Which Tyres Are Better? Tubeless Or Low Profile?

1self · 28th September 2006, 10:21

Dear Members!!

The other day i saw a really well done Optra with really low profile tyres, the kind you see in the American & European muscle cars. since i run on tubeless tyres, which play absolutely no part in absorbing road irregularities, i was wondering if i could put a low profile set the next time i changed tyres....what will the difference be?

appreciate inputs from the experts here.

ghostrider4385 · 28th September 2006, 10:37

Huh? And what gave you the idea that low-pros are not tubeless. And FYI, the lower the profile of the tires, the more you will feel the bumps on the road.

If there was a comparision to be done, ideally it should have been done between the radial and tubeless type tires.

I think you have gotten confused somewhere. Kindly read through the threads in the wheels and tires section. That would surely answer any doubts or misconceptions you have.

Godspeed,

Alok

1self · 28th September 2006, 11:15

Dear Ghostrider!!

let me rephrase my query....what i meant was the diameter of the tyre from the wheel disc to the threads. by low profile i meant that this diameter is low, as compared to normal (tubed or tubeless) tyres. these are all radials anyway.

khanak · 28th September 2006, 11:16

I dont think American Muscle cars come with low profile tyres

Unless your talking about what Chip Foose does which is aftermarket

1self · 28th September 2006, 11:49

dear ghostrider,
let me rephrase my query! what i meant was the diameter of the tyre from the rim of the wheel disc to the treads. performance cars have this diameter very low, as compared to indian vehicles. they are all radials. that the ride is relatively more bumpy with these tyres is a forgone conclusion. what i am asking is wheather it is worthwhile to suffer the bumpy ride for hugely better handling?

esteem_lover · 28th September 2006, 16:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1self

dear ghostrider,
let me rephrase my query! what i meant was the diameter of the tyre from the rim of the wheel disc to the treads. performance cars have this diameter very low, as compared to indian vehicles. they are all radials. that the ride is relatively more bumpy with these tyres is a forgone conclusion. what i am asking is wheather it is worthwhile to suffer the bumpy ride for hugely better handling?

dear 1self,
you are still not clear with your question. the 'diameter' that you keep referring to is the profile of the tyre. lesser the profile, better the look but bumpier the ride. if you can stick to something in between, you got yourself a winner, whether tube or tubeless.

p.s this question should have been addressed in the tyre * alloy wheels section

ollie · 28th September 2006, 17:19

Well dude !
This querry should have really been in the Tyre and Alloy wheels sections, but anyways..
I was first driving my honda city with bridgestone tubeless tyres, the ride was absolutely good, when i modded my car i decided to go for the 16" low profile tyres, wat i noticed was that the ride became very rough, well i rarely use my honda city.. but i still feel that if you are using tubeless tyres, you should stick to it. Low profile i feel is not ment for roads in India..
Cheers,
Ollie

hydrashok · 28th September 2006, 18:06

Low profiles definitely make a huge (positive) difference in handling. But again, you'll need to balance that with the trade-off in ride quality. Depends on what kind of driving style you adopt most of the time. And on how often you have normal (non-car crazy) folk riding in the car. My mom curses the ride whenever she's in the car with me (rarely, thank god) since I switched from 65 profiles to 50 profiles.

speed911 · 29th September 2006, 12:48

hi,
on indian roads i would always prefer more rubber for my car footware. more rubber wud cruse u over the pot-holes more smoothly so that you dont need to man-handle your car. low profiles hampers the quality of your ride, so i would never vote for low profiles in india.

Cheers!!!

srirajkota · 24th October 2009, 19:07

Hi ! I am not sure if this is the correct place(Sorry !!!), but I wanted advice on upgrading OE tyres on my esteem, I feel that low profile tyres really look cool but looks aside is it better to have more rubber ? Also going for low profile would mean chaning the wheel rim as well. Pls help....Tks

nura · 24th October 2009, 21:59

Hi, Srirajkota! I am no tyre & wheel guru but have been studying these threads lately because of a planned upgrade to my soon (hopefully) to be delivered Ford Fiesta. So let me take a shot at your question.
The most important thing here is to keep the rolling radius of the new tyre & wheel combination almost the same as that of the old tyre & wheel combination. The rolling radius is the distance from the the centre of the wheel to the tread-edge & is expressed in mm. Remember the wheel diameter is expressed in inches, the tyre width in mm & the aspect ratio as a percentage! If you alter the rolling radius too much, you will not only get speedo & odo errors, your fuel efficiency may also get compromised.
So if you want to reduce your tyre profile, you need to get wheels with a correspondingly bigger diameter.
Sometimes people think that a lower aspect ratio number means that the tyre has a lower profile. This may not be true at all e.g a 175/65R14 tyre has almost the same profile as a 185/60R14 tyre. (65% of 175 = 113.75 & 60% of 185 = 111)
A lower profile generally means better handling but a harsher ride.
Hope this helps.

