[Dazzler]

After reading Alan's tyre noise post earlier I went searching for specials on tyres for my Camry which has done 47,000 on the mediocre Michelin ST OEM tyres in the just 14 months I've had her. There is probably about 15k of tread left but a you tube video I will link to in this thread shows the Bridgestone Adrenaline RE003's and possibly other premium / performance tyres will make a positive difference to my car even new for new (so even more significant new for old)

Anyway I digress (as usual)

Not only did I discover that Bridgestone and Goodyear are running a 4 for 3 deal even on the Adrenaline's this month, but also that I can go to a slightly wider fitment (225 versus 215 ) if I so desire - see attached screen shot.

So by using some logic and things I've learnt from my good mate Trevor @Surferdude I guessing the benefits of a slightly wider tyre are improved road holding and braking performance. The disadvantages being possible slight increase in tyre noise and fuel usage. There appears to be only around $50 difference per set of 4 if I go the wider fitment, which I'm happy to wear if the benefits outweigh the negatives.

Thoughts please!

[Surferdude]

Dazz, the three screen grabs have got me confused.
The first doesn't say who it is making the offer.
The second mentions Jax Exclusive Offers so I'm assuming that's Jax.
The third is Bridgestone.

I can't help you with the Adrenalin as I know nothing about it.
There's an ex tyre guy on here from Canberra (I think). Pretty sure he was Bridgestone so maybe invite him into the conversation.

The Goodyear Optilife shown on the screen grabs doesn't excite me but the ones Allan and others in the UK like are good.

The 443 offer is a good one. It was originally developed by three Goodyear guys (of which I was one) in conjunction with our advertising agency at the time. We had fun "selling" the idea to our dealers. 

It set the industry on it's head and drew serious criticism from all the other players as well as the ACCC. They were concerned about us increasing the price of the tyres during the campaign but we had covered all that.
They even went into some stores and examined up to three months of invoices to establish that we hadn't increased the prices.

Eventually the rest of the industry worked out how we worked the deal financially with our dealer network and followed suit.

Sometimes with less  control over the prices their network charged - which didn't end well.

So now, in the main, the 443 deal is genuine and a good offer.

As for the increase in size, I can't see any issues with it (haven't checked the OD comparison but it can't be much or they wouldn't offer it).
I always work on the principle that if it ain't broke, don't change it. Tread patterns? Brands? Not happy with them go elsewhere. But tread width? It's only 10 mm. There would be some marginal grip benefits, maybe partly offset by a slightly more susceptibility to aquaplaning. I doubt tread wear would vary much.
Also, make sure the slight increase doesn't take the bulge in the sidewall too far outside the line of the rim. Again, not a big deal just slightly more vulnerable to curb damage. But the advantage to that is better protection against curbing the rim.

[josh1990]

That change is worthwhile imo. You'll get a touch more sidewall for a bit of extra cushion.  You could potentially raise the pressure enough to negate the extra fuel (which won't be a lot in most cases anyway) without your butt feeling it.
Realistically its not going to turn it into a supercar, the handling improvement related to the extra width will be minimal  but that's where tyre choice will shine. I've not been impressed by the RE003 personally - I'm not an average user, but I have a set of Firestone sport 01 (RE002 pattern with better compounds allegedly) for the i30 due to the price.  So  whilst I don't think they're worthy of carrying the potenza name they will do for the everyday user. As always, my opinions only.

Edit - its bigger by 1.69%, so well within acceptable changes. 10mm is not going to make it aquaplane any worse - the pattern will have more effect. Your ROH rims are wide enough for the tyre to sit properly given appropriate  pressures  are ran.

Edit 2 - for disclosure my brother owns a Bridgestone store - id still buy Michelin at $200 a set dearer had i not had to buy rims and settle with the Firestone

[The Gonz]

Back in the bad old 80s I used to fit 235s to my 7" mags on the Commodore.
Talk about expeditions outside the rim! They looked spectacular. Combined with the 1" offset from the rims, the extra rubber brought the tyre profile perfectly flush with the guards.
Aquaplaning? I didn't know it but a friend following behind one day in the rain later told me he could see the splash suddenly stop as I was braking.
 ... ah, the bad ol' days. 

[ro0sau]

hi

I just went thru buying new tyres myself for my i30
I also wanted to go 1 size wider but couldn't because of front strut clearance. It meant i'd need need rims with a wider offset and so stuck with oem size.
By the bridgestone chart i see your camry will accept a 225/55 17 so really it's a cost/visual look rather than a safety/performance aspect imo.
if you go the wider option on your standard rim the only downfall would most likely be a slight increase in sidewall flex as opposed to the standard 215's. I doubt you'd notice any difference unless you push your camry hard.

