I collect tires... I had 3 sets with more than 75% tread on all them at one time... now down to 2 sets and I need to buy tires this summer. Hello wheel/tire combo.

 

Most likely, the vast improvement is due to the tire that you upgraded to, not the size. On the stock tire size, I got my 6th gen sedan to hold 0.9G's lateral on multiple occasions with all-season rubber - I hit 0.95 twice. IMO, the tire patch size isn-t the limiting factor regarding these cars- handling performance.

 

That's actually a good point. I remember the V6 Accord that comes standard with 225 tires on 17" rims, got as bad braking performance as did the 4-cyl Accord with 205 tires on 16" rims. Goes to show that in that situation once again, it's not the tires, its the brakes! I think I'll stick with the 205's, thanks for the help guys!

 

For all-season, I recommend Toyo Proxy4-s .... that-s what I-m using now. For summer, KDW's. I plan to try out a set of RE-01R's when I get rims .... I hear that they outperform the KDW's from a reputable source ...... Dr. Isotope, auto engineer.

 

Thanks for the replies and help, I decided to go with Cooper...yes Cooper. I called a client of mine, and after doing tons of research, he throws out there this tire. I was like, Cooper? Cooper in my mind has always been a cheap tire, and he told me it was the best all-season tire for my car. I did some research, and said what the hell, this guy knows tires better than I do, I'll give a new brand a try. So I ended up with the Cooper CS4 Touring V-rated.

I have about 1,000 miles on the tires, and they ride pretty good. Much better handling, and performance in wet weather and snow. The only thing I don't like about them is that they have a such a low rolling resistance, that on the highway, you touch the steering wheel and little bit, and the car moves. The original Bridgestones were better than these when it came to highway driving, but were louder, these tires are so damn quiet. I think they are a great mix of luxury and performance. Once I do some autocross this summer, I'll let everyone know how they really performed.

PS, I stayed with the 205 size.