Last extremely long km, but very poor wet performance, a lot of understanding
205/45 R15 Tires
Everything we know about the 205/45 R15 tire size: 9 owner reviews covering 107,000 miles of driving, and EU label data for the tires you can actually buy in it.
- 9owner reviews
- 107,000 milescovered on them
- 6tires made in this size
205/45 R15 EU tire label data
EU label values are declared for each individual size, so the figures here are exact for 205/45 R15 rather than a range across a model. 3 tires carry label data in this size. The most common load index is 81 (up to 462 kg per tire). Speed ratings on offer: V (240 km/h).
70dB Quietest tires
The quietest 205/45 R15 tires are labelled at 70 dB external noise:
- Starmaxx Ultra Sport ST730 Summer 7.1
- Toyo Proxes TR1 Summer 6.8
- Petlas Velox Sport PT711 Summer
Label values come from the EU EPREL database and apply to the EU market versions of each tire. Wet grip and rolling resistance run from class A (best) to E; noise is the measured drive-by figure. A good label is a floor, not a verdict - the tests and owner ratings above tell you far more.
What does 205/45 R15 mean?
A 205/45 R15 tire is 205 mm wide, its sidewall is 45% of that width (92 mm) tall, and it fits a 15 inch wheel. That gives an overall diameter of roughly 566 mm.
| Section width | 205 mm |
|---|---|
| Sidewall height | 92 mm |
| Rim diameter | 15" (381 mm) |
| Overall diameter | ≈ 566 mm |
| Circumference | ≈ 1,777 mm |
| Revolutions per km | ≈ 563 |
| Revolutions per mile | ≈ 906 |
Also written as
205/45R15 205/45 ZR15 205-45-15 205 45 15
Figures are calculated from the nominal size. A loaded, rolling tire runs a few percent smaller, and true widths vary slightly between makes.
What cars use 205/45 R15 tires?
The cars most often running this size in our owner reviews. Each links to the best rated tires for that exact car.
Every tire reviewed in 205/45 R15
The complete record, including discontinued tires and tires with too few reviews to rank, ordered by the amount of evidence. A further 7 tires have a single review each; they count toward the totals but are not listed.
| Tire | Season | Owner rating | Reviews | Distance reviewed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toyo T1R Replaced by Toyo Proxes T1 Sport+ | Summer | 79% | 2 | 26,000 miles |
Reviews only cover part of the market: 6 tires are made in 205/45 R15. Browse every 205/45 R15 tire →
What drivers say about their 205/45 R15 tires
The most recent owner reviews fitted in this size, in their own words.
Great track tire, great value for money, on the same class as R888 and R888R by Toyo. Not especially good in wet roads, of course not recommended for a daily driver due to noise, stiffness, warm up times etc. A great tire for the weekend track car and the occasional mountain road, as long as you warm them up a bit first, then push the car. I tried both 195/50/15 and 205/45/15 and i can recommend the latter, as they basically are a 215 width tire, branded as a 205. Can achieve the same lap times for 5-10 fast laps, then they need cooldown. Tread is very few mm, will wear down very fast if you hit the track often, but the dry grip stays high even when worn.
Pretty woeful.
Put these on my old 1.4 corsa and even the mighty 80bhp was too much for these tires. They would happily spin up in the dry let alone the wet.
Even had some oversteer on a wet roundabout a couple of times, and this was hardly even pushing them. Worse thing was it wasn't even progressive, would just let go out of no where.
Quickly changed to yoko's spec 2's. Awesome tire in comparison.
Put these on my old 1.4 corsa and even the mighty 80bhp was too much for these tires. They would happily spin up in the dry let alone the wet.
Even had some oversteer on a wet roundabout a couple of times, and this was hardly even pushing them. Worse thing was it wasn't even progressive, would just let go out of no where.
Quickly changed to yoko's spec 2's. Awesome tire in comparison.
I bought these tires for my Honda Integra Type R (1996).
All I can say is WOW, the first time I pushed them after wearing them in, was in the wet and could not believe the amount of "first gear launch" grip. It gripped just like my old tires did in the dry, but in the wet!
The wet grip is the best I have ever experienced from a tire.
The dry grip, still, absolutely outstanding, far better than a lot of tires I have used, I would say probably the best for the road! The only downside is that the sidewalls are a bit soft, so you will notice a bit of "tire roll" when flicking in and out of bends.
These tires are very soft, so don't expect them to last a huge amount of time, for me they still last long enough to keep me from complaining.
The downside to the softness, is when using these in a track environment, they will get TOO hot and will start melting away and losing you grip, as for the road though, these are the best you can buy.
I have just bought two more of these for the front wheels on my TDI Ibiza to see how they grip with the 300ft lb of torque, if I am happy, I will replace the rears with these also.
