Hey I have a 1992 RS...bought it back in october from an older friend of my fathers. Ive spoken to this guy about this problem:

My front right tire is going bald. the treads are almost completely gone. its just the front right tire. when i turn the wheel almost completely to one side, and drive (or back-up) the tires "rub." it happens usually when im pulling in/out of a parking spot. it kind of vibrates the car and doesnt sound good. me and my father have both looked at it, and i guess the front tire rubs against the wheel well.

the guy i bought it from says that he put on tires that were too big for the car because they looked nice but thats why it "rubs."

I dont know which size tire is correct. I looked it up on a random website and it said the two codes would be:
P235/55R16
P245/50ZR16

my tire's code is P245/50R16
it doesn't have a Z in it like that other code does. does this mean that the tire is a different size? does that Z make a difference?

Also, I've noticed the car maybe pulls to the right a tiny bit. Could this be why the tire is rubbing? because my front end is out of line?

PLEASE help because this tire looks like its not going to last long, and I want to know if I should get my car re-aligned or just get 1 new tire. please help and if needed recommend what size tires and rims I should get.

Thanks in advance,
Josh

 

245/50/16 is the correct tire size.

With rubbing, I'd check for damage somewhere. Might be as mild as just the plastic liner rubbing. The alignment could be a suspect too.

Could be bad bushings as well, which could affect all of the above.

 

Josh, hard to say without being there, but it sounds to me like your dads friend didn't want to fess up and say that the car needed a new ball joint/ tie rod end, (might of got less $$$ when he sold it to you),... check these out. Actually, for the price,.. do both sides,.. get wheel alignment and you should ride fine. Plus your dad will feel better that you're not going to blow a wheel and fly off the road and.........ps (if all else fails...check wheel bearings.) good luck.

 

Speaking of this tire question Stephen, do you know the stock tire diameter for a 1986 Iroc-Z? I'm getting some 18x10 rear and 18x9 front Boze rims for it and I'm trying to stick with the stock diameter.

 

Go to http://www.tirerack.com, look up the overall diameter of the tire your wanting to match. In this case, a 245/50/16, and them look at 18" tires to find a size that matches. Like a 275/35/18. As the width you want increases, the aspect ratio drops, to keep the same overall diameter.

 

stock diameter is 25.7 +/-.

 

The Z is the speed rating, nothing to do with the tire size. The stock size on the Z28s i 245/50R16, while the V8 RSs came with 235/55R16. Either size will work on your car. It sounds like your allignment is out. I'd get that checked. A good shop will check all the linkages and tell you if anything is shot while they are down there.