Dame Edna tyres - what size?

[sgould]

My 2007 9-5 Aero came with 235/45 17 94W tyres on ALU62 7.5 x 17 inch wheels.

What size wheels and tyres were fitted to the Linears and Vectors?

[Kev_Mc]

215/55 R16 on my Linear SE estate. 

Not sure what the wheels are called, but they're 16 inch and look like this:

[sgould]

Thanks.  I saw a Vector today and it was on the same wheels and tyres as my old 2002 Aero.  225/45 17 On ALU39.  So that looks to be OK.

[Audax]

I don't think I've ever seen a Dame Edna Vector on anything other than 17" wheels, saying that Dame Edna's are not all that common!

[Geoff1951]

Hi Will
According to the used car and new car catalogues I downloaded from Saab a year or so back, from launch the Ednas only had 16" wheels on Airflow and Linear SE, and 17" on the rest - "Vector Sport", "Aero",  "Turbo Edition", "Anniversary" trim levels. Need the PDFs sending over?

G.

[sgould]

I think I'm OK with the info so far.  Thanks.

 I was talking to a friend with a Vector and we wondered if he should have 235/45 17 or whether his 225/45 17 were the right ones.  But if Kevin has 16 inch on his Linear, I think the 225 are right on the Vector.  The wheels look original and 7 inch wide. So 225 would be OK.

I seem to remember someone saying that the 260hp Aero got the bigger tyres to increase the gearing without doing anything mechanical.  So it sort of makes sense.  His tyres are hardly worn so he won't be changing them anyway.

[Geoff1951]

Thumbs up smiley.

[warmrain]

Dame Edna -- What size to use? ...

For what its worth, my experience may be helpful to others. We have a D.Edna 2006 Vector Sport Est which came with 225/45 R17 tyres on 7Jx17 inch rims.  I found the ride very harsh and jiggly, much more so than on my older Aero on the same wheel/tyre combination and I think it has to do with some subtle changes in the suspension set up of the post 2005 cars. 

I had a spare set of 16 inch alloys and tried these on the car with 215/55 tyres and have found an immediate and distinct difference. The bouncing over small bumps and imperfections is more muted and it feels much more of a damped wobble rather than a sharp crash. There is a trade off in that the steering does feel sliiightly less sharp (it felt like going round on rails before -- better even than the older Aero) although it holds the same line round the corners. I don't think the roll is much increased -- more or less imperceptible.

Worth thinking about smaller wheels if anyone finds the ride uncomfortable in the later 9-5's as I suspect that the basic suspension setup was optimised for 16 inch wheels and taller tyres.

I should mention that the 16 inch wheels are ET41 whicch has widened the track slightly (16mm) and this may have fed in also into the steering feeling less sharp.

Regards.
 

[Norfolk Jim]

That's interesting warmrain. My 55 plate Vector Sport 2.2tid estate came with 225/45 17 aero wheels on it and when I put winter tyres on 215/55 16 on alloys. just like those in Kev's pic I thought the ride was slightly better but my on didn't think there was any difference - i suppose it could be the type of tyre? I don't really know.

I do however remember when I had my first 9-5 estate a 'T' plate 2.3t SE that had self levelling suspension. That had 16" hammerhead alloys on it and 215/55's and when I found a set of aero hammerhead alloys with 225/45 17's the ride was much harsher so why it isn't the opposite I do not know

[warmrain]

Overall diameter with tyres of:
225/45 R17 = 634mm,  215/55 R16 = 643mm
plus 17in vs 16in rim = 1inch = 25mm
Total extra diameter made of rubber = 9+25 = 34mm
Divide by 2 to give 17mm extra height of rubber (below the hub) it is riding on.

[Norfolk Jim]

Well just had new glow plugs fitted and free health check.

Master tech said I need to get my winter wheels off now as they look like they are starting to get eaten up by this warmer weather we are having. So 17's back on at weekend.

health check was good with only couple of items such as air box brackets bust and something else which eludes me. He said my rear suspension bushes are OK but consider replacing later - so happy bunny really.

[collywobble]

The WIS for 2004 MY gives wheel sizes to engine type - no mention of trim or spec variants.

[warmrain]

To CollyW. 

I think the table you have just posted just specifies the acceptable wheel rims to use so as not to foul the brake calipers on the different engine size models (assuming that you are still using the stock sizes of disks/caliper that the cars are supplied with originally).

The ride and handling would be dependent on (among other things) the relative springing rates of the suspension springs and bounce of the tyres, wheel track, tyre side wall stiffness etc.

Regards.

[Norfolk Jim]

Funnily enough I swapped my wheels this morning. V impressed as it only took me 40 mins in my driveway!!!!

Perhaps its me but I can feel no difference in the ride quality but noticeable difference in steering being now more responsive.

Winter tyres were 215/55 16V Avon Icetouring ST full winter tyre with 6.6mm tread and summers are 225/45 17 94W Conti Sport Contact 3's with 7mm treads..................both set at same 36psi

Wonder what if any difference it will make to mpg?

[welshwizard]

215/55 R16 on my Linear SE estate. 

Not sure what the wheels are called, but they're 16 inch and look like this:

They look like they come off a 2003-2006 9-3 Arc....