raredesign

Sorry if this has been asked, but I did search the forum.
My stock wheels are 235 50 18's, but in my quest for wider tires, a local shop tech said 275's would fit fine, except for on the front where I should put 245 or 255's.

I admit i am completely uneducated with car tires, and what offset means etc, but when I set up the tires on my motox bike, I used wider tires than normal so I could do supermoto and get more of a roll. I assume the same would apply to any tire. If I throw 275mm where the stock was 235, then squeezing that extra on there would likely cause buldge and side wall warping. Am I wrong?

With that said, what will it hurt other than possible uneven wear? Do I risk it coming off the rim during a donut, tight corner, etc?

I would rather safety then just running a wide tire for the heck of it. If 275 is rediculous, then are 255's worth the effort?

Please recommend what you think for front and rear.

Thanks

gman73

I think it depends on the company, but to be safe I would stick with 255s. On the other hand if you want to run drag radials, M&H 275/50/17 will fit the 17x8 rims.

jayel579

275's will be fine on a 17x8 rim. I run 275/40R17 on all for corners for my race rims. Some guys run 285/30R18 or even 295/30R18 on an 18x8.5 rims. But for the street you might be better off on a 255, 275 really isn't optimal especially on the street.

raredesign

So if I back down from 275 but don't quite go to 255, and just settle in the middle at 265, is that still a safe width?...does it really depend on if i go with 30 35 or 40 percent height?
What percent hight would you recommend?

Please post your thoughts on the different types of tires. I have googled for reviews on the Nexxen, Nangkang, and BFGR, all of which were good reviews. The BF's are claimed to last a while.

255 / 18

NANKANG SPORT NS-II
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/255-3...spagenameZWDVW


NEXEN N3000
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2-255...spagenameZWDVW

BFGOODRICH G-FORCE PROFILER
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/255-3...spagenameZWDVW


265 / 18

BFGOODRICH G-FORCE T/A KDW
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/265-4...1%7C240%3A1318

gman73

So, are do you plan on keeping the 17" rims or getting 18"? In your 1st post you are asking about tires for the 17x8 rims and your last post your asking about tires for 18" rims.

Sleeper_08

If you go to tire rack they have an article that discusses rim width http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...#rimwidthrange

It depends what you want to do with the car but if it is improved handling at the limit then a tire that your rim is in the recommended range is what you should be looking for.

You also need to consider the overall diameter. Close to stock minimizes the effects on the speedometer. Going too small affects the ride height. Significantly different diameters front and rear can affect the ABS.

raredesign

Sorry if I wasn't clear. My posts referred to 18"....that is what I have.

Edit: Ah, maybe I am just being dumb...are the 18" not 8" wide?

moosestang

18x8.5

Philostang

Yeah, I thought I missed something there...stock 18" rims are 8.5" wide.

For the most part, I haven't seen any tire manufacturers recommending wider than 255 on an 8.5" wide rim. I tend to think that major manufacturers of just about anything have "liability" on their mind when they make recommendations, but they also have their product's intended use in mind. So I wouldn't suggest being flippant about these recommendations. They've done a ton more r&d on their own stuff than a bunch of yokels on the street corner who claim to have this or that experience. I would also +1 the recommendation on reading the TireRack article.

The aspect ratio is going to make a difference on the range of widths a given tire is recommended to run on. A taller tire (higher ratio) is going to have more room to flex before it stresses the bead to the point of failure, so you'll typically see these spec'd out for a wider range of widths. The kicker is that the taller the tire the less responsive it can feel (after all, it is flexing more), and for most folks this isn't the preferred set up for cornering. Now the drag race crowd lovingly embraces flexible wall tires, but that's not the same kind of performance we're talking about here.

FWIW, I went to a 255 tire, and I loved it in terms of improved appearance. The tire was a different brand, so I wouldn't attribute the performance gains I got from size alone.

I'm not sure what you're looking to get out of the new tires, so recommendations are hard. You mentioned that the BFGs were reputed to last for a while, so are you prioritizing mileage over performance, or...? The clearer you are about your use/goals, the easier recommendations become.

Best,
-j

Sleeper_08

I'm running the KDW2s in the summer and chose them as a good combination, for the money, of dry and wet performance on the street and road course track days.

The 255/45/18 size fit on an 8.0 to 9.5 inch rim and are the stock 27 " diameter. This is the same size tire as fitted to the front of the GT500s, except there they are on 9.5 " rims.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...1=yes&place=16