jap spec drift tyre fitting?

[mr 32 4door]

gday all

im new to the forum so i hope this is all where its suposed to be and my spelling ant that bad...

how do the japanese get that cool drift look from the tyres?is it just a case of fitting smaller tyres on wider rims or what? does this increase handeling? and finaly is it very hard to get the tyre to stay on and not slip of the beed all the time, cheers

ps i hope u all no what im even talkin about,i would up pics up but i think u should all no.

[NFAA32]

they basically fit a smaller tread to wider rim.. hence stretching out sidewalls.

when the sidewalls are stretched, they basically have no givein them, hence being easier to spin the wheels...

its basically the opposite to big drag radials, there huge sidewalls flex alot to aid grip.

you can do it, its a hassle to put the tyres on the rims, but is possible. i wouldnt suggest going to huge extremes as yes, it does make it more likely to seperate from the bead.

michael

[Sydneykid]

Smaller tyres are cheaper and have less grip (that's a good thing for drift)

[scathing]

As NFAA32 said, its "handling improvements" come from reducing sidewall flex to provide better steering feel. In a drift situation, response is more important than outright grip.

Of course, if its more likely to slip the bead then all the improved cornering in the world isn't going to do you much good if using it is likely to rip the tyre off the rim.

And unless you're running drift-levels of negative camber and suspension stiffness, you're also more likely to pull the edge of the tyre and the sidewall under the car under cornering loads, and then you're more likely to be driving on the straights on the edge of oyur tyre.

Since the sidewalls aren't really designed to be driven on, you'll increase your likelihood of a blowout.

As for the edges, one of my friends had a set of D01J's on his street car. Since he wasn't running enough neg camber (and he runs a fair amount already, for a street car) it was heavily leaning on the corners during a track session, and delaminated the edge. Luckily it didn't throw him off the track but it rendered the tyres undrivable.

For performance and safety, you'd be much better off just buying decent sports tyres with a reinforced sidewall.

But then you're not after go, you're just after show. Your tyre shop should be able to do it (with a little more effort than a properly fitting tyre, but then you're not paying them to take it easy), but if they have any professionalism they'll advise you against doing it on your street car first.

[NZM.031]

i have stretched tyres on mine, 235s on a 9 inch rim... the widest rim you can put a 235 on is 9.5" before it becomes a drama.

i used to have 255s on the back, since going the 235s i noticed alot better handling and response from the rear end. the wheels are easy to spin and are alot more controllable while spinning and while sideways.

i dont have time to check tyre wear levels as i run high pressures in my tyres and a bit of neg camber. also rear tyres are lucky to last over a month.

cheers

Linton

[NFAA32]

ive seen 225s on a 8.5 inch rim before.. and it was not pretty...

[xRHETTx]

Mine are 235s on 9" wide rims, i wouldnt call that extreme. The guy at the tyre place didnt say anything about it, they are like that to provide a bit more clearance under my guards.

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

ive seen 225s on a 8.5 inch rim before.. and it was not pretty...

currently running 225s on a 17 x 9inch rim, they are fine. could probably go 215s, any lower than 215s and it's gonna be a real bitch to fit.

gonna try 225s on a 10inch wide rim, i'll let u know how it goes...

[mr 32 4door]

any one of u's had blow outs/tyre cumin of beeds???

[someonestolecc]

I have 235's on 18x8.5's and only notice a bit of wear on the outside of my front tyres (kind of like my barina) which I'm putting down to not enough camber.

Seems ok.

[mr_rbman]

ive seen 225s on a 8.5 inch rim before.. and it was not pretty...

I have 225's on an 8.5" rim and i have no prblems, i think it looks awesome and the handling is great!

[funkymonkey]

you need to go a smaller width, and higher sidewall to compensate for the extra stretch, if you get it