I know there has to be a way to put something bigger than the 245-50-16's that came on it. What is the biggest size tire that you can very safely put on those wheels?

 

I hade P255/50/ZR/16 all the way around. The front rubbed like no tomorrow and the rear were just fine. When I put new tires on last week i bought P255/50/ZR/16 for the rear and P245/50/ZR/16 for the front.

 

On an 8" wheel the biggest I would go is a 255 wide tire. 265 maybe, but you're pushing it.

You can physically mount wider tires but the problem is that the tread will bow outward and wear out the middle of the tread. i.e. going wider won't put any more rubber on the ground.

 

huh thats funny damon because I have 265/50 15s on my 7 inch wide rims. If they are 8 inch the widest you could go is 295/50or 60 16s. A friend of mine had these on his welds. These are on the back though..you will want smaller tires in the front.

depends what tire pressure your running. If its 30psi you will have most if not all the tread touching the ground. Mine have had an even tread wear and are at 7 32ndths all the way across.

 

i have 255/60/15's on a 7' rim and the work just fine...even up to 122mph..

 

i once had 275-60-15's on my stock z28 wheels, lets just say once my car topped out due to the governor at 120 that i saw my life flash before my eyes. it was unsafe to say the least.

 

wont putting bigger tires on lower your gear ratio?

 

Width has nothing to do with it. It's the height of the tire. Which I believe is what the second # refers to 245/50/15.

 

255/50R16 is pretty much the largest you'll find, which will fit fine in the rear, but may rub in the front. there are a couple of companies making larger than that size tire, but they are difficult to find and obtain.

 

Width has nothing to do with it. It's the height of the tire. Which I believe is what the second # refers to 245/50/15.

the second # is the aspect ratio. The height of the side wall, in mm's, is %50 of 245 mm's. So the height of the side wall would be 123.2mm's.
On 255/50/16's, the height of the side wall is %50 of 255, so thats 127.5 mms. that tire is a little bit taller, so in effect, yes is does change the gearing. How much? I dunno, I suck at math.

 

I think I'll do what Cyclops is doing and put 255's on the rear and 245's on the front. Is there any particular reason why nobody has tires "shorter" than 255/50/16 (I mean nobody has anything smaller than a "50" aspect ratio).

 

I saw a camaro (and the owner is around here somewhere) that had 295/50/16 on an 8" iroc rim. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. I couldn't say how safe it was, but it can be done. He said they rubbed pretty darn bad though.

 

just my opinion,
but if you start going lower then 50 series on a 16 inch rim.. they start to look too small for the wheel well.. ya know.. like those civics with 35 serires rubber on stock rims..
it just ain't right..
now.. if you go 17 or 18 inch rims..
get my meaning?

 

Ok, that makes sense. No rice for my car