So I'm trying to figure out what size tire/wheel I want for my car.

I'm trying to get something that will carve corners well, but still be able to launch fairly well on the occassional street race (I'd get slicks if all I wanted was to go in a straight line ).


I know that for launching, the bigger the sidewall, the better... but I'm not sure about for carving corners.


Also, would a 16 x 9 be better than a 16 x 7.5 for corner carving? How wide can you go w/o it just being rediculous and overkill?

My goals are to make this car hit a little over 1.00g in the skidpad, but still be able to take off with minimal tirespin in street trim.

Another question about tire width. For carving corners, would the car's performance be adversley effected by having a wider tire in the back and skinnier in the front. I see lots of tire combos on ebay w/ like 16x9.5 in the back and 16x8 in the front, but I dont think that would be ideal?

Also, what tires are the "best" on the market that are around the 150/tire range that just might fit my description? I'm either going w/ a 16 or 17 inch wheel, and might make the tire taller than it's supposed to be by a little to tuck it in the fenderwells a little better.

Thanks

 

The problem is finding good tires...

 

on a 16x9 wheel I would recommend a 275/45/16 maybe a 275/40/16 depending on what kind of side profile you want. With a 7.5 inch wheel i wouldn't go more than a 235 width. Alot of guys know tires. I'm just saying by what we've run in the past. I don't have a clue about how you want the car to ride. The lower the profile the more harsh the ride, but also less sidewall flex thus in theory better handling. I don't know anything about current tires as i havent bought any in a long time. Sorry i couldn't be more help.

 

For cornering, I like the 17's.
I've got a set of ZR1's, 17x9.5 with Nitto 555R2 Competition Tires and these things grip like crazy but have a short life span.

I also had a set of 16x9.5 ARE wheels with 255/50/16 Bridgestones and they were actually wider than my 17" Nittos and are also wider than my 275/40/18's I have on the car now.
But those Bridgestones sucked at cornering, took them to an autocross event and I was all over the place.

I've got 2 videos of the car on the auto-x courses but the video with the Nittos was my first ever event so I wasn't driving as hard.

The Nittos,
http://www.transamws6.com/video/auto-x-hq.wmv

The Bridgestones,
http://www.transamws6.com/video/Manny_Desantos.wmv

 

I can definetly tell the difference in those races, guess Bridgestone is a no then


I'd like for a semi-comftorable ride. I want to be able to feel the road, but I dont want to feel like I'm in a old Harley that only form of suspension is the spring they put on your seat lol.


So wider = better in pretty much all cases

Would it make much of a difference if the fronts were wider than the backs, would it make the handling worse? Would all the same sized wheel all around be better, or no?


I'm looking for something with a fair lifespan. I dont need those 100,000 mile tires, but 45 - 50k would sure be nice (uhm, in regular driving conditions that is )

I have heard good thing about Nittos, but arent they rather pricey and only last like 10k miles?


How do the stock Gatorbacks fair in what I'm looking for? I dont know how to read tire specs, or even know where to go to look for it, so you'll have to stick with me... i'm ignorant lol.

 

A good street tire that handles corners good is the Falken Azenis.
The tire life depends on how aggressive you drive, you can have a long life tire last a few thousand miles if you drive really hard.
You want to have the same size all around or wider in the back, but not wider in the front.

btw, the Nitto 555RII's don't come in a 16" size. I wish they did since I was planning on using those ARE crosslace wheels as my auto-x wheels.