Skinny Tire on a Wide wheel

[NiteKids]

Anyone else try this yet? My cruddy Falken Ziex 255/40/17 were shot to hell after only a few months. These were on a 17x9 wheel in the back. I'm kinda poor at the moment so I was just talkin to JDM RICE at his work and just tellin how my tires suck.

So he threw me this set of 215/45/17 (Kumho Esca Supra) to throw on the rears.

Well I had then installed today on the rears with super streched side wall. The tire doesn't even come as far as the lip of the rim.

Then I went to work. WOW the overall feel of the car was much diffrent the I expected it to be with this set up. The lack of sidewall or flex made the car feel much more crisp and not so sloppy. I feel much more in control.

Anyone else try this yet?

[kuruptR]

planning on putting a 15" 195 tire on a 15 x 8 rim... dunno if its gonna work coz the side walls are pretty damn big

[NiteKids]

I'm not too sure if you would be able to find a tire with a small enough sidewall to strech it in 15 inch. But who knows there's all types of crazy tires sizes out there. I'd rather do these on a set of rims spedificlly for this setup in the back cause it's going to be really easy to damage the wheels.

[DSC]

Someone on this forum the other day described it pretty well I think.
Skinny tires streached provide better response and feel while fatter tires provide more overall grip but don't respond quite as well.
And of course, the perfect tire size for any given rim IMO would be one that is somewhere in the middle of the above 2 extremes.

[Dousan_PG]

driftingpanda and i have some 15x9 w/ 195/60/15 tires on them. work fine

[NiteKids]

The undersized tire on wide wheel combo seems to work well but I don't see the point of over sized tire width tire on a skinny rim. There much more undesired sidewall flex, sloppy handling, unslighty huge tire buldge and posibly of comming off the rim.

[AKADriver]

Eh... most of what people think is "bulged" is well within the tire's recommended design limits, it's not gonna pop off. Now, a 245/45 on a 16x6.5 like I saw someone mention on here, that's beyond recommended specs. Of course, so is a 215/45 on a 17x9, in the opposite direction.

Why do it? CONTACT PATCH! You'll have a higher traction limit provided you're not forced to run excessively high pressure. It's great for drag use on the drive wheels. Also, you can get away with lighter, cheaper wheels if you bulge... Yes, those "pizza cutters" that you hate.

Like DSC said - finding a happy medium is key. My rule of thumb is to shoot for a tire/wheel combo with a wheel that's either exactly the tire's Measured Rim Width (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/tirespecskey.html#measrimwidth) or a half inch wider. For instance, say I want to run a 225/50-16. A quick check on Tirerack shows that the Measured Rim Width for a 225/50-16 is 7". So I'd buy a 7" or a 7.5". You might prefer a 8" or 8.5". A drag racer might go with a 16x6.5".

[CoasTek240]

so are u guys saying 205's on my stock rims are too big? i'd take stabilty and control over grip.. so i shoudl go with 195?

[AKADriver]

The sidewall on the 15" wheels is going to be tall and flexible no matter what you do.

Stick with 205... go with 205/55-15s if you're really worried about it.

I have no control/feel issues with 205/60-15's. I love the setup and would recommend it to anyone.

[CoasTek240]

good cuz i found dunlop fm901's 205/55/15 for a really good price. i'm buying asap :D

[NiteKids]

Originally posted by AKADriver
Now, a 245/45 on a 16x6.5 like I saw someone mention on here, that's beyond recommended specs. Of course, so is a 215/45 on a 17x9, in the opposite direction.



I was talking about setups like these. Of course a 245 on a 61/2 is way to wide. Going this extreme for this width of wheel is when I don't see any kind of advantage. But going 1 or 2 steps over reconded stock size isn't too bad.

[syco3d]

I just put 205/60/15 on the back (have 195/60/15 on front) and my back end feels VERY sloppy right now. ...on the stock rims btw...(gotta love my hubcaps :D ) My car seemed so much crisper before I changed out the back tires...could it be partially because my back tires are 35psi, and the front are 44psi??? If that's causing it, what can I do to help remedy the problem...besides of course getting new tires.

[NiteKids]

Few pics of the fit if anyone is intrested.

http://members.aol.com/IntegraTypeR2001/tire1.jpg
http://members.aol.com/IntegraTypeR2001/tire2.jpg

[kuruptR]

OOOoooo SWEET:D

[adey]

ooooh **** that looks good. You're finally getting this style stuff right. ;)

[240fluke]

So what size are you running up front now that these 215's are out back?

Tim '95 SE

[NiteKids]

Personally I think it looks kinda weird. Everyone else though keeps saying that it looks "tight." I kinda liked the old look better with my 255/40/17 better. Fills up the wheel wells better and makes my wheels look more flush with the body. But I do like the way the car handles MUCH better like this.

Oh yeah my 235/45/17 is still up in front. I might try to strech a 205 or another 215 on it (Front is 8 inch wide)

[GotDriftS14]

Originally posted by CoasTek240
good cuz i found dunlop fm901's 205/55/15 for a really good price. i'm buying asap :D


i just bought some of those, they are great tires, i really like em. im running em on stock S14 base model wheels btw.

[DuffMan]

Haha, that looks so wrong.

[Dunkee]

Originally posted by NiteKids
Personally I think it looks kinda weird. Everyone else though keeps saying that it looks "tight." I kinda liked the old look better with my 255/40/17 better. Fills up the wheel wells better and makes my wheels look more flush with the body. But I do like the way the car handles MUCH better like this.

Oh yeah my 235/45/17 is still up in front. I might try to strech a 205 or another 215 on it (Front is 8 inch wide)

In what types of turns? Is it better driving thru traffic or better taking tight tire screeeching turns?

[AKADriver]

yeah, that ain't safe.

looks like ass, too.

215/45 belongs on a 17x7.

[Dousan_PG]

looks good nitekids!
now dump that POS bumper, side skirts, spoiler and buy a LSD (or VLSD) :D

do like richard did: FALKEN ST115s!!

[octane103]

how about a pic w/ a little of the car in it?

[Dousan_PG]

here's some more pics of stretched tires (VRT_Mike's car)
http://www.djelektrique.com/

http://www.djelektrique.com/spec/closefrside2.jpg
17x9 215/45/17s

http://www.djelektrique.com/spec/sidefrontclose.jpg

[rancid240]

I'm running the same setup as the first silvia




























but in 15x7 205/60 15 :o

[Zemus]

I have 215/50 on my 15x7s, they feel good, i think their great, fill up the wheel well, and their kumhos so their like 40 a pop.

[Dousan_PG]

thread's about skinny tires on wide wheels
not 'pizza cutters' :p (as nitekids puts it)

i need some 9s..15x9s preferred. (i have 15x7.5) :D

[Kookaburraz]

Originally posted by dousan36
driftingpanda and i have some 15x9 w/ 195/60/15 tires on them. work fine Do you guys have a kid too? Are you married yet, and does Toso know?

[Dousan_PG]

hahahaha...
we went 1/2s on a set of wheels. real cheap.

[NiteKids]

Originally posted by AKADriver
yeah, that ain't safe.

looks like ass, too.

215/45 belongs on a 17x7.

I thought 205's belonged on them.

[AKADriver]

yeah, that'll work too.

I should've said 17x7.5.

Just IMO of course :)