LOl is right. The only car I can remember having tubes was my 47 chevy that I had in 1959. I know young people think 98 is an old car, but to me it is one of the "new fangled" cars. Has to be from at least the 70s to be an old car. Or maybe I should say it needs to have a carburetor, and maybe even points and condenser for ignition.1998? It probably had inner tubes inside it LOL. My 84 Isuzu bought it new had inner tubes in it. I was surprised
Do you mean the old tire that are on it now, or the new lower profile tires???With tires like that you will be able to roll over any coin and tell if it's heads or tails.
Your thinking of NARROW tires,. Most 20's have tire that are skinny in the vertical direction, thereby meaning LESS sidewall.IMO, all things equal, including tire pressures, skinny tires should ride smoother that wide tires. But probably other factors like sidewall construction and height play a bigger part.
I was guessing at recommended tire pressure based on the year of the vehicle. 35 is good, but if the ride is objectionable, a few PSI less won't hurt unless your out there hitting the interstate.Do you mean I should be running 30/32 PSI in my current tires, even though the door jam and book says 35PSI?
Yes, narrow as in width or skinny like road bike tires. Short side wall heights I usually refer to the standard tire size convention of width/profile(percentage of the width) and rim diameter in inches. So a 155/80R13 is a skinny high profile tire to me. 245/40R15 is a wide-ish low profile tire.Your thinking of NARROW tires,. Most 20's have tire that are skinny in the vertical direction, thereby meaning LESS sidewall.
So there's really no way to discern a 'stiff' tire from a 'soft' tire in any feasible manner. That's depressing. I based this off the last couple sets of tires I bought and went back and compared load ratings. In my case, the higher load rated tires rode much rougher, but I guess it could have been a coincidence. This was on a Trailblazer and Town and Country. Trailblazer went from lower rated BFG to higher Cooper and got rougher. T&C went from higher rated Cooper to lower Pirelli and got softer. I don't guess it's directly correlated but the rougher, higher load tires also were both somewhat larger - same size but you know how some tires just are meatier than others.Yes, load rating in tires are a thing - BUT - for a given size, the maximum load carrying capacity of a tire is the same (more or less) because tires are standardized! (and, as usual, there are some exceptions!)
Second, ride quality in truck tires (and other types of tires) doesn't really change with differences in load ratings (meaning Load Range) - and that's because the strongest influence for ride quality is inflation pressure, not sidewall stiffness. Yes, some tires will have much stiffer sidewalls and therefore worse ride, but inflation pressure is still a dominant factor.
Further, the difference in sidewall stiffness between Load Ranges within a make/model is minuscule. There are differences between brands - and even models within a brand, but within a make/model, those difference are tiny.
So to answer the OP's question: Careful selection of the make/model is going to yield more difference than a simple tire size change would. However, changing from a 15" to a 17" will put you in a different range of values, so the average 17" tire will ride worse than the average 15" tire, but there is a considerable overlap.
In passenger tires, the lower load rated, or lower speed rated, will be a lighter tire, and have fewer plies on the tread surface and sidewall. These should ride "smoother" I believe, all things equal, but rubber compounds and tread pattern are very important to NVH from a tire too.So there's really no way to discern a 'stiff' tire from a 'soft' tire in any feasible manner. That's depressing. I based this off the last couple sets of tires I bought and went back and compared load ratings. In my case, the higher load rated tires rode much rougher, but I guess it could have been a coincidence. This was on a Trailblazer and Town and Country. Trailblazer went from lower rated BFG to higher Cooper and got rougher. T&C went from higher rated Cooper to lower Pirelli and got softer. I don't guess it's directly correlated but the rougher, higher load tires also were both somewhat larger - same size but you know how some tires just are meatier than others.
Hey that's my new nick name "Snow tire".In passenger tires, the lower load rated, or lower speed rated, will be a lighter tire, and have fewer plies on the tread surface and sidewall. These should ride "smoother" I believe, all things equal, but rubber compounds and tread pattern are very important to NVH from a tire too.
Lots of cheap flimsy snow tires are probably smoother riding in terms of g forces transmitted to the car than a good all season, but are noisy or grumbly and generally unpleasant.
This^^^^^^^^. The more sidewall between the rim and the road, the softer the ride. ex. I prefer the 65 aspect ratio for my '17 Camry.....Better ride than the 55 or lower aspect ratios.Yes, load rating in tires are a thing - BUT - for a given size, the maximum load carrying capacity of a tire is the same (more or less) because tires are standardized! (and, as usual, there are some exceptions!)
Second, ride quality in truck tires (and other types of tires) doesn't really change with differences in load ratings (meaning Load Range) - and that's because the strongest influence for ride quality is inflation pressure, not sidewall stiffness. Yes, some tires will have much stiffer sidewalls and therefore worse ride, but inflation pressure is still a dominant factor.
Further, the difference in sidewall stiffness between Load Ranges within a make/model is minuscule. There are differences between brands - and even models within a brand, but within a make/model, those difference are tiny.
So to answer the OP's question: Careful selection of the make/model is going to yield more difference than a simple tire size change would. However, changing from a 15" to a 17" will put you in a different range of values, so the average 17" tire will ride worse than the average 15" tire, but there is a considerable overlap.
New lower profile tires.Do you mean the old tire that are on it now, or the new lower profile tires???
The reason they "beat you to death" is 'cause they're Low Profile.New lower profile tires.
I tried some on my 77 Z/28. For some reason they beat me to death. But man, could they ever hug a nice curve at high speeds!
You'll get 0.16" or so (about 5/32, half typical tread depth) extra sidewall. For more comfort, you'd be better off to look at tires optimized for comfort. Tirerack only shows 3 tires in 215/70-17 as well. 225/65-17 is very popular. For snow traction, look at (yeah, I'm a broken record, sorry) tires optimized for that. Tirerack will have comparisons where you can see many advantages and disadvantages of different product.My car came with 225/65-17 and when I eventually have to replace them I may go to 215/70-17 to get a bit more sidewall comfort into the ride.