Tires for the '05 300

I'm finding that tire size p215/65/r17 is only available in a Goodyear
integrity or a Continental Contitrac anybody know of any other better
tire?where I can find?

 

You are probably out of luck. I have already started looking for
tires for my Magnum RT. They are 225/60/18. Continental is
apparently the only company that makes them -- just for the Dodge
Magnum. (They may be the same tires as the 300 if you get the
optional 18" wheels.) But I have checked several places on the
internet, and can find nothing in my size but Continental.

Dan

 

I have a customer who wants Michelin but I don't think they even make that
size,I don't care for Goodyear or Continental.

 

Doesn't the Bentley-300 have 18" wheels?

Heck, 215-65-17 is a pussy tire compared to 225-55-17 on the 300m.

Just went to tirerack and yes, most varients of the 300 do indeed have
17" wheels. Seems the Touring version (with AWD) comes with 18"
wheels as does AWD/RWD versions of 300C. SRT-8 comes with 245/45-20
standard.

When it comes to 215/65TR17, you have these 2 choices:

Continental ContiTouringContact CT95
Tire rack shows 2 versions of this tire ($70 vs $62), not sure why.
Fared very poorly in on-line survey.

Goodyear Integrity
Priced at $64. Fared only a little better than the Continental.
Consensus for both tires was that people would probably not /
Definitely Not buy these tires again.

So, Chrysler chose a stock tire size for the Bentley-300 where only
shitty tires are available in that size eh?

Doesn't get much better for the 225/60TR18 size for the 300C. Only 4
tires available in that size, and 3 are made by Continental. Sure -
get a hemi. And then get stuck with shitty tires. Way to go
Chrysler.

What is the rim width on the stock 17" wheel for the 2005 300?

You're better off going with 225-55-17. Lots of choices there (about
50 of them).

 

7 inches

 

I'm trying to remember if the wheels on my 300M are 7 or 7.5" wide.

At any rate, the "theoretical" or statistically-recommended tire for a
7" wide wheel is a "217" for which the closest commercial size is 215
(which is what you have).

The typical tollerance is +/- 1/2 inch, which means that a 215 tire
would fit rims from 6.5 to 7.5 inches wide, and a 225 tire would fit
rims from 7 to 7.5 inches (almost 8" actually).

So you could stick with 215 tires or go to 225 (if the 300M's have 7"
wheels then certainly you could go with 225 tires).

Let's look at your exact size: p215/65/r17

The freestanding (unloaded) over-all diameter is 28.004 inches.

The effective (loaded and rolling) diameter is going to be 27.2".

Your tires are about 1.25" larger in diameter than 225/55/17 (stock
tire for 300M). So you probably don't want that size if you want to
maintain correct readings on your speedo and odo.

So, if you go to a 225 tire, which one will give you the same size as
your 215?

Well, it would have to be a 225/60/17 (and even then you're off by
almost 1/2" in diameter). Are there 225/60/17 tires available?

According to Tire Rack, yes, about 14 tires. Sorted according to
price (from least to most expensive) are:

Bridgestone Turanza EL42
Continental Touring Contact AS (listed twice)
Goodyear Integrity
Yokohama AVID TRZ
Pirelli P6 Four Seasons
Goodyear Eagle LS
Michelin Energy LX4 (listed twice)
Goodyear Fortera HL Edition
Bridgestone Blizzak LM-50 (snow tire)
Dunlop Graspic DS-2 DSST CTT (snow tire)
Dunlop SP Sport 4000T DSST
Bridgestone B380 RFT

The price range runs from to $68 to $212.

In looking through the ratings for those tires, the first one that has
any sort of positive rating (from top to bottom) is the Goodyear
Fortera HL Edition ($123) - most people said they would probably buy
that tire again. That's based on 286 submissions for that tire.
Apparently Goodyear calls that tire a "premium Highway All-Season
light truck tire".

What (according to the EZboards) are 300/300C owners putting on their
cars as replacements?

Conclusion:

If I were forced to own a Bentely-300, and it was time to buy a new
set of tires for the stock 17" x 7" rims, I would piss on the stock
factory tire size (215/65/17) and instead opt for 225/60/17 and choose
the Goodyear Fortera HL (really the only decent tire on that list).

For anyone looking at either size (215/65/17) or (225/60/17), you
should note that there are no high-performance or "summer" tires
available for either size. The best you can do is a high or
ultra-performance all-season tire for those sizes.