All I can say is WOW, the first time I pushed them after wearing them in, was in the wet and could not believe the amount of "first gear launch" grip. It gripped just like my old tires did in the dry, but in the wet!
The wet grip is the best I have ever experienced from a tire.
The dry grip, still, absolutely outstanding, far better than a lot of tires I have used, I would say probably the best for the road! The only downside is that the sidewalls are a bit soft, so you will notice a bit of "tire roll" when flicking in and out of bends.
These tires are very soft, so don't expect them to last a huge amount of time, for me they still last long enough to keep me from complaining.
The downside to the softness, is when using these in a track environment, they will get TOO hot and will start melting away and losing you grip, as for the road though, these are the best you can buy.
I have just bought two more of these for the front wheels on my TDI Ibiza to see how they grip with the 300ft lb of torque, if I am happy, I will replace the rears with these also.
Very good tire for winter. Good on snow/icy... Drops on wet/rainy surface...
Weariness is awesome. Was driven on summer too...
Weariness is awesome. Was driven on summer too...
Especially for a Caterham or Lotus this is probably the best thing out there, the amount of dry grip is truly insane - at the end of the day it's a semi-slick so it's going to be good. Even in the wet this is still a great tire - I've driven through torrential rain storms in southern france, through several cm's standing water at 70mph+ and I'm still here. In the dry go round a few corners hard, the tires will warm up and you'll stick to the road like nothing else!
I have these tires on my Peugeot 106 GTi and my Ford Fiesta Van. Very good tire in the dry, you really feel like you can push them to the limit and have confidence. Totally different story in the wet I found. I live in Scotland, it's wet A LOT of the time. I found the tires quite poor in wet conditions, roundabouts were my main concern. Having to slow right down before being confident in the tire.
The wear on them is extremely low and there is very little road noise. I'd think twice about buying again due to the wet feedback.
The wear on them is extremely low and there is very little road noise. I'd think twice about buying again due to the wet feedback.
I've had several sets of these and have tried different profiles 2.2 VTEC with Bilstein/Eibach suspension.
On a hot summer's day when warmed up, these tires are absolutely unbeatable for flat out acceleration, cornering, and braking. Far better than the sport equivalent Good Year's, Continental's, Pirelli's, Dunlop's and other lesser value brands I've driven on. Feedback is excellent, tire roll is minimal, and progressive break-away is controllable with a little experience. They are extremely predictable which inspires great confidence late braking and tight corners.
On a warm (10 degrees C plus) wet road, they are also very grippy.
However old cold or freezing roads, they are only above average on dry roads. On a cold wet road, the performance is fairly poor - comparible to a good budget brand (eg CEAT Spider).
On snow, slush and ice, they are absolutely useless. It's unfortunate really as these tires cost me £50-60 each, yet I've spent £100+ per tire for other big brands and not has as good grip in the warm and dry.
Overall a fantastic SUMMER tire. A average/below average WINTER tire. Wear is average to poor, but I'd expect that from such a soft grippy tire. Expect 10-15K miles with a high performance car and spirited driving.
On a hot summer's day when warmed up, these tires are absolutely unbeatable for flat out acceleration, cornering, and braking. Far better than the sport equivalent Good Year's, Continental's, Pirelli's, Dunlop's and other lesser value brands I've driven on. Feedback is excellent, tire roll is minimal, and progressive break-away is controllable with a little experience. They are extremely predictable which inspires great confidence late braking and tight corners.
On a warm (10 degrees C plus) wet road, they are also very grippy.
However old cold or freezing roads, they are only above average on dry roads. On a cold wet road, the performance is fairly poor - comparible to a good budget brand (eg CEAT Spider).
On snow, slush and ice, they are absolutely useless. It's unfortunate really as these tires cost me £50-60 each, yet I've spent £100+ per tire for other big brands and not has as good grip in the warm and dry.
Overall a fantastic SUMMER tire. A average/below average WINTER tire. Wear is average to poor, but I'd expect that from such a soft grippy tire. Expect 10-15K miles with a high performance car and spirited driving.
Drive on 205/45 R15 tires?
Review your tires and help the next driver choose. It takes about five minutes, and every review on this page came from a driver who took them.
Where this data comes from
Owner ratings are submitted through the review form on this site, naming the tire, the size and the distance covered, and are checked by hand before publication. Test results come from independent published tire tests indexed by size, and label values from the EU EPREL database.
About the TR Score
The Tire Reviews Score rates each tire out of 10 using independent test results and the full body of owner reviews, so you can check a car-specific ranking against the wider evidence.
Who does the testing
Every test published as a Tire Reviews test is run by Jonathan Benson, who has been testing tires independently since 2007.