I recently bought some new wheels for my 3rd gen and now i need to find a tire size, i am gonna run 17x7 on the front and 17x8 on the back, i was thinkin of running either 235/45r17 or 245/45r17 on the front and 255/45r17 on the back, let me know if i should go with different sizes or stick with that, and as always pictures would be great

 

Why so narrow? 17x9s are an easy fit all around.

 

ON those sizes i like 255 in the back and 245 in the front. They will be a closer match. 245's usually are for 8" rims but should fit a 7". If in doubt go with the 235.

 

Why go up in diameter & then go narrower in width from a stock size (16" x 8")?

 

I'm looking at doing the same 17x7 frt 17x8 rear. My RS has 15x7 all round, and I've noticed the section width jumps up with a 17" tire. I don't think these cars need that much rubber in the front anyway, and its a different look having the wider rims/tires in the back.
I also want to go about 1" taller than stock, cause the T-56 case is way deeper in the back and I only have like 3-4" grd clearance.
I've been looking at whlz/tires for months now and had a hell of a time finding a combination that I want. Was going to get American Racing Torqlites then found they were discontinued. Summit has their own copy of those but they're made in China. I think I'm gonna get Billet Specialties Streetlite's 17x7 4.5 bs frt & 17x8 5 bs rear, man they're expensive but I think they'll look killler.
For rubber I'm looking at 235/55r17 frt and 255/50r17 rear. Only a few tires that have both sizes, really wish I could get BFG or Goodyear but I'm gonna have to go with Kumho Ecsta SPT or Riken Raptor, only ones I could find that offer those sizes.
Let me know if theres any other options in wheels for this combo.

 

Don't forget....Just because a 17" is 1" bigger tan a 16" wheel, tat is only 1/2" difference that the car would sit. AND the tire you put on it would have a shorter sidewall, with the same overall diameter of the 16" tire lowering it back down that 1/2".

In other words...The bigger wheel will NOT give you more ground clearance for your tranny.

 

My stock tires are 25.9, the 17's mentioned above are 27.1" Gaining .600" on the radius. I'm not sure but I think the 17" tires deflect less radially under load than a 15" tire so there might be even more difference than that.

 

17 x 8.5 wheels with 245/45/17 tires front & rear.

 

I have 17x8.5s and from what I can tell you cant go bigger than 255/40 on them. I want to put some 255/45's on them personally.

 

I have 275/40s on my 9" Snypers & have had 285s on them (only went down in size, because the tires I was getting weren't available any bigger).....And even the recommended size is 8.5"-11" for them. 11" is a bit too wide but 9"/9.5" is perfectly fine for a 275.

245s are the stock size & 255s are a still a great width for the stock 8" (16") wheels. Even GM put 275s on the stock 4th gen 9" wheels.

 

First of all you did see that I was referring to an 8.5, right? As in Eight point five? A 255/40/17 has a much thinner sidewall than a 245/50/16. On a 16x8, you can't rely on the sidewall to balloon as much as you can on a 16x8, and definitely not as much as on a 15x7. I know you know this, but I want you to understand that I also know this. I could buy you might be able to put 265's on it, but 275's I dont think would fit on a 17x8.5 very well and 265/40/17 is a bit of an oddball size that's hard to find.

Here's ar andom sampling from Tirerack:

Kumho Ecsta XS:
255/40R17 8.5-10"
285/40R17 9.5-11"

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3
255/45ZR17 8-9.5"
275/40ZR17 9-11"

Sumitomo HTR ZIII
255/40ZR17 8.5-10"
275/40ZR17 9-11"

BFG G-Force T/A KDW 2
255/40ZR17 8.5-10"
275/40ZR17 9-11"

Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport
255/40R17 8.5-10"
265/40R17 9-10.5"
275/40R17 9-10.5"

Etc... 255/40s generally say 8.5 is the minimum width... I doubt going wider than that is a good idea.

 

I assume you mean 17x9 on the highlighted sentence....

I put the BFG 295/50s on stock wheels, on my old 92RS. They did have that "Pro Street" look to the sidewalls, but was in no way dangerous. If you look at the size of a 50-series 295 sidewall, you will understand why. 8" is the manufacturers specs for the tire. Was I running autocross like that? No. Too much sidewall flex for that kind of hard cornering transitions but perfectly safe for street driving. Besides.....They are just a H-rating. Not exactly the grippiest tires out there.



I guess the Dunlops run small then. I'll tell you this though....The Sumitomo 275s would fit good on a 8.5" or even a 8". They definately lie about their sizes. My 315s are more like big 295s/small 305s. Pisses me off! I'm going with Kuhmo 335s next time.