The Lotus Grand Tourers

So apparently the rear suspension was mis adjusted when I bought the car, causing wearing on the outside of the left rear tire.
It had 205-55 15 Kumho PS31 summer tires on it, which galled me, even though I really don't drive in the cold.
But I might

So I bought the tires in the title, all season, 225-50/15 as that is the closest size[exact diameter of the previous 10mm wider than factory]

First, they fit, apparently with no interference.

Second, the car feels transformed

Before, with theoretically stickier tires, it felt a bit squishy. Well, I had never driven one, and the front dampers might be weak.

But now, even with the nubs yet to be worn off, it handles the way I think it should

Sharper

Maybe the 55 aspect ratio is just tall enough to feel squishy, or maybe the sidewalls are not stiff enough, but I think the former tires stink

Those are the same tires I have on my '85. There aren't many options in that size and I didn't want a track focused tire. Been happy with them since I put them on last summer. About 2000 miles on them now. They replaced rock hard 20+ year old Goodyears that were on it.

ISTR that the PS31 is a people-carrier type summer tyre.

Pete

Well, they market it as ultra high performance, so one would think it was more than people mover material

I just put a set of 225/50 15's on yesterday. No rubbing issues with a lowered car. What tire pressure are you all using? I initially put in 32 pounds, but it is pretty firm.

Hi guys, I'm very curious about this post because from what I can see since approximately 2010 every discussion regarding tyre sizes pretty much across all forums has stated that a 225 width tyre will always foul on the inner wing and yet we have two instances here where 225s have fitted perfectly. So I'm genuinely curious as to what has changed with these cars.
Is it uprated springs, uprated shock absorbers, new ball joints etc?

I get a bit of rubbing on full lock with 205/55 so 225 must do

As I said above, I have no rubbing with the 225/50-15s. The car has SJ Sport springs, which I will be changing back to OEM as the ride is too firm for me. I also have GAZ adjustable shocks.

I had originally shortlisted five different tyres and narrowed it down to the kumho hs51 ecsta.

I chose the 205 variant for two reasons:

1) I was concerned of the additional load put on the power steering pump by a wider profile tyre

2) while my wheels aren't damaged I did not consider them concours (at some point I will be looking to get an aditional set for refurbishment and put the correct sized set of Vredestein Sprint Plus on them), so these would be winter wheels.

Ironically, in the end, I purchased Toyo Proxes Tr1s because I got a very good deal for four tyres supplied & fitted for £289

Years ago I tried 225 tyres on the Excel SE I owned at the time and found they rubbed on the inner n/s wheel tub on full lock. I have seen an Excel using 225 tyres without any problems in the flesh and chatted with the owner.

It's clear that some cars will take them without any issues and some cars can't, no doubt due to variations in spring and damper spec and/or condition giving some cars more clearance than others. Variations in tyre make could also be a factor.