motionfreak · 24th October 2009, 22:42

low profile --------------- high profile
better handling ----------better ride

My palio originally had 165/85 R13 ie 13" wheel tyres
now it has 195/55 R15 ie 15" wheel tyres, new wheels have reduced the ride quality a bit and improved the handling very much.
But any automobile enthusiast would prefer better handling.

_abhishek · 24th October 2009, 23:05

In Indian roads, having a low profile is just a style statement. I dont think it serves any purpose other than making grabbing attention and making people say wow.

A low profile do come with better handling. On the other side the ride quality will be hard. So is it worth spending so much on low profile tires for an expensive car and driving it with the bumpy ride quality compared to the autos or local buses?

How much more grip do we require on road? Stock tires provide optimum performance. For an upgrade, one level higher than stock tire is preferred. The grip provided by low profile is required when we are constantly doing 160-180+ on highways, which is seriously not recommended on our roads.

Shan2nu · 24th October 2009, 23:17

Is this a trick question? LOL

I think you meant high profile vs low profile.....

In simple, high profile for comfort and low profile for performance. I think anything below 55 is taking it a bit too low for Indian conditions.

60 seems to offer the best balance between ride and handling.

Shan2nu

motionfreak · 24th October 2009, 23:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by _abhishek

In Indian roads, having a low profile is just a style statement. I dont think it serves any purpose other than making grabbing attention and making people say wow.

A low profile do come with better handling. On the other side the ride quality will be hard. So is it worth spending so much on low profile tires for an expensive car and driving it with the bumpy ride quality compared to the autos or local buses?

How much more grip do we require on road? Stock tires provide optimum performance. For an upgrade, one level higher than stock tire is preferred. The grip provided by low profile is required when we are constantly doing 160-180+ on highways, which is seriously not recommended on our roads.

Dude, I guess you have got "Yokohama S-drive tires 205/55/R15" on your Swift.

Dil Pe Mat Le!!

28th September 2006, 10:21	#1
1self BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 629 Thanked: 330 Times View My Garage	Dear Members!! The other day i saw a really well done Optra with really low profile tyres, the kind you see in the American & European muscle cars. since i run on tubeless tyres, which play absolutely no part in absorbing road irregularities, i was wondering if i could put a low profile set the next time i changed tyres....what will the difference be? appreciate inputs from the experts here.
	() Thanks

28th September 2006, 10:37	#2
ghostrider4385 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 389 Thanked: 12 Times	Huh? And what gave you the idea that low-pros are not tubeless. And FYI, the lower the profile of the tires, the more you will feel the bumps on the road. If there was a comparision to be done, ideally it should have been done between the radial and tubeless type tires. I think you have gotten confused somewhere. Kindly read through the threads in the wheels and tires section. That would surely answer any doubts or misconceptions you have. Godspeed, Alok
	() Thanks

28th September 2006, 11:15	#3
1self BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 629 Thanked: 330 Times View My Garage	Dear Ghostrider!! let me rephrase my query....what i meant was the diameter of the tyre from the wheel disc to the threads. by low profile i meant that this diameter is low, as compared to normal (tubed or tubeless) tyres. these are all radials anyway.
	() Thanks

28th September 2006, 11:16	#4
khanak Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai/Toronto Posts: 2,799 Thanked: 268 Times View My Garage	I dont think American Muscle cars come with low profile tyres Unless your talking about what Chip Foose does which is aftermarket Last edited by khanak : 28th September 2006 at 11:18.
	() Thanks

28th September 2006, 11:49	#5
1self BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Pune Posts: 629 Thanked: 330 Times View My Garage	dear ghostrider, let me rephrase my query! what i meant was the diameter of the tyre from the rim of the wheel disc to the treads. performance cars have this diameter very low, as compared to indian vehicles. they are all radials. that the ride is relatively more bumpy with these tyres is a forgone conclusion. what i am asking is wheather it is worthwhile to suffer the bumpy ride for hugely better handling?
	() Thanks

