just wondering what is the largest tire that will fit on the 16" wheels, not asking what will fit on the car, pretty sure i can fit a 255/50/16 on the car with no clearancing,(245s now with alot of space) but im thinking of just mounting the largest tire that will fit the rim, then clearancing the inner wheel wells with a air cutter, grinder and a ball peen
btw stock springs with 02 ss rear and solid LCAs in case anyone is wondering

 

17" or 16"? Stock 17" would have been 275s. And there is no street 16" tire than a 255, so there is your max on the 16" wheel, since there is nothing bigger.

 

sorry they are 16s and what about et streets??

 

well i found out that they do make 265/45/16

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

 

Must be a brand new release. Cool to know the aftermarket is stepping up their tire sizes available for 16s!

Minimum wheel size says 8.5", so it will still fit a 3rd gen 8" wheel, but won't offer optimum traction or wear. Sidewalls might be slightly bulged too, which isn't the best for cornering ability.

The BFG 295/50R16 is still available, but the sidewalls are tall & bulge a good bit so cornering is not that great. And the H-rated tread & compound aren't the best for traction. Give a bit of that "Pro Street" look though, due to the bulging sidewalls.

 

i was thinking about getting these for my gta rims.... blackened bird do you think those 265/45/16 tires would be better than my current tires here

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

 

The Ecsta XS is a far superior compound to your current Kumho's. That size is not ideal for an 8" wheel but would probably be OK. The XS is intended to be an autocross tire for the ST class. It won't last long, its noisy, and probably not that great in heavy rain. But for dry traction and a full tread, its one of the better tires out there right now.

 

hmmm well i guess i will stick with the 255/50/16 bfg g-force tires i was going to get..

 

I know very little about the Khumo AST tires. But the Kuhmo XS did score 3rd in this test:
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...mparison_tests

What I don't like about them is the line "In the wet, however, the Kumhos were nothing short of diabolical"

I wouldn't worry about 20mm. A narrower tire can very well be better due to tread compound & pattern.

 

guess ill be going with 255/50 rear and 245/50 front

 

thats the same tire size im doing also... the only company that makes matching 245 and 255 tires in 16 inch is the bfg g-force tires....

 

they are good stuff, just expensive, i may get et streets in the rear and the gforce in the front, this year i wont be doing much cornering, just wanna get it tuned right and i still need ALOT of suspension mods... mine is a base firebird, so i need the good steering box, good shocks and springs, good FRONT sway bar(got the rear bar with the new rear) all poly bushings and all the normal bolt ons as well as subframe connectors and a cage... if money allows id like a tube Kmember and a arms too... basically aftermarket parts in a stock style suspension... then itll be time for paint LOL

 

I wouldn't worry about maintaining a stagger. Tread compound is MUCH more important than 10mm of width. That is less than 1/2". I would take 4 245/50/16 Goodyear GS-D3s over 2 x 245F 2 x 255R G Force Sports.

 

I doubt you'd need to do much hacking and grinding, if any. I run 275 Hoosiers on 16X10 wheels and all that's been done to my car is rolling the fender lips. Only issue would be if you're going to slizzamm your ride height.

And I'll echo what others have said, grippier tread compound is better than a suckier wider tire. If you have fourth gen rims, having all tires the same size would be better for rotating them.

Pat

 

no slizzamin lol i may get some tighter springs but nothing more then a 1" drop im not too worried about handling at this point in the build... does 245 kuhmos s up front and 255 et streets out back sound like a pretty good setup for straight line accell and driving to the track?
how about these? will they be ok on the 99 t/a rims?

http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/s...0-16LT&type=SS

 

i had 295/45 on a stock firebird rim

 

lol i guess im good then