Originally Posted by captainL

I am also looking at the yokohamas avid w4s which are offered in 235/45/r18 and 245/45/r18. I am thinking at going with the 235's. But I noticed the rim width ranges on that one are 7.5 to 9 inches. From what you said earlier, I assume we have 7.5 inch wide rims. Any disadvantages of being right on the limit of 7.5 inches.

Also, I know its preference, but the 235's are $14 cheaper on tirerack.com. So is there any advantage to one verse the other...other than looks. I am leaning towards the 235 just to stay with the original size.

Originally Posted by bkd

Yes, they are directional. The tires fit fine. There is plenty of clearance with the stock sport suspension. (More than I'd like!) I've only had the Yokohamas for about 2000 miles. Yokohama gives a range of 7.5 to 9 inches for acceptable rim widths for this tire. Yokohama publishes the width of the tire in their specs, but they know that mounting the same tire on a 7.5 inch rim and a 9 inch rim will cause the tire to be slightly wider or narrower. Thats why they include a "measured rim width" of 8 inches; it simply means that the width they publish in their specifications is the width of the tire on a 8 inch rim. In our case, the widest part of the tire will be a little less than what they publish, probably half a centimeter or so. (If you want more assurance look up the specs on the stock tire size. They use a 8" measured rim width for it's specs too.)

Originally Posted by bkd

Yokohamas specifications for both the 235/45/18 and the 245/45/18 state they are for rims from 7.5-9 inches. From that persepective, either will work just fine. Your extra $14 per tire will give you almost half an inch more tread width on the road for each tire, and will be a little taller than stock, so they will fill out your wheel arches a tiny bit more however your speedometer will read a little less than your actual speed.

I have the 245s because that was what the store had in stock. I'd probably have gone with the cheaper 235s if my tire store had them. I just drive this car back and forth to work. If I had intentions of driving it hard I'd want as much tread on the ground as I could get. (And I'd be choosing a different type of tire.)

Originally Posted by mikeee2

245/40/18 for the Yokohamas are 8.0 - 9 in rims. So the 245/40 is slighter wider than 245/45?

Originally Posted by bkd

No, I think the tread width is about the same (245mm) but the sidewalls on a 40 series tire are shorter than the sidewalls on a 45 series tire. Think about how on a rim the cross section of a tire looks like /_\ . (tread at the bottom. If the sidewalls are shorter, the angle of the sidewalls to the rim might not be vertical enough to support the tire or otherwise meet the design specifications.

Originally Posted by bkd

Yokohamas specifications for both the 235/45/18 and the 245/45/18 state they are for rims from 7.5-9 inches. From that persepective, either will work just fine. Your extra $14 per tire will give you almost half an inch more tread width on the road for each tire, and will be a little taller than stock, so they will fill out your wheel arches a tiny bit more however your speedometer will read a little less than your actual speed.

I have the 245s because that was what the store had in stock. I'd probably have gone with the cheaper 235s if my tire store had them. I just drive this car back and forth to work. If I had intentions of driving it hard I'd want as much tread on the ground as I could get. (And I'd be choosing a different type of tire.)