Running 255 width tires

[citrus]

I see people going up from 265 up to 275 pretty often, but it looks like going down to 255 isn't uncommon either?

After the first few hundred miles, I noticed that the stock tires kick up everything on the road (it's been pretty windy lately, so lots of debris everywhere) and "grab" road imperfections pretty hard. One stretch that I drive pretty often has a lot of broken pavement, and I find myself constantly tugging the wheel in either direction to keep the car true. Putting in the DE5 damper module helped the car bounce less in Comfort mode, but I can still feel the tires wanting to tramline. I also have to regularly cross some large speed bumps, which the DE5 damper module didn't do too much to help.

So all that has me looking at possibly downsizing to 255 tread all-seasons on 18's. The wheel and tire combo I'm looking at is Enkei PF06 18x9+42 with FK460 A/S, which I've heard good things about. I can't decide if I want 35 or 40 profile. On one hand, the extra side wall will be more comfortable and fill out the wheel wells better visually. On the other hand, I don't want to sacrifice much steering response if I can help it. My use case is street driving only with lots of rain, generally poor roads, and occasionally loose surfaces/gravel.

Am I headed in the right direction?

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[J_D]

I run 255/35/19 on OE wheels for winter. No real issues.

 

[AZCWTypeR]

From this and other cars I've owned, I've found our Michelin tires tramline more than some other brands.
I don't think the width or aspect ratio matter much. I think it has more to do with tread pattern and the corner radius from tread to sidewall.

 

[citrus]

From this and other cars I've owned, I've found our Michelin tires tramline more than some other brands.
I don't think the width or aspect ratio matter much. I think it has more to do with tread pattern and the corner radius from tread to sidewall.

This car has the widest fronts of all my cars and it tramlines the most, so my guess it's probably some combination of compound and width.

 

[optronix]

I'll be the first to jump in and discourage the thought.

I can't be the only one who actually found the OEM tire width incredibly appealing. In a world of 0-60, 1/4 mile and top speed, it's a severely underrated metric for enthusiasts, especially those of us who like to turn the steering wheel. I feel dirty just thinking about shrinking the tire size, at least for a non-winter specific application.

I personally wouldn't switch to all-seasons year round but I feel like that fits your use case. Not everyone who buys these cars goes to the track every other weekend, I realize that. But i can tell you from personal experience that I instantly noticed how much crap was on the road the minute I swapped back to the PS4S from the Continental DWS06+ I run for winter. It is pretty dramatic! Dropping down to 18s with more sidewall will probably make a difference too- but I really think that going down in width is an extreme measure for year round use. Hopefully some others can chime in, but I think the move to the standard 265/35/18 that most folks go with might work for you.

I'll also echo the thought that the OEM Michelins are specifically engineered for grip, which will influence traits like tramlining. Here's a video that just popped on my feed that speaks to that a little bit- I know this is for Porsche, but Honda engineers also worked with Michelin in the same way to custom tailor the tires on our cars specific to this platform. It may make you reconsider everything and just accept that's part of the idiosyncrasies of the car, idk I haven't watched it yet. But it could be helpful.

 

[svvitch]

I run 255/35/19 on OE wheels for winter. No real issues.

same. No issue.

 

[J_D]

I'll be the first to jump in and discourage the thought.

I can't be the only one who actually found the OEM tire width incredibly appealing. In a world of 0-60, 1/4 mile and top speed, it's a severely underrated metric for enthusiasts, especially those of us who like to turn the steering wheel. I feel dirty just thinking about shrinking the tire size, at least for a non-winter specific application.

I personally wouldn't switch to all-seasons year round but I feel like that fits your use case. Not everyone who buys these cars goes to the track every other weekend, I realize that. But i can tell you from personal experience that I instantly noticed how much crap was on the road the minute I swapped back to the PS4S from the Continental DWS06+ I run for winter. It is pretty dramatic! Dropping down to 18s with more sidewall will probably make a difference too- but I really think that going down in width is an extreme measure for year round use. Hopefully some others can chime in, but I think the move to the standard 265/35/18 that most folks go with might work for you.

I'll also echo the thought that the OEM Michelins are specifically engineered for grip, which will influence traits like tramlining. Here's a video that just popped on my feed that speaks to that a little bit- I know this is for Porsche, but Honda engineers also worked with Michelin in the same way to custom tailor the tires on our cars specific to this platform. It may make you reconsider everything and just accept that's part of the idiosyncrasies of the car, idk I haven't watched it yet. But it could be helpful.

The FL5 doesn't have a special PS4S tire. It uses the generic tire PS4S in 265/30/19
Honda dealers actually get their stock from Tirerack Wholesale.

 

[optronix]

The FL5 doesn't have a special PS4S tire. It uses the generic tire PS4S in 265/30/19
Honda dealers actually get their stock from Tirerack Wholesale.

I think the truth may be somewhere in between. Right now I'm having a hard time finding specifics but I also only have a few minutes to research... but the tires that come from the factory are designated as "DT1", and there are at least one other "standard" variant of PS4S. I'll try to dig up more details, but they are apparently optimized for front-wheel drive cars, if not the Civic Type R specifically.

I was a bit mistaken though, it's the Cup 2s that are the "H0" designed specifically for the CTR. My bad... but I think I'm at least partially right about the PS4S...

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