Tyre profile

[abitofchange23]

Hi
What is the highest profile tyre I can put on my hdi ''s'' estate? I have 16 inch nimrod alloys, with 205/55/16's on, but wondered if I could put maybe 215/65/16's on?.......the reason is I am always on bumpy, muddy, country roads...and off road!!!!!!! Not sure if the bigger tyres will end up smashing the wheel arches apart!!!
Any advice would be appreciated

[PeterN]

You really need a set of 15" wheels which is what most 406's use anyway, all of mine have anyway, yours must be a late one. They use 195/65/15" which do give a better ride. I have to drive over a forest track to reach the road so I understand your problem.

Your choice of tyres makes a lot of difference too. I have done quite a lot of research on this and have found that Dunlop blue response or Good Year efficient grip are about the softest tyres you can get which also have good wear characteristics, for a cheaper tyre Nexen are about the softest.

If you live in the west country I have a set of 15" wheels and tyres you can have as a swap for your 16's, I need to keep wheels on the scrap car so I can move it if necessary. You should be able to pick up a set of 15" at your local friendly scrap yard.

Peter

[abitofchange23]

You really need a set of 15" wheels which is what most 406's use anyway, all of mine have anyway, yours must be a late one. They use 195/65/15" which do give a better ride. I have to drive over a forest track to reach the road so I understand your problem.

Your choice of tyres makes a lot of difference too. I have done quite a lot of research on this and have found that Dunlop blue response or Good Year efficient grip are about the softest tyres you can get which also have good wear characteristics, for a cheaper tyre Nexen are about the softest.

If you live in the west country I have a set of 15" wheels and tyres you can have as a swap for your 16's, I need to keep wheels on the scrap car so I can move it if necessary. You should be able to pick up a set of 15" at your local friendly scrap yard.

Peter

I have 2 other hdi estates with 15" wheels which I could use, what I was really getting at is if I could put the 215/65/16s on my rims as there are loads of decent secondhand tyres of that size around that come off landy disco's or other suv's

[GingerMagic]

If you fit the 215/65/16 then you will gain an extra 27mm in height, and your speedo will be 7% out.

You could find a 205/60/16 which is better and will be 10mm larger with a 3% speedo inaccuracy.

I use this site - www.willtheyfit.com as a fitment guide, simply enter your current size, and the size you are looking at, and all the differences will be on screen.

[dirtydirtydiesel]

I echo everything Ginger has said BUT
If your not bothered about the speedo reading high, so your actually going a bit slower
& you've got standard ridehight then I think you'll be fine with the tyres you have suggested.

Just don't go any bigger.
As standard the 406 has a lot of wheelarch clearance both in ride height & width.
My own estate has coupe starfish on with 205/55/16 tyres , the coupe wheels are less offset so stick out more
& I have lowered it 40mm & tow a caravan fully laden down Welsh & Cornish lanes & have never had ANY issues

The reason I mentioned the coupe offset difference is because it's a greater difference than your tyre choice's
You can also get longer/hd springs to rise the rideheight a bit more

[abitofchange23]

I echo everything Ginger has said BUT
If your not bothered about the speedo reading high, so your actually going a bit slower
& you've got standard ridehight then I think you'll be fine with the tyres you have suggested.

Just don't go any bigger.
As standard the 406 has a lot of wheelarch clearance both in ride height & width.
My own estate has coupe starfish on with 205/55/16 tyres , the coupe wheels are less offset so stick out more
& I have lowered it 40mm & tow a caravan fully laden down Welsh & Cornish lanes & have never had ANY issues

The reason I mentioned the coupe offset difference is because it's a greater difference than your tyre choice's
You can also get longer/hd springs to rise the rideheight a bit more

Cheers. Whether they would fit without rubbing on the wheel arches is what I needed to know. I will give it a go in the next few weeks and let you all know if it works!!!