Do you drive hard and fast, or smooth and diligently?
Potenzas will offer a more engaging drive but will wear faster than a sport/touring tyre.
Bridgestone Potenzas are a pure performance tyre, I personally went with bridgestone serenity plus and am more than happy with the grip, handling and noise levels so far...but that's on a gd i30.

I had both on my last car and have to say, the potenzas were great however because of the wide tread pattern, sightly noisier, grippier cornering and accelerating in the dry than the turanzas [serenity plus] I fitted after. In the wet the difference was negligible except when pushing really hard. In the wet I'd prefer the touring setup.

I had a set of firestones originally when i upgraded to 17"s and ended up nearly writing the car off when they wouldn't hold a wet right hand turn in the wet at a set of traffic lights,[expensive repairs due to sliding into the outside curb] apparently they are better tho than they once were, or so I was told. I wouldn't buy them again.
I had narrowed my search to bridgestone and falken ziex after much deliberation. So won't/can't comment on other brands.

12 of the BEST car tyres for every day driving, tested and reviewed! - YouTube

The 4 for the price of three is a great deal. I got my serentys like that. Cost wise like most things you ultimately get what you pay for...

[Dazzler]

Cheers guys, sounds like you are all basically saying the same thing.

Trev, the Bridgestone screen grab was just confirming i had tbe option to go with a centimetre wider tyre. . The other two were from the Jax site just showing the difference in price for the 2 sizes and confirming the current deal.

The video i attached a link two compares the OEM Michelins with the adrenalins and going from well used michelin St's to new Adrenalins should be a noticeable upgrade.

My wife reckons i drive to fast on corners and i drive much slower when she is a passenger. In previous sportier cars I've been known to go through a set of tyres in 30,000 kilometres.

[Surferdude]

Cheers guys, sounds like you are all basically saying the same thing.

Trev, the Bridgestone screen grab was just confirming i had tbe option to go with a centimetre wider tyre. . The other two were from the Jax site just showing the difference in price for the 2 sizes and confirming the current deal.

The video i attached a link two compares the OEM Michelins with the adrenalins and going from well used michelin St's to new Adrenalins should be a noticeable upgrade.

My wife reckons i drive to fast on corners and i drive much slower when she is a passenger. In previous sportier cars I've been known to go through a set of tyres in 30,000 kilometres.

Cheers Dazz.
I haven't looked at the video yet but I got the impression it was from somewhere overseas.
If so, beware of comparisons because the country of manufacture can produce different tread compounds.
Even some of the Asian countries produce the same (name brand) product to different standard depending on which market they are going to.
About 15 years ago we were flooded with a cheap import Goodyear Eagle GA which at the time was fitted OE on Australian made cars.
But it had a light truck tread pattern and was made for the SE Asian and Indian markets. Unscrupulous importers were buying them in Singapore and shipping them to Australia.
At the time, all the major brands were being targeted. Sometimes the whole carcase construction was different. Sometimes the tread rubber was different. For different, read cheaper.

[josh1990]

Cheers guys, sounds like you are all basically saying the same thing.

Trev, the Bridgestone screen grab was just confirming i had tbe option to go with a centimetre wider tyre. . The other two were from the Jax site just showing the difference in price for the 2 sizes and confirming the current deal.

The video i attached a link two compares the OEM Michelins with the adrenalins and going from well used michelin St's to new Adrenalins should be a noticeable upgrade.

My wife reckons i drive to fast on corners and i drive much slower when she is a passenger. In previous sportier cars I've been known to go through a set of tyres in 30,000 kilometres.

Cheers Dazz.
I haven't looked at the video yet but I got the impression it was from somewhere overseas.
If so, beware of comparisons because the country of manufacture can produce different tread compounds.
Even some of the Asian countries produce the same (name brand) product to different standard depending on which market they are going to.
About 15 years ago we were flooded with a cheap import Goodyear Eagle GA which at the time was fitted OE on Australian made cars.
But it had a light truck tread pattern and was made for the SE Asian and Indian markets. Unscrupulous importers were buying them in Singapore and shipping them to Australia.
At the time, all the major brands were being targeted. Sometimes the whole carcase construction was different. Sometimes the tread rubber was different. For different, read cheaper.

We got a container of Michelin truck tyres that had the right pattern, had the right barcodes, right sticker - wasn't until a set of steers wore out super early that was identified as a fake. Barcode didn't scan up with the right product and a rep came out in the end. Apparently happened to a few containers worth, lotta $

[Surferdude]

Cheers guys, sounds like you are all basically saying the same thing.

