keykey

Hi! I'm going to need new front tires for my GTA (With 16" GTA rims). It has stock Cooper Cobra 245/50R16 tires all around right now.

I've heard that the car will handle better and the front end won't be as "jittery" when riding in deep tracks on the highway with 225/55R16 in front.

I've been googling a bit, and some people seem to think it will look "wrong" with 225/55R16 fronts and stock 245/50R16 rears. I'm just wondering if they're really speaking from experience or just look at the numbers and don't know that the tire profile is 55 or 50 _percent_ of the width.

I can't get how the front tires would look "too small/big" in comparison with the rears when the difference in tire diameter is 0.1 inches? How would you ever be able to notice that looking at them?

So the question is basically will it look weird? Do you recommend or not? Why? Have you tried it? What is your experience? Share with me!

Tire size calculator comparison between the two:
https://i.imgur.com/w0z9sZX.jpg

TheEndofanEra

The sidewall will stay the same size, and it will ride softer and shouldn't wander as bad on the highway. Though technically, your handling will be just a little worse because you won't have quite as fast steering response on turn in, but thats because of the tread to sidewall ratio and it may want to under-steer from reduced grip in the front - though that shouldn't be too bad. I say go for it.

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

Consider that the Corvettes in the late 80's/early 90's came with 275/40/17 on all four corners. Then in 1993, the factory switched to 285/40/17 in the back and 255/45/17 in the front. This was done to lessen the chance of the tires wandering in grooves in the road.

I doubt you'll see much visual difference between 225 in front and 245 in the rear. Now if you had 225 in the rear, they would look narrower from behind. But up front? I don't think you'd notice unless you had the car parked with the wheels turned.

The other benefit of the 225/55 is that you can buy some Continental DW (max summer performance) tires, which should handle better than any of the all season 245/50 tires in comparison.

plum92_camaro

You really think the Continentals with reduced width would be better than the BF Goodrich Sport Comp? Both tires have all the same ratings, 340 AA A. I'm not an expert but on the track I'd put my money on the 245 BFG's (I run these) over the 225 Conti's.

To the OP, I agree with what everybody is saying. Narrower will have daily driving qualities but less performance than the 245's (depending on the tire also). I run BFG 245/50r16 fronts and 255/50r16 rears and I don't feel like mine wanders. Especially since i got a GOOD alignment. When was your alignment last checked? Even a little toe out on these cars can create wander. Check out this chart. Reid will recognize it. Thanks Reid!

keykey

Since I'm in Sweden, we don't have many choices in tires when it comes to 245/50R16.. The best i can get is Kumho Ecsta SPT. I would love to put american tires on it such as Cooper or BF Goodrich but I can't get them for a reasonable price since they are no longer sold here.

When it comes to 225/55R16 I have a lot of good performance tires to choose from though.

Don't really care if I have cheap tires in the rear though, I have a feeling I'm only going to burn them up anyway...

Reid Fleming

iTrader: (2)

225 Continental DW vs 245 BFG? Tough comparison. The DW are highly regarded tires. Lots of guys with Michelin Super Sport tires debate switching to the DW tires as a good value while still retaining high performance.......On the other hand, the BFG in 245 is a pretty good tire as well. I've never seen a direct comparison between these brands and sizes. But I wouldn't be surprised if the 225 DW came out ahead.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

I would be. I really liked my G-Force Sports. I've autocrossed the hell out of them and yes they dont have enough grip for the weight of the car compared to most of the competition, but they are easy to control as the break traction and they do hold really well.

I could see going to narrower fronts if you're that worried about tracking in grooves on the road, but I'd rather stick with the stock size tires and fix the steering system that has the slop in it that allows that.

Now, with that said, the 225 Contis might be better than whatever all season garbage tires you have available in 245/50/16.... so if you dont have any good performance tire options in the stock size (There arent many anymore anyway) then go ahead and go with the 225s... I think you'll see the difference but it may work out better in the end.

paul_huryk

I doubt there is going to be any significant difference in ride quality of the same tire in 225-55-16 or 245-50-16 sized tires. They are the same overall diameter, have the same sidewall, and are about 0.8" within each other in terms of section width.

But the Contis do ride very well - have a set of them in 275-40-17 and they ride so much better than the same sized Falken 615K tires, not to mention they are good in the rain, they are quiet, they weigh about 3lbs less each, and they also have a higher treadwear rating (tire life). While the Falkens do offer more grip, it is not that much more than you would think.

Now as the supply of 245-50-16 sized tire is qucikly going away, the only real choice is the BFG G-Force sports for summer tires. In 225-55-16, there are over 25 summer tires available - essentially every high performance tire is out there - it is a OEM size for most European sedans and coupes.

keykey

I've checked the front end about 100 times, but last week I finally saw that there was some play in the center link. Can't believe I've missed that so many times. Replaced it today after work with a new MOOG part and did an alignment, the toe was waaaaaay off... like +8mm one side and -6mm other side.

I set the toe to 0.3mm toe-in on each side so the car will want to go straight and what a difference... It was raining today and the car is just washed so I just took a short spin around the block but all the slop in the steering is gone, going to test it in higher speeds tomorrow!

I think I will stick with the stock tire size if it rides well