28th September 2006, 17:19	#7
ollie BHPian Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 289 Thanked: Once	Well dude ! This querry should have really been in the Tyre and Alloy wheels sections, but anyways.. I was first driving my honda city with bridgestone tubeless tyres, the ride was absolutely good, when i modded my car i decided to go for the 16" low profile tyres, wat i noticed was that the ride became very rough, well i rarely use my honda city.. but i still feel that if you are using tubeless tyres, you should stick to it. Low profile i feel is not ment for roads in India.. Cheers, Ollie
	() Thanks

28th September 2006, 18:06	#8
hydrashok Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: In my Office Posts: 2,528 Thanked: 17 Times View My Garage	Low profiles definitely make a huge (positive) difference in handling. But again, you'll need to balance that with the trade-off in ride quality. Depends on what kind of driving style you adopt most of the time. And on how often you have normal (non-car crazy) folk riding in the car. My mom curses the ride whenever she's in the car with me (rarely, thank god) since I switched from 65 profiles to 50 profiles.
	() Thanks

29th September 2006, 12:48	#9
speed911 Newbie Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7 Thanked: 0 Times	hi, on indian roads i would always prefer more rubber for my car footware. more rubber wud cruse u over the pot-holes more smoothly so that you dont need to man-handle your car. low profiles hampers the quality of your ride, so i would never vote for low profiles in india. Cheers!!!
	() Thanks

24th October 2009, 19:07	#10
srirajkota Newbie Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New Delhi Posts: 21 Thanked: 69 Times	Hi ! I am not sure if this is the correct place(Sorry !!!), but I wanted advice on upgrading OE tyres on my esteem, I feel that low profile tyres really look cool but looks aside is it better to have more rubber ? Also going for low profile would mean chaning the wheel rim as well. Pls help....Tks
	() Thanks

24th October 2009, 21:59	#11
nura BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Kolkata Posts: 599 Thanked: 17 Times	Hi, Srirajkota! I am no tyre & wheel guru but have been studying these threads lately because of a planned upgrade to my soon (hopefully) to be delivered Ford Fiesta. So let me take a shot at your question. The most important thing here is to keep the rolling radius of the new tyre & wheel combination almost the same as that of the old tyre & wheel combination. The rolling radius is the distance from the the centre of the wheel to the tread-edge & is expressed in mm. Remember the wheel diameter is expressed in inches, the tyre width in mm & the aspect ratio as a percentage! If you alter the rolling radius too much, you will not only get speedo & odo errors, your fuel efficiency may also get compromised. So if you want to reduce your tyre profile, you need to get wheels with a correspondingly bigger diameter. Sometimes people think that a lower aspect ratio number means that the tyre has a lower profile. This may not be true at all e.g a 175/65R14 tyre has almost the same profile as a 185/60R14 tyre. (65% of 175 = 113.75 & 60% of 185 = 111) A lower profile generally means better handling but a harsher ride. Hope this helps.
	() Thanks

24th October 2009, 22:42	#12
motionfreak BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Thane Posts: 193 Thanked: 64 Times	low profile --------------- high profile better handling ----------better ride My palio originally had 165/85 R13 ie 13" wheel tyres now it has 195/55 R15 ie 15" wheel tyres, new wheels have reduced the ride quality a bit and improved the handling very much. But any automobile enthusiast would prefer better handling.
	() Thanks

24th October 2009, 23:05	#13
_abhishek BHPian Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 126 Thanked: 6 Times View My Garage	In Indian roads, having a low profile is just a style statement. I dont think it serves any purpose other than making grabbing attention and making people say wow. A low profile do come with better handling. On the other side the ride quality will be hard. So is it worth spending so much on low profile tires for an expensive car and driving it with the bumpy ride quality compared to the autos or local buses? How much more grip do we require on road? Stock tires provide optimum performance. For an upgrade, one level higher than stock tire is preferred. The grip provided by low profile is required when we are constantly doing 160-180+ on highways, which is seriously not recommended on our roads.
	() Thanks

24th October 2009, 23:17	#14
Shan2nu Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Hubli - Karnata Posts: 5,533 Thanked: 125 Times View My Garage	Is this a trick question? LOL I think you meant high profile vs low profile..... In simple, high profile for comfort and low profile for performance. I think anything below 55 is taking it a bit too low for Indian conditions. 60 seems to offer the best balance between ride and handling. Shan2nu
	() Thanks