Better Tyres Or Wider Tyres?

[scathing]

235/45/17 has a massive range of tyres, and they are quite well priced due to the massive popularity.

They are also the size of a control tyre for one of the motorsport events, so its relatively easy to find new and second hand Comp-Rs in that size.

[slip]

sweet. i think the bridgestone semi slicks were only 300 a pop for the 16x8 225/50/16.

any idea what semis in that size go for?

[lastlineofdefence]

Being a street car, i wouldn't want to run semi's on it.

[J_Red33]

I'd have to agree with that

Semi's are probably fine for the street 98% of the time, but the other 2% (Or maybe 1% at the moment with this drought) when you have some serious rain they would be downright dangerous.

Best to go for something that's a bit more of an all rounder.

[scathing]

any idea what semis in that size go for?

I bought second hand Advan A032Rs in 235/45 R17 for under $100 a pop. Mind you, they were very second hand. Track days only, and only if you're not doing competitive motorsport. On the plus side they never overheat and even after a couple of track days / supersprints they don't look any more worn than when I got them.

If you buy brand new RE55S, A032Rs, R888s, etc you're looking at $450 a corner.

[scathing]

Being a street car, i wouldn't want to run semi's on it.

I wouldn't recommend it, either. I've driven on Comp-R semis as daily driven tyres, and since it was winter it was one of the scarier times of my life. In the wet I may as well have been on ice....and what do you know it was always raining.....

I would suggest keeping your OEM rims. Find good tyres that are as wide as possible that will fit your rims while retaining the OEM rolling diameter.

Check the tyre thread for feedback, and then see what falls into your budget.

[Kinks]

To broaden the question somewhat.. is going wider on a given rim better or worse?

eg 205/55 R16 vs 225/50 R16 on a standard rim.

[lastlineofdefence]

So you are asking if changing the tyres on a given rim from 205's to 225's, better or worse?

I would think better, but again depends on compund. If compund is the same, then i would think it would be better. More contact.

[Laurence]

Well I wouldn't put 225/50 on a 6.5" wheel... but Yokohama thinks it is ok (6.0-8.0)

Mind you my car has 215/45R17 on 9J (7.0-8.5 recommended)

http://www.yokohamatire.com/utrimwidth.asp

Choosing a wheel near the middle of the range will give a balance between ride quality and handling. A wider wheel will improve handling at the expense of ride quality, while a narrower wheel will improve ride quality at the expense of handling. Consider these compromises when selecting wheels.

So the answer is YES, or NO... depending on what you mean by better or worse

Edited October 22, 2006 by Laurence

[scathing]

Is there any explanation accompanying what you quoted?

I don't see how going to a "wider wheel" affects the ride quality overly much. Nor will it necessarily improve handling.

[salad]

tyreflex

less tyre flex makes it more uncomfortable but makes the car a lot more predicatble.

but once you start stretching tyres enough, you are sacrificing the amount of tyre you are gettin onto the road for small difference in tyreflex.

most people do it for the look

Edited October 24, 2006 by salad

[Cubes]

I've ran 225/50 16's on my std rims since day dot..

Looks a little better than skinny 205's and with a reasonable tyre it does offer a lot more grip.

[Laurence]

salad... could you explain the theory on less contact on the road.

Does the tread go concave or something along those lines?

Edited October 23, 2006 by Laurence

[Cubes]

Sorry my post was a tad missleading.

The first set of tyres that came on the car were 205's Bridgestone Donuts.

Since then its had a set of 225's on.

[GTshortie]

Just to add my experiences:

1. 265 wide FALKEN 326(SHIT TYRES) on 18 x 9inch rims like NEW! 95%+ thread <265/35/r18>

2. 205 wide Dunlop Sp2050(OEM Accord Euro Tyres) 30-40% thread just above wear indicators on Stock 16 x 6.5inch rims.(r33gtst) <205/55/r16>

Car with 200rwkw. R33 gtst.

1. Around Wakefield i managed the same time around the track both 1:18 BACK then (1:16's now).

2. Traction wise, i was surprised some quality dunlop tyres with only 30-40% thread GRIPPED better then my near new 265 falken tyres. 95%+

3. Compared to my 225/50r16 falken 326(compliance tyres that came with car). the 205/55/r16 dunlops is 100 TIMES BETTER.

So for me, QUALITY tyres OVER WIDER tyres.

<btw my mate just picked up some Toyo T1R's a few months ago in 205/55/r16 for $170-180/tyre> for the 225/50/r16 is was like $210 or there abouts.

thats just my 2cents.

[salad]

salad... could you explain the theory on less contact on the road.

Does the tread go concave or something along those lines?

when you're stretching a tyre on a rim, you are using a skinny tyre that is too skinny for the rim. ie, not very wide. so you could get a much wider tyre on such a rim.

just a commonly used example, a lot of people stretch 215/45R17 on 17x9, ive done this too. now, with a 9" rim you can fit 255/40R17 on there no worries. now going by the rule of thumb that the width is in mm, you now have ~19% more rubber on the ground. thats a fair bit!

given you will have a bit more flex as the sidewall is slightly taller (5mm) and you arent stretching it, but i would rather go for the more grip personally. even for drift, means you have more grip and can go a lot faster, and hold bigger entries.

on standard rims i've run 225/50 and 205/55, and i liked the 205/55s much better. given it probly wasnt a fair test because i ran good yokohamas in the 205/55 and run of the mill 225/50s, but the 225/50 just felt a lot sloppier

Edited October 24, 2006 by salad

[Kinks]

the contact patch thing is a myth. force is pressure times area, and the pressure a tyre can exert on the road is equal to its internal air pressure. therefore no matter what shape of tyre (wide or skinny) you will have the SAME area on the road.

However, a wider tyre will have a wider patch and a skinny tyre will have a longer patch. wider patch is better for cornering grip, skinnier patch is better for driving in the wet as there is less water to push out of the way.

[MBS206]

If you throw a wider tyre, on a skinny rim, you will get great straight line grip, but absolute shithouse handing.

The tyre rolls over the rim itself.

And the same goes the opposite way.

[lastlineofdefence]

the contact patch thing is a myth. force is pressure times area, and the pressure a tyre can exert on the road is equal to its internal air pressure. therefore no matter what shape of tyre (wide or skinny) you will have the SAME area on the road.

However, a wider tyre will have a wider patch and a skinny tyre will have a longer patch. wider patch is better for cornering grip, skinnier patch is better for driving in the wet as there is less water to push out of the way.

Yep got that idea now. because the tyres still have the same amount of weight pushing down on them. A skinny tyre will have a more square shape contact patch, whereas a wider tyre would have a rectangle one.

[siba33]

just get new rims and damn good tyres problem solved!