I have searched this and have found a lot of guys are using this tyre, albeit they recommend the 225/50's.

Considering the price difference is around an extra $180 per set of 4 tyres for the 225/50's, i must admit im keen to stick with the 235/45's especially when i only paid $2500 for my car!

I'm going to buy my tyres through bob jane as i have a shitload of commbank reward points to use, and they can do a set of 4 235/45's continental MC5's for $525 (this month continental have a buy 4 get 1 free tyre promo)

The 235/45's are $175 each whereas the 223/50's are $235 ea...

He mentioned that technically its illegal to mount a 235/45 on 7" rim as they are a bit baggy, but he would do it for me as in his experience its fine. (I guess in this day and age of crazily stretched rubber it shouldn't raise too much concern)

I'm a firm believer in putting the best quality tyres on my cars, as sure my car isn't worth a great deal but in the scenario of a chinese tyre vs say a bridgestone tyre in a braking test the chinese tyres pull the car up 4m+ past where the bridgestone tyre pulls the car up those 4 metres make a huge difference between life and death in an emergency situation.

So does the 235/45 work fine in our application? I must admit I find the steering way too light in my magna, jumping in my bmw is a huge difference, so the wider tyre would help add some weight to the steering hopefully it doesnt add a huge amount of understeer?

Well, I won't comment on whether you should or shouldn't as someone will come in guns blazing. However, I've had 3 sets of 235/45/17 tyres on 7" Mitsu VRX rims since 2006 and after travelling about 250,000 to 300,000km I'm still here safe and sound.

Two sets were cheap Chinese tyres (Clear & Diamondback) which suffered awful road noise and tramlining due to the directional and stiff tread pattern and the current set are Pirelli P1s which are excellent. I have these tyres at 35psi which provides a good compromise between comfort and fuel economy.

Well, I won't comment on whether you should or shouldn't as someone will come in guns blazing. However, I've had 3 sets of 235/45/17 tyres on 7" Mitsu VRX rims since 2006 and after travelling about 250,000 to 300,000km I'm still here safe and sound.

Two sets were cheap Chinese tyres (Clear & Diamondback) which suffered awful road noise and tramlining due to the directional and stiff tread pattern and the current set are Pirelli P1s which are excellent. I have these tyres at 35psi which provides a good compromise between comfort and fuel economy.

Thanks dude for your reply!

Yeah cheap tyres are just bloody terrible, and considering normally they last a few years, that's a long time to put up the the noise, poor handling so the extra few hundred dollars is well worth it imo!

i'm going to buy some 17" 6 spoke 380 rims, as i currently have a set of scuffed 15" solara rims with dunlop tyres that are 8 years old (they still have tread but christ they have no grip in the wet!) and im looking forward to a quieter more refined tyre and the 17's shall provide a shit load more grip!

Yes they are illegal for the 7" rim
Yes they will affect the handling of the car due to the side walls having less support

NO they will not magically fall off the rim, blow on the first bump etc

NO I would not personally use them due to the fact they are over size BUT many do and I have yet to hear of a single person having an issue as far as having them and handling go. I have had a couple of customers get pulled up on booze bus when they are doing a quick check and been defected for them due to police checking tyre placard and determining they are wrong tyres

Also check the load rating of the tyres as many 235 are under load ratings for Magna's

Yes they are illegal for the 7" rim
Yes they will affect the handling of the car due to the side walls having less support

NO they will not magically fall off the rim, blow on the first bump etc

NO I would not personally use them due to the fact they are over size BUT many do and I have yet to hear of a single person having an issue as far as having them and handling go. I have had a couple of customers get pulled up on booze bus when they are doing a quick check and been defected for them due to police checking tyre placard and determining they are wrong tyres

Also check the load rating of the tyres as many 235 are under load ratings for Magna's

Luckily the load rating of the conti's are 97, which surpases the magna 95 rating of 95 by memory?

I would have to be incredibly unlucky to get defected for not having an oem size tyre on the car, especially in the case of the oem placard for my car would have the 15" tyre spec (so the plod would have no idea what aspect ratio etc is required on a 17" rim really)

I too went from a standard 15" rim to 17 and understand that a 45% aspect ratio tyre will maintain your speedometer accuracy more than a 55%. There should be calculators on the web that can check this for you.

Police are not so much worried about the profile, it is the 235 fitted to a 17" wheel, both occasions there were Vic Roads at the booze bus doing checks, this is where they ran into issues.

