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last night went and got all four tyres changed from, 245-40x17 to michelin pilot 225-45x17.

havent had a chance to give them a proper run yet only a few big r/abouts on the way home.

first thing noticed was car feels lighter and more nimble.

looks better from the, side fills the arches more.

on the downside before from the back the tyres and rear end looked really wide and awesome now, looks a bit slim and pansy ! if you know what i am getting at ?

at the weekend i am gonna fill it with optimax and test it properly. might test it on the way to gti international if the missus fancies the drive and the idea of another car show.

report back soon

Keep us posted on your impressions....I think this is what i shall do when i need to replace mine.How come you went for "45"?

thats what everyone said go for ! ..................... i hope !

So what are your impressions on downsizing(yes that is the correct size I recieved a detailed reply to a previous post)
I have four good 245/40 contisports which I will downsize when they are replaced

alastairg wrote:So what are your impressions on downsizing(yes that is the correct size I recieved a detailed reply to a previous post)
I have four good 245/40 contisports which I will downsize when they are replaced

This implies to me that you're running 245/40 Contisports on the RS2 - this is actually very dangerous. When the RS2 was being developed, Audi approached a number of tyre manufacturers to make a 245/40 ZR 17 tyre for the 7inch RS2 rims (I think they approached Dunlop and Pirelli) Dunlop won the bid and produced the SP8000 245/40ZR 17 which was'nt really a 245 width tyre - it was actually undersize and nearer to 225. The SP8000 tyre had specially strengthened sidewalls to enable it to fit on the narrow 7 inch RS2 rims.
The SP8000 tyre is now no longer produced and unfortunately some owners are replacing them with 245/40ZR17 tyres from either Dunlop or other manufacturers. I myself suffered this problem when my Audi centre fitted 245/40ZR17 Dunlop SP9000 tyres when I asked them to replace the SP8000. None of the current 245/40ZR17 tyres from Dunlop, Pirelli, Michelin, Continental , Bridgestone etc are approved by the tyre manufacturer for fitment on a 7 inch rim - I know as I checked with all their techical depts. In the end my Audi centre acknowledged this was a serious safety issue and replaced all 5 tyres for Bridgestone Potenza RE40 225/45/ZR17 91Y tyres which are designed to fit on a 7 inch rim.

I suggest you check your tyre walls particularly on the inner walls of the front wheels as this is where failure occurs - the Contisport is particularly susceptible as it has comparatively weak side walls.

For more information on this register on Yahoogroups for the RS2 where there is detailed information.

thanks







Thanks I picked up on this earlier from the forum and read the yahoo posts on the subject. I will change ASAP but moving house is delaying things ! I was keen to know your impressions on handling etc

have ordered 225-45-17 pirelli corsa's
will post the results in 30 days.. (thats the delivery date)

Downsize done Bridgestone S03 225/45/17.
Transforms handling. Much sharper turn in, you can really feel the limits and feedback fantastic ( Did I say feedback with an audi!!)
If you are still on 245s switch now!!!!!

Well done m8

I have spoken to Audi today, they say the tyre size should stay the same size as was fitted to the cars from new!! I mentioned the Dunlop smaller sized 245 and they said it was rubbish!! we can fit any 245/40/17!!
I agree the 245 is far too wide for the skinney wheels,I just carn't help thinking Porsche seem to know allot about handling.They must have tried all sizes when developing the car?
Any thoughts?
Rob

Rob20vurq wrote:I have spoken to Audi today, they say the tyre size should stay the same size as was fitted to the cars from new!! I mentioned the Dunlop smaller sized 245 and they said it was rubbish!! we can fit any 245/40/17!!
I agree the 245 is far too wide for the skinney wheels,I just carn't help thinking Porsche seem to know allot about handling.They must have tried all sizes when developing the car?
Any thoughts?
Rob

Unfortunately Audi or more likely their dealers no nothing about tyres - speak to the technical departments of the tyre manufacturers and ask them if they will approve the fitting of their 245 section tyres on a 7" rim - I spoke to Pirelli, Dunlop etc and they all said that their 245 tyres would not be safe on a 7" rim for the following reasons :
- it would put undue stress on the sidewalls because the tyre was'nt designed to fit on such a narrow rim.
- it could come off the rim at high speed as the tyres are typically heated up during the production process causing them to expand. All current 245 tyres expand to a size much bigger than the 7" rim.

Rob20vurq wrote:I have spoken to Audi today, they say the tyre size should stay the same size as was fitted to the cars from new!! I mentioned the Dunlop smaller sized 245 and they said it was rubbish!! we can fit any 245/40/17!!
I agree the 245 is far too wide for the skinney wheels,I just carn't help thinking Porsche seem to know allot about handling.They must have tried all sizes when developing the car?
Any thoughts?
Rob

Was that audi UK or a dealer ? Dunlop and audi have been quoted in the yahoo RS2 forum saying the opposite. In fact I have been told that the SP8000 245 OEM is narrower than many 225s !!
On a more serious note there has been more than one reported sidewall failure including a recent post on this forum. Audi UK need to give the correct infomation before someone dosent walk away from a tyre failure!

I spoke to Audi milton keynes! Customer service manager and she got onto the technical dept.I asked her if she was 100% correct with the info,she asked tech dept again! same answer.I agree 245 is too big for the wheel!
My car has some crappy sumitomo or something like that on,they are 245's They have a bit of a strange ware pattern,the outside edge has some cracking.........got to change them sideways every where inthe wet!!!!

Rob you know the car you got, did that had 60k km on the clock? If yes it should still have sp8080 on.

It had 53000 km on. It has Sumitomo's on, I've never heard of them. Made in Japan.I don't think it would have had its dunlops on at that mileage, My UR needed a new set every 15000.The UR is allot lighter so should ware its tyres less. I guess it costs on the tyre front sliding around every round a bout!!!!!