2005 tires

[Panspeter]

Time for new tires for my 2005, anyone have any reccomendations on tires that are quiet but don't sacrafice handeling? Any size changes that have been tried out that look good and perform well?

[jarhead]

I'm in the same boat with my '03. I'll be interested to see what reccommendations get posted.

[George]

A loyt of the owners I know went with 235/55:

They have gone with taller tires rather than wider. The idea was to fill out the wheel wells a little more.
235/55R/17's are what many have used and it was reportedly the tire Ford designers had originally intended for the RetroBird.

A friend in FL said "the 235 55's are the way to go. I have the Vogue's and they are AWESOME."

Just some info

[Babs]

I have a 2002 Tbird and I'm looking for tires. I went to tire kingdom to purchase Michlen Pilot HX MX M4. They are trying to talk me into Sumitomo Touring LSV. Has anyone any experience with these tires?

Then I went to Goodyear and they want to sell me Eagl Responsed XE.

I'm confused and need help. I only drive it at the most 3000 miles per years.
Could someone suggest a good tire? I didn't even think about the 55.

Barbara

[George]

For that kind of driving I would only use the exact tire that's on the car today. You get into Eagles etc. and the cost goes up.
So, take the info off the sidewall and call around local tire stores, and the Tire Rack if you have one and get three prices---even price them at Ford or Lincoln/Mercury dealers.

[Babs]

George,

I bought it used and it doesn't have the original tires on it. I'm trying to find out what the original's were. If you could tell me I would be most thankful.

Barbara

[George]

Hi Babs:
The originals are Michelin P 235/50 R17 but many have gone to P235/55 R17 for a better ride. These fill out the wheel wells a little more.

One owner said, "235/55R/17's are what many of us have used and was reportedly the tire Ford designers had originally intended for the RetroBird."

Another owner says, "The 50's will cause Bump Steer si I believe the 235/55's are the way to go. I have the Vogue's tires that size and they are awesome."

So there you go. Let us know how you make out

[Babs]

George, thank you! I can't tell you how much time I have spent looking for the original tires. I will be off to the tire store after Easter.

[BobH]

I was looking for low road noise and good handling when replacing the tires on my 2005 along with good handling on wet roads and light snow. I went with Bridgestone Turanza Serenity tires. I now have about 35,000 miles on the Bridgestones and I'm quite happy with them.

[Panspeter]

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply to my question. I am particuarly interested in exploring the 55R17 angle.
Smooth and Quiet is what I am interested in, as I rarely drive in a manner that requires a sport tire.

[Quickdraw]

Does the "55" size affect the speedometer reading? Seems like you would be going faster than the speedo shows with the larger tires....

[George]

I don't believe it would, since they are still 17" tires..

[Skylark]

I replaced my 235/50's with 235/55's and the installer had a chart that showed the speedometer would be about 3% slower than the actual speed. Assuming that your speedometer is absolutley accurate, at an indicated 70 mph you would be travelling about 72.5 mph. The difference in height was .46 inch. Driving a steady indicated 70 mph a GPS showed my car to be traveling 71 mph. Not as large a difference as I had expected.

[papdavidson]

On another Thunderbird forum, it is widely reported that the speedometer shows to be a few MPH lower than actual with the stock 235/50-17 tires when compared to a GPS speed. When tires were changed to 235/55-17, the speedometer matched the GPS speed. I have not tested this myself.
Another factor is that different brand tires can vary in revolutions per mile even for the same size tire.
Does not sound like a deal breaker for you either way with the low miles you drive. However, as long as you are buying new anyway, I would go with the 235/55-17 simply because some many people have reported positive benefits of that change.

[nrogero]

I have a 2004.

I just put a set of BFGoodrich GTire -FORCE T/A KDWS Tire - 255/50R17 101W BSW.

It is a wider tire. It fits great. Looks Great and Handles Great. I am sooo glad I did it.

It speedometer difference is within one mile per hour only.