Not sure on other states but here in Vic they will often set up the Sheriffs office, Centrelink, Vic Roads and Boozebus all in one location, usually during the day so they can catch ppl with outstanding fines, those on the dole working, pissed drivers, unlicenced / unregistered and not road worthy

You could always consider 215/55/17 as these are cheaper too

The 215 would be best on a 7" rim in terms of not just legality, but also better tyre performance/handling, which is what you want in a quality tyre.

I would say the 235 will make the steering quality worse if anything, and because they don't fit the rim properly won't perform as well as they should.


As others said technically you could fit the 235, however it's a Bit like wearing a shoe 2-3 sizes too big. If you are just walking around all day you don't notice the difference quite as much, but if you try to play footy in them they won't feel or work as well.

Just going to throw 2 cents in here, granted by car runs 18x8 rims but I have run cheap tyres in the past (Kenda). While I got good life out of them (bar a couple of punctures) the road noise was horrific and no traction in the wet!
I was about to just get some Dunlop/Bridgestone's on the car and spend the extra coin when the guy at Bob Jane suggested their tyre the Xenon's. I was weary but gave them a try as their price point was aright, plus they have a guarantee on their tyres also if it gets a puncture they fix it free for the life of the tyre, if its damaged beyond repair from a puncture they replace it down to 25% plus if its below 25% they credit the difference on a new tyre.

The difference in road noise and grip is unbelievable and they aren't overly expensive, I am not sure if they come in a size applicable to this thread but might be worth a look? I am impressed when I figured I wouldnt be...

Just going to throw 2 cents in here, granted by car runs 18x8 rims but I have run cheap tyres in the past (Kenda). While I got good life out of them (bar a couple of punctures) the road noise was horrific and no traction in the wet!
I was about to just get some Dunlop/Bridgestone's on the car and spend the extra coin when the guy at Bob Jane suggested their tyre the Xenon's. I was weary but gave them a try as their price point was aright, plus they have a guarantee on their tyres also if it gets a puncture they fix it free for the life of the tyre, if its damaged beyond repair from a puncture they replace it down to 25% plus if its below 25% they credit the difference on a new tyre.

The difference in road noise and grip is unbelievable and they aren't overly expensive, I am not sure if they come in a size applicable to this thread but might be worth a look? I am impressed when I figured I wouldnt be...

In my opinion the Xenon tyres are bloody dangerous in the wet, no grip at all, a sprinkle of rain and it's like you're driving on an ice rink. Don't skimp on tyres, they are the only thing keeping you on the road and not wrapped around a tree or whatnot, shit people pay big $$$ for a schmick sound system and other mods and then hesitate paying good dollars for good tyres that may well save your life one day.

In my opinion the Xenon tyres are bloody dangerous in the wet, no grip at all, a sprinkle of rain and it's like you're driving on an ice rink. Don't skimp on tyres, they are the only thing keeping you on the road and not wrapped around a tree or whatnot, shit people pay big $$$ for a schmick sound system and other mods and then hesitate paying good dollars for good tyres that may well save your life one day.

Could not have said it better myself. Is such a typical attitude as the tyres dont make the car sound good or look good cheapest is best. I pay top $$ and if I get more than 40k from a set I throw them out and look for something softer next time.

All in all, the 235 debate is up to the owner, personally I would not take the risk of insurance and transport authority issues but then again back in the 80's was not unusual to wrap 245 Bridgestone Eagers on 7" wheels, looked sick but handled like crap

I run 235/45 on my tf(only becuase needed tyres fast and replaced what was on the rim).225/50 is what the 17x7 magna rims run factory and that 5mm in the sidewall makes a difference to comfort.handling wise the tf goes the same.

With tyres, i had 2 rotalla's that the dealer fitted before my purchase and nearly skidded accross the road when doing a slow left turn in the wet(tcl kicked in).i now have 2 KU31's now and they are heaps better. There is a member who runs wide tyres on a 16"awd rim fdom memory

This is how they look(gt radial Champiro UHP1)
http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o544/johnvirus_01/20130530_131344_zps14217de3.jpg

nearly skidded accross the road when doing a slow left turn in the wet(tcl kicked in).


How did TCL kick in when your TF Altera doesnt have TCL?

How did TCL kick in when your TF Altera doesnt have TCL?

Talking about the vrx when i had the rotallas on the front

I run 235/45 on my tf(only becuase needed tyres fast and replaced what was on the rim).225/50 is what the 17x7 magna rims run factory and that 5mm in the sidewall makes a difference to comfort.handling wise the tf goes the same.

With tyres, i had 2 rotalla's that the dealer fitted before my purchase and nearly skidded accross the road when doing a slow left turn in the wet(tcl kicked in).i now have 2 KU31's now and they are heaps better. There is a member who runs wide tyres on a 16"awd rim fdom memory

This is how they look(gt radial Champiro UHP1)
http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o544/johnvirus_01/20130530_131344_zps14217de3.jpg

Those gtvi rims are a classic clean design, and they look great on your car!

