I feel like all I ever do is come on here and ask questions. But hey, that's how you learn I guess. Anyway, I did a little digging and found out that my rims are 18x9 instead of the 18x9.5 I thought they were. I am curious if there will be a noticeable difference in traction between a pair of 285/40-18 and a pair of 275/40-18. I am on a budget and have been looking at a lot of different types of tires. If I go with the 275s from AM, I can afford them($385 for 2 vs $451). I am not sure if the 285s will fit a 9" wheel anyway. If this is in the wrong place, let me know and I will move it. Thanks guys!

 

you most deffinitly can fit those 285's on a 9 inch wide rim. if you had 285's before and are moving to a 275 you will probably notice a slight difference in traction loss

 

I am going to be coming from a 255/45/18, so whichever I go to will be a big improvement. And as far as the 285 fitment question, I just checked Nitto's site and they have the 'Approved Rim' to be 9.5-(10.0)-11.0

 

I would say there would be an extremely small difference. Go with different stickier or higher quality tires if you want more traction. toyo r888 would have a ton of traction, may not last too long. I am extremely happy with my 295 30 20 pilot super sports but they were like 460$ each..

you could get 265 40 18 pilot supersports for 299 each

 

Yeah, I'm looking for the best balance between performance and price. A lot of tires that I could get are $75-$100 cheaper for a pair, but I feel like it would probably be worth it to eat that extra little bit and get a lot more performance. However, I can't spend much more than what I'm currently talking about. I'm going to be spending birthday money plus a little out of pocket to get these.


EDIT: I'm trying to offset my 4.10s a little bit. I enjoy them, but I would like to be able to get on it in first and second without spinning through the whole gear.

 

I have nt555 extreme's right now and I hate them in the rain. something to keep in mind - probably one of the worst wet performance tires I've driven on, in the summer performance category. very prone to hydroplaning.

 

One of the positives about where I live as far as traction goes is that it doesn't get cold, and it doesn't rain very much. Do you mind elaborating a little though? IE Are you prone to lose traction/control in regular rain at a normal speed? Or is it something that happens if you try to get spirited in the rain?

 

you are prone to lose traction and even hydroplane on the highways/freeways, if there is even slight water build up on the roadway, even just cruising. it's ridiculous. I've had a couple of scenario's where it's been raining moderately hard and the ride home was just down right scary with how much I was hydroplaning. can't even think about putting the pedal down, it'll go sideways pretty quick :]

if it doesn't rain much in your area - these are great tires in warm/dry conditions. unfortunately I read reviews that stated they were also great in wet/rain conditions and that turned out to be terribly wrong. it rains a lot here in Seattle so I just picked the wrong set of tires.

to answer your original question - go with the 275s. you won't really notice a difference from 275 to 285 - especially on a 9" wheel. they will both fit, but the 285's are not adding all that much extra contact patch, especially when you are smashing em onto a 9" wheel.

 

Thanks for the info. I just googled and according to wikipedia, I get more rainfall than you do. Weird. Lol. You said you have the 555 Extremes though. Are you talking about the 555R?

I am going to talk to the local tire shop tomorrow and see if they can beat AM's price. If not, I'll just order from AM and have them install them.

 

I can say over my Nexen 5000 the Nitto 555's ZR are excelent. I mean they are wonderful in the rain. I have felt uneasy in them once but that was the worst rainstorm I have ever drove in.

I couldnt imagine there would be any noticable difference