tires question

[koolcat]

sorry really cant find answer so don't flame me on this.
Im running 17x8 all around but i want to run staggered tires what are some good option in tires sizes? Im running 215/40 in front and 245/45 in the rear right now but i don't really like the back being that higher. Also i see some ppl running for instance, 225/45 in front and 245/40 in the rear, does this make it lower in the rear or does it make it more even??? I cant figure out why they run the rear with lower profile than the front please enlighten me on this? thanks in advance

[2ilvia]

for instance, 225/45 in front and 245/40 in the rear, does this make it lower in the rear or does it make it more even???
it would if car doesnt have coils, but with coils you dont use the tires to even it out, my guess would be that the rear tires deal with more g-force in a drift than the fronts,hence the lower/stronger sidewall

[fliprayzin240sx]

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Use it and learn...throw some numbers in there and see how the total diameter of the wheel changes. The first number is the width of the tire, second number is the % of the sidewall compared to the width of the tire. Just because the % is lower would not mean it will be lower, that will also be dependent on your width.

PS: I always shoot for the stock diameter wheel so it wont throw off my speedometer too much. Stock tire size on my S14s were 205/55 16s, I shoot for that diameter for the most part...

[koolcat]

thanks for the reply guys and fliprayzin240sx that calculator is good. So just throw some sizes and look for the lowest percentage of difference right? Well im trying to get my speedo similar to stock as well.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Yups pretty much...what size wheels do you have? Also, another thing to consider too is that not all tire brands will have the same size, even tho they are the same size. Some will be taller than others, its just that companies measure and design their tires differently.

[koolcat]

i have 17x8 all around with 215/40 in front and 245/45 in the rear. That was wen i didnt have money so i got the two back tire for cheap.

[fliprayzin240sx]

Personally since your running the same size rims, no point of staggering unless you just have those tires laying around. Personally, Id run 225/45 17s on 17x8js. If you want wider, 245/40s.

[koolcat]

but then again i want more traction in the back and dont want that wide in the front. It sucks wen you don't have wider wheel in the back