Trev, the Bridgestone screen grab was just confirming i had tbe option to go with a centimetre wider tyre. . The other two were from the Jax site just showing the difference in price for the 2 sizes and confirming the current deal.

The video i attached a link two compares the OEM Michelins with the adrenalins and going from well used michelin St's to new Adrenalins should be a noticeable upgrade.

My wife reckons i drive to fast on corners and i drive much slower when she is a passenger. In previous sportier cars I've been known to go through a set of tyres in 30,000 kilometres.

Cheers Dazz.
I haven't looked at the video yet but I got the impression it was from somewhere overseas.
If so, beware of comparisons because the country of manufacture can produce different tread compounds.
Even some of the Asian countries produce the same (name brand) product to different standard depending on which market they are going to.
About 15 years ago we were flooded with a cheap import Goodyear Eagle GA which at the time was fitted OE on Australian made cars.
But it had a light truck tread pattern and was made for the SE Asian and Indian markets. Unscrupulous importers were buying them in Singapore and shipping them to Australia.
At the time, all the major brands were being targeted. Sometimes the whole carcase construction was different. Sometimes the tread rubber was different. For different, read cheaper.

We got a container of Michelin truck tyres that had the right pattern, had the right barcodes, right sticker - wasn't until a set of steers wore out super early that was identified as a fake. Barcode didn't scan up with the right product and a rep came out in the end. Apparently happened to a few containers worth, lotta $

I'd heard about that.
But there were problems before that with Australian made product.

You could spend two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars developing a new truck tyre for local conditions and put them into service.
No problems, then a couple of years down the track you'd start getting failures.
When you started cutting the tyres up, you'd find some middle level section manager in the factory figured he could save a dollar or so per tyre by slightly narrowing the top belt.
"Hellooooo belt edge separation"

[Dazzler]

@Surferdude its an Aussie video.

Could get 4 Goodyear Assurance Max 2 i think they were for 620 + 70 wheel allignment

Or 4 x Bridgestone potenza adrenalin Re0002 or whatever they are called for $600 +70. I'm getting the bridgestones fitted next week. Went with OEM size. 

Considered diamond backs but..   

[The Gonz]

Considered diamond backs but..   

Your loss 
 

[Purplehazeffc]

For the price difference I would just stick with the OEM size. I don't think the benefit of 10mm wider will outlay the cost..
One tyre I haven't seen mentioned is the Continental MaxContact MC6..   We had these fitted to the wife's Cerato 3 months ago & I'm fairly impressed.
So far way better than the Bridgestone Ecopia tyres that were on the car

If you are close to a My Car tyre & Auto, they are fantastic value at $155ea..

[Dazzler]

For the price difference I would just stick with the OEM size. I don't think the benefit of 10mm wider will outlay the cost..
One tyre I haven't seen mentioned is the Continental MaxContact MC6..   We had these fitted to the wife's Cerato 3 months ago & I'm fairly impressed.
So far way better than the Bridgestone Ecopia tyres that were on the car

If you are close to a My Car tyre & Auto, they are fantastic value at $155ea..

@Purplehazeffc  Hi Pete, as per the Goodyears I've heard good things about some of the Conti's (great price similar to what i'm paying for the Bridgestones ($600 all up)

Actually when I mentioned upgrading my tyres when I got my 45K service done at Toyota, The Service advisor couldn't say enough good things about Continental.

I'm happy with the OEM size Adrenalin's I've ordered.The Hybrid is no race car but I do push it a bit sometimes. I'm not going Micheli Pilot Sport 4's again.. Too noisy once they wear a bit and scary on gravel.

[ro0sau]

I stand by my comments about the serenity plus over the potenzas.

Quieter, longer life and almost the same grip i'd imagine unless you drive a performance car. I'd bet they'd also be better on gravel.

I'm not trying to influence in any manner, just my personal observations from driving on both in a commodore

but they aren't 4 for 3 this month, next month they may be tho...
happy xmas all

[Dazzler]

Well sorry any brand snobs out there, but every brand makes good and bad tyres but for what I paid for 4  of these  215/55 R17 Bridgestone Potenza Adrenaline RE003
Only $600 fitted and balanced I'm super impressed.

Wow,wow,wow. What a transformation. Should have done it from new. Much more noticeable than the transition from worn Kumho or Hankook tyres ( I can never remember which)  on my SR to the Michelin Pilot sport 4's

I can't believe the difference. The traction is so good now even around town the car feels quicker and the brakes definately feel more responsive too.

The steering is quite a bit heavier which is fine for me but may not suit a lady driver like my wife so will play around with tyre pressures a bit. Currently on 36psi.

Love em and don't seem particularly noisy either although I thought they were whining at one stage until I worked out it was Toyota's noisy air con.