I've used the Dunlop's before on a wrx. Because of the deep tread they are a bit squishy at first until they are worn in a little. I found them to have quite good ultimate grip, and to ride well and to be relatively quietly. Braking will probably be improved from the stock tire. They are also quite good in the snow for an all season, and hey the tread design is even cool! ;P Could have a bit faster steering response, but hey you can't have everything and they aren't a dedicated summer. Oh, they were better than some summers I used at soaking up rough pavement without skipping on a corner say, and they did fairly well if there was loose gravel or something. Overall a solid choice, especially if you do have to ever deal with snow, as they are one of the better all seasons I've used in snow. I can't really say how they wear, because less than halfway though their life a got a puncture (looked like a giant staple...) and since my car was awd had to replace all 4 tires. They have a good rating for that too though.

 

I went with the Pilot Sport A/S 235/50/17W second set by the way. First set went slightly earlier due to slightly over inflation. The center rib wore down while the side treads looked fine. Now I know to stay at around 30PSI.

 

I recently put on a set of F1-GSD3's. 245/45/17. Yeah, a little too wide but HOLY CRAP, a million million million times better than the EL42's. Couldn't be happier.

 

FWIW...
I was always told that it's OK to change tire size on an AWD.
The main thing was to keep all 4 the same or it could damage
the AWD system. (no stagger)

Not absolutly sure about the ATTESA system, but I'd get confirmation
from a tech first

 

The Dunlops were recommended for 7" rims as a minimum. (I am sure having a wider rim would be nice, but like the stock look of my car and do not want to spend a fortune on wheels.) After running them for about a month, I have zero complaints. They are very good tires (much better than the original Goodyears). I would have liked them to come in a 235 size, but could not find a tire in the high performance catagory around $150 per tire when I looked. Side wall tire bulge is not bad at all. I did not look at the Falken's or Avons, but still think I would not have changed my mind at this point. I don't race the car so ultimate performance is not the question. The wide tires look great on the car! I may look at the 245/45/17 tires next time I replace, but depends on what brands are avaliable and the price.

 

Willwork....your selection in the 245/45/17 size is a lot better. I looked at the 245/50/17 due to the rim width, but decided on the 245/45/17. While it is recommended that a minimum 7.5 width rim is used, I believe that the tire engineers have built in a safety tolerance of at leased 10% to as much as a 20%, with no loss of contact patch. If the minimum and maximum rim widths tolerances were excatly at the recommended widths the lawyers would be circling like vultures over the tire company's. Most engineers( in various fields) that I know build in safetly factors to cover their A$$, and the company as well.

I have 1800 miles on my tires and I'm completly happy. I did get a 4 wheel alignment done. The rear camber was out significantly. Not sure if it was due to the change tires size, or just need an alignment. It was brought back into spec with no problems.

 

Willwork....your selection in the 245/45/17 size is a lot better.

When I go back to the Dunlop Website, SP 5000 All Season, here are the specs for the two different sizes and what they recommend:

P245/45ZR17: rim width: 7.5- 9.0, section width: 9.8, dia: 25.9, tread width: 8.8

P245/50ZR17: rim width: 7.0- 8.5, section width: 10, dia: 26.7, tread width: 8.8

(Original Goodyears RSA 215/55-17: dia:26.3)

I guess the manufacturers have different recommendations, and I think that I will follow their recommendation.. So far, I like the 245/50's which are all season tires.. (Yet to try in snow..)

Why do you think the 245/45 is a lot better??

 

Tirerack.com, is a great place to find all this info. As far as performance tires less than $150:

215/55/17
Avon Tech M500 $136 UHPS (Ultra high performance Summer or All season)
Goodyear Eagle RS -A $124

235/50/17
Kumho ECTSA KH11 $105
Goodyear RS-A $124
Avon Tech M550 $128

close
Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 $180

225/50/17
Kumho Ecsta KH11 $105
AVON Tehc M500 $124

Close but
Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 $154


I'm not a Goodyear Fan but that tire for that price. good buy. By the way I manufacture product sold to the tire industry so I have a little inside info, but I have to be selective what I say.

 

byt he way that site will also show you recommended rim widths and reviews with other similar tires.

 

Just looked the 225/50/17 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 are set up to ride on a 7" rim as optimum.

 

Why do you think the 245/45 is a lot better??


It not a question of better, its a question of selection.The 245/50 is limited on the tire manufactures that produce this size tire. Tirerack has about four manufactures listed for the 245/50...Michelin, Dunlop, Pirelli, and BF Goodrich. The 245/45 has approximatly 10 in various configurations of HP Summer, All Season, and Winter. The 235/50/17 is a good choice, but again is limited. The 225/50 will have a lot of selections as well.

The key is if you are happy with your choice, then stick with it.

 

Why only use the tirerack?I got my 245/245 17s from onlinetires. They are Toyo Proxes 4 and they only ran $108 each and are listed in SCC are an Ultra High Performance tire. Don't let the tire rack limit you choices. Look around and see whats out there. I also had Pilots A/S 235/50 17s and hated them they have to be at least twice as noisy as my Toyos. I got beat up by them for 12K miles and sold them to a friend who was selling his car. Michy's carry quite a name but... I am also running 17x8s.