Well the Xenons have far more grip than the cheap Kendas I had before. I don't experience what you are saying regarding the wet, I have never had them slip or slide.
Granted I don't sink my foot in, speed, take corners fast, etc. I guess its about how you drive....

Yes, high end tyres would be nice but on 18x8 rims, they are almost prohibitively expensive for their life span. I feel safe with what I have and the way I drive my car.

In my opinion the Xenon tyres are bloody dangerous in the wet, no grip at all, a sprinkle of rain and it's like you're driving on an ice rink. Don't skimp on tyres, they are the only thing keeping you on the road and not wrapped around a tree or whatnot, shit people pay big $$$ for a schmick sound system and other mods and then hesitate paying good dollars for good tyres that may well save your life one day.

Just wanted to add, everything in/on my car is factory besides the rims. I am not a "shit person", I don't want to spend my entire wage on my car. Its an '01 Verada I owned from nearly new, have no interest in modifying it, the only reason I have aftermarket rims is my friend worked for Bob Jane and they were slightly scuffed at new and no one wanted to buy them. Got them very cheap and ended up costing the same amount of money as replacing the tyres on standard rims. The car isn't worth much even though its in rather good condition. Its an old car and I wont overcapitalise and put top of the range Bridgestone tyres on it, its a $5000 car not a $50,000 car. Keep your car in perspective.

I don't post much on here as I do not care for poor attitudes and having people say I am a 'shit person' because they don't agree with my post, hence why I have made less than 15 posts since 2007. I come on here and search the forum mainly for minor faults and issues and typically find answers I need without posting.

Well theres this thing called inclement weather- conditions..... what price do you put on yours-others lives..... should of stuck with the smaller rims & better tyres. :roll:

Its an old car and I wont overcapitalise and put top of the range Bridgestone tyres on it, its a $5000 car not a $50,000 car. Keep your car in perspective.


Thats fine, but how much value do you place on your own life or others?

Yes i agree on the overcapitalising statement; kind of like, why both having full comp insurance on a $5000 car. Could save the insurance premium instead incase you ever need it.

But just imagine, you cant control the grip your tyres have in the road, so driving 'safely' may be unavoidable. It only takes a thin film of oil mixed with some light rain to make your cheap tyres like ice skates

I'm running 235's on 17" GTVi rims... its not the best, in my limited experience. The tyre shop suggested and installed the tyres so I assume any laws don't apply to them. I'm due for tyres in the next 20,000km's or so, 225's are going on this time.

While on the subject of grip between rims and tyres why are 20" wheels not illegal on Magnas? In my personal experience they are far more dangerous then a 10mm overspec tyre

Well I got the continental Max contact (MC5) 235/45 tyres mounted on my 6 spoke 380 rims yesterday and I'm extremely happy with the results.

http://www.jaxquickfit.com.au/images/tyre_images/wheelweb_feed/jax_angle_main/continental-contimax-contact-mc5.png

http://www.jaxquickfit.com.au/tyres/brands/continental/contimax-contact-mc5

The new new rims (well 2nd hand rims that I bought off gumtree for $140 and spent a few hrs polishing) really look nice and neat and the newfound grip totally transforms the car. There is less pitch and roll of the suspension in the low speed twisties and braking and wet weather grip has been transformed completely (I had 50% worn dunlop sp tyres)

I had expected the steering to be a lot heavier with the much wider tyres, but tbh it has only add a slight amount of weight to the steering (which is a good thing as i found with the small 15" tyres the steering was too light) and it definately hasn't added further induced understeer as the tyres are so much of an improvement of the dunlops I had fitted.

I got lucky with Bob Jane offering a buy 4 tyres get 1 free continental promo, they ended up costing me $525 fitted and i had redeemed around $90k of amex card reward points - $500 voucher to buy the tyres, so at the end of the day the tyres had cost me $25 cash, and the new tyre and rim combo subtotal was only $165 out of my hip pocket.

I will post up some pics eventually...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a257/smoknhothonda/Solara4_zps040d1404.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/smoknhothonda/media/Solara4_zps040d1404.jpg.html)

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a257/smoknhothonda/Solara5_zpsd9565c90.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/smoknhothonda/media/Solara5_zpsd9565c90.jpg.html)

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a257/smoknhothonda/Solara6_zps62d9cec9.jpg (http://s13.photobucket.com/user/smoknhothonda/media/Solara6_zps62d9cec9.jpg.html)

......