 installed and they set it at 24 lbs for I ride 2 up most of the time. Everything went fine and they balanced it too. The tire installer sold me the tire and just wanted me to check just to make sure. If he would have mounted it he could not technically resell it as new so I would have owned it. Just wanted to reconfirm everything I read on previous posts. I will never be doing 95 and the majority of the time I have my GPS on so I can double check the speed. I am a back roads cruiser not a 4 lane speeder. Most roads around here if you do 65 your dead. So I’m not at all concerned about faster speeds. Besides I’d have two knees in my ribs and they’d be broken from my my wife squeezing in so tight if I did.:roflblack:

Thanks again

Moater

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

Let alone doing this to avoid potentially expensive litigation if one of their Speedos reading slow can ever be shown to have resulted in a speeding ticket, many States & Countries around the World actually legislate to make sure that speedos don't read slow!! Supposedly, amongst other things, it's intended to keep everyone safer.....

From what I found in Googling this issue it's actually a United Nations regulation applicable to every auto manufacturer around the world.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I will never be doing 95 .....

Of course you will!!! :roflblack: Peter is using kilometers per hour! 100 kph = 60 mph!

 

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Thanks for all the replys. I had the 215 installed and they set it at 24 lbs for I ride 2 up most of the time. Everything went fine and they balanced it too. The tire installer sold me the tire and just wanted me to check just to make sure. If he would have mounted it he could not technically resell it as new so I would have owned it. Just wanted to reconfirm everything I read on previous posts. I will never be doing 95 and the majority of the time I have my GPS on so I can double check the speed. I am a back roads cruiser not a 4 lane speeder. Most roads around here if you do 65 your dead. So I’m not at all concerned about faster speeds. Besides I’d have two knees in my ribs and they’d be broken from my my wife squeezing in so tight if I did.:roflblack:

Thanks again

Moater

24 psi …. will it work - yes …. but at 18 psi the tire will perform better and your comfort level will be much nicer …. the weight of any passenger will have very little effect on a lower psi ….. I'm not guessing on this ...ask Peter …...Mike hyea:

 

[Baron14y]

Of course you will!!! :roflblack: Peter is using kilometers per hour! 100 kph = 60 mph!

It's actually 62.5 mph.

 

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

100 kph = 60 mph!

It's actually 62.5 mph.

Since quibbling can be such a fun sport at times let's take a closer look!

100 kph = 100 x 1000 = 100,000 meters/hr. Multiply by 100 cm/m we get 10,000,000 cm/hr.

The official international standards conversion for distance is 1 inch = 2.54 centimeters.

10,000,000 cm/hr divided by 2.54 cm/in = 3,937,007.874015748 in/hr. Divided by 12 = 328,083.9895013123 feet/hour.

Divide that by 5280 ft/mile we get 62.1371192237334 miles per hour!

YOU WIN! Your number is closer than mine! :2thumbs:

Rounding to the nearest whole number 100 kph = 62 mph!

 

[troop]

Geeez ... I'm glued to the tire threads Neck/neck right now between the Vredestein Quatrac 5 205/60R15 and General Altimax 215/60R15 (T rated). Not gonna order till Mar 1st so I can absorb more threads. Heck, still have taken off my fronts to mount the Q5's 165/60R15 fronts ...