 

These American made Continental's are really re-badged Armstrong's; remember
them?

Richard

 

Umm - can't say that I've ever come across any Armstrong tires.

A web search indicates that there is some sort of connection or
affiliation between Pirelli and Armstrong. Further research indicates
that Pirelli bought Armstrong in 1989.

Apparently, Armstrong was a major tire manufacturer in the US in the
early 1960's (5'th largest). Sears Roebuck was a major shareholder
and Armstrong tires were sold in Sears stores at the time.

"Armstrong is one of the oldest names in the tire industry and is
remembered by the baby boomers through its famous "Grip the Road"
Ads."

If the 1960's were the hey-day of Armstrong, then I'm not old enough
to have experienced that.

Since Pirelli bought Armstrong, I'm not sure I understand your linkage
between Armstrong and Continental - unless there is also a link
between Pirelli and Continental?

Is it possible to buy "Armstrong" branded tires today?

 

In the old days, manufacturers used to have to actually sell a tradename
good once in a while to keep it active so occassionally you might find a
small bunch of products with an old name that the manufacturer wanted to
keep alive, at the store. Now they can just warehouse tradenames with the
PTO office by paying a fee so it is unlikely you will find a product with an
old name at the store unless the manufacturer really intends on bringing it
back to use.

 

Besides Continental is owned by Goodyear now! I don't see the affiliation
between armstrong and conti either! Sort of like the 300C is a Desoto!

 

Conti/Touring/Contact, P225/60 R18 Conti*Seal

The initial complaint is that it drifts to the right.

This looks like a good place to ask this question. My 300C is drifting to
the right and after two alignments at my Chrysler dealer, (2000-2600)
miles, tire rotation front to rear and then alignment again at 7600 miles
with my own tire man. The alignment has been just minor and was right
on after each re-alignment.

Tires are feathered and cupped with estimated replacement required
at 14000 miles.

I have been told by two separate Chrysler Dealerships that it is the
crown of the highway.

However, my fourth trip to the dealer with supervisors test driving has
resulted in a schedule for the fifth trip to service for maybe a cross
tire rotation.

Any comments would be appreciated.

BTW, I love the car and it is a joy to drive with much comfort inside, I
just might have to settle for tire replacement early than I have in the
past. (If we can locate them!)

Sam


----- Original Message -----
From: "David" <>
Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.Chrysler
Sent: Sunday, April 10, 2005 10:17 AM
Subject: Re: Tires for the '05 300

 

I think Chrysler has already come out with at least one TSB and some kit
to correct the 300C for lead. Don't accept the "road crown" crap. That
seems to be the standard "please go away and leave us alone" first
response of dealers on any pull/lead complaint. Some LH cars had
similar problems that were correctable - sure enough a TSB came out
after many people had been told it was all in their head. There was a
short thread on here some time ago (a year ago maybe) about the issue on
300C's when it first cropped up and I believe someone posted a link to
some 300 forum regarding the TSB and kit - do a Google search on this
newsgroup.

BTW - on the alignment: Did you/they look not only at the parameters on
each side, but also on the cross-parameters (i.e., side-to-side
differences). On a given parameter, there is a limit for left and
right, but if one is near one end of the limit but still in spec., and
the other side is near the opposite end of the limit but still in spec.
(i.e., large side-to-side difference), that could easily cause a pull to
one side. People often forget to look at, or are ignorant of the
existence/importance of, the side-to-side differences.

And, yes - it could very well be a tire problem, which maybe a
cross-rotation will prove.

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

There is indeed a "fix" for "pulls to the right." It's a new bolt for
one of the alignment adjustments. I had to convince the service
writer (he no longer has his job) that there was a fix. First they
did an alignment, and admitted that it really did pull to the right.
It pulled a lot before the alignment, and only a little afterwards.
But it had nothing to do with the crown of the road. The final fix
was the new bolt and another alignment. Now it tracks straight as can
be.

 

Gentlemen thank you for the prompt reply.
I will bring to the attention of the Chrysler Service
Department the possibility of "Side-To-Side"
differences a "New Bolt"

Sam

 

That bolt would be a camber adjusting bolt (also called camming bolt).

Bill Putney
(To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my
adddress with the letter 'x')

 

there is a issue with this that dc is trying to get resolved and so far the fix
is shifting the cradle and there is a new crosscaster setting for the front end
alignment just released in the last week in a new tsb
they also have the tire guys involved some think the tires are doing it
but from what i have seen the the new cross caster setting makes it go straight