mitchberry

iTrader: (1)

I'm new to these rims, i want to make sure i'm getting the right thing.

I found the ever popular 18x8 "iroc (style)" ebay rims

and, like i said, am trying to figure out what tires to put on it.

when it says 18x8, i assume that means 8" at the bead???

does that mean i can fit 245's on it? i assume so,

what about 255's ? they will be low profile, so i don't know how wide it can get before it becomes un-safe, or stupid....

what height do they need to be in order to have the same tire diameter as a stock tire (so i don't have to drive around with a screwed up speedometer / odometer ) ?

mitchberry

iTrader: (1)

actually, scratch everything i asked except for the 255 part..... 18x8's use a 245/40 X 18

so really, i just need to know if i can do 255's instead

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

if you can find a 255....

245/40/18 is the most common for that wheel. and yes, the wheel is 8" at the bead, 9" overall

stock height is 25.7, dont go taller on the front, they will rub. you can go a bit taller int he back if you want, but again, there are not many tall options out there in that size

mitchberry

iTrader: (1)

awesome, thanks 86.... and yeah,k i'm finding them pretty difficult to find in general, they make cheap cheap tires in this size, not much in the "name brands" so to speak..

they sell these rims on ebay with Federal 595's on them, and i've read tons of mixed reviews, mostly bad, but.... mostly before the "re-did" them... people stopped posting once they did, so, i guess "no news, is good news" in that aspect...

i don't know.

NTB is currently having a buy 1 get 1 sale, but they don't have anything worth looking at there, and their all twice the price as what discount tire has, for tires that don't look as nice, and have no reviews.

3rd Coast Z

iTrader: (1)

Nitto makes a good tire at a good price. Also, if you want to run staggered sizes you can squeeze a 275/35-18 on the rear.

Federal makes a decent tire these days. They won't last as long or grip as well but for the price you can them at it makes since for a budget buy.

But I would recommend at least a Nitto. BFG makes some pretty sick tires also but the price gets up there.

mitchberry

iTrader: (1)

yah, a lot of my friends swear by nitto drag radials, but, i just cant justify sticking those on a 170hp 305

what rims are you fitting 275's on?????? 18x9 ? or 18x8.5?

mitchberry

iTrader: (1)

oh and regarding the federals, yeah, since the last post, i was able to find more reviews of the updated 595's, and it seems like they are doing a lot better now, but people still complain about rain driving.

i dunno though... like i said, NTB has a buy one get one free sale going on now, but you have to buy an alignment package that i'll never use and installation / which i will use...

so overall, it may be buy 3 get 1 free...

but they do have the eagle GT for 165 each versus 209 at discount tire, and either place will offer a hell of a good warranty (for a few bucks extra), which the pre-mounted rims on ebay won't offer..

so if the 595's go to **** in 6 months or the tread blows off of them in 5,000 miles (which has been said to happen on these) i cant take them back and warranty them...

most people are saying they last less than 15,000 miles anyway, which goes in line with what you said about them "not lasting very long"

That's less than a year of driving for me generally... and i can foresee, since i have a 1991 camaro, having to do a LOT of other stuff to it to keep it going within the next 15,000 miles, so that's just another added cost i probably wont want to deal with later.

i dont know though...

decisions decisions...

but apparently the drifter kids like the 595's because they are cheap and they can tear them up drifting... they don't expect them to last more than a few hours... much less 15,000 miles lol.

but everyone says they suck in the rain.

granted it has been close to a year since we've had a good rain here in tx, it will happen eventually.... and i'll be driving a heavy *** camaro in it.

I prefer the riken raptors, as for a cheap tire.. i've had a lot of them, they seem to be bad ***, especially for the price, and i've also had the eagle GT's, and F1's (which i dont think they sell anymore? i havent seen them, or maybe they just dont offer that size)

so i got a lot more research to do i guess...

mitchberry

iTrader: (1)

wait, i take what i said back about the NTB vs discount tire prices, i was comparing 255's and 245's... oops... their the same price

3rd Coast Z

iTrader: (1)

I actually had the 275's on an 8 in. wheel. The sidewalls bulged a little bit but it wasn't stupid looking. It gave me another inch of contact patch to the pavement. I wasn't ready to buy new wheels yet on that car but I had get something that would grip better.

3rd Coast Z

iTrader: (1)

As far as tires for the price vs. traction vs. longevity it's really about what you want the most of. For awhile there I had to work rear tires into my monthly budget. Literally! Luckily I worked at Discount Tire so I just grabbed whatever was on sale. Every now and then we would get in "BLEM" tires. Blemished somehow from the factory. They were dirt cheap. I ran pretty much every brand out there over a two to three year period. My favorites were always the private label BFG's though.

Most of the lower profile entry level tires that have been around for awhile won't just fall apart. But at the same time wet weather traction and even dry traction just are not there. And of course mileage is crap.

The Eagle GT's are great tires. The F1's are insanely expensive. I actually really like those GT's. Been reading up on them on the Goodyear site.

mitchberry

iTrader: (1)

thanks for the input.

i just ordered the rims, their on the way from Cali, will take a few days to get here..

i checked more into the NTB thing... its buy one tire get one free...... IF. you buy a 5 year front end alignment package, wheel balancing package, "professional installation" or whatever, which is "better" than their base installation, mount, buy their valve stems, and they have to put the wheels on your car physically...

and it only counts for specific brands.... long story short, 4 sumitomo tires at 202.99 each costs 843$ ... they say "but you save $404!!!!" which is bull **** because, you are forced to get things you wouldn't get normally.

i have NO need for all of the other stuff aside from the mount and balance, and warranty. and i don't really even need the mount and balance, my dad owns a body shop and my step dad owns a mechanic shop....... i've got all of that covered.. and i have my own tools as well, and am able to do just about anything out of my garage.

so really, you're paying full price and getting stuff you don't need. in some cases that's good, but for ME, i don't need any of it, i just want to walk out the door with 4 tires at 50% off...

meanwhile,

discount tire has the Falken ZE-512's in stock for 130 each, and they come with a 30,000 mile warranty included. and if i get a nail, they always fix those for free... the only thing they wouldn't fix is if i drove the car on the rim 5 miles to the store because i had a flat.. which i wouldn't do because i wouldn't want to destroy my rims. but they'd cover that if i bought the separate warranty.. they'd put a new tire on it..

eeh....

so i'm going with discount tire, which is where i have gone for the last 6 sets of tires i have bought... but it's always good to do the research..


520$ sounds MUCH better than $843 though..

as for what im using the car for, i won't be drag racing it, won't be drifting, won't be doing burnouts in parking lots, none of that.... this is a daily driver car with a slow, tired 305 in it.

if i upgrade the motor, i'll upgrade the tires accordingly.

3rd........ what do you think of the Falken ZE-512's ???? the guy on the phone at discount told me they were better than the riken raptors... i have read several reviews telling me otherwise, but, for the price, and with the warranty, i don't feel like i could beat it.

3rd Coast Z

iTrader: (1)

I am actually running the 512's on the front of my taurus right now. Good bang for your buck. A friend of mine ran the 512's in 255/50-16 on his LT-1 T/A and they lasted forever. It was a daily driver also.

Unfortunately I never had any experience with the rikens. But I have read good reviews on them.

mitchberry

iTrader: (1)

good enough for me!

and, i really liked the rikens on my 02 formula and 00 z28, they were really sticky, like i think i mentioned, i had several sets of them, and even my girlfriend's accord has them on it .

my first experience with them was when i had my formula.. it had stock tires on it and i was sliding all over the place, especially in the rain or around corners.

it also had a hell of a time launching from a stop without smoking the tires.

there's an exit on one of the highways here where you have to go about 20mph around it, it's a 3/4 circle and goes under the highway and down the road.

I had to take it every day to go to work. One day i took it going about 25 and the front slid out and i almost plowed the guard rail.... i got it under control but had a pant full of something..

the next day i went and got the rikens...

the next monday, i took that same curve at about 60. it was fast enough to where the seat wouldn't hold me in place and... again, i had a pant full of something.... but the car stuck to the road like glue... i went through another set on that car before i sold it.

when i got my camaro, i ended up blowing a tire, and they didn't make the same brand anymore, so rather than having a mismatched tire, i just bought 4 new ones, then bought 4 more when the rears wore out...

i have to say though that after they wear in a bit, say 15k miles, they aren't as grippy, but i'd expect that all tires are that way.

but they don't really expect them to last more than 30k because of their aggressiveness. but i've never had the tread separate or anything like that on them.

but im going to try out the 512's when i get them... i may start a review on them here cataloging them from day one, with periodic updates over time.. i've seen a few people do that with motorcycle tires on other forums, so i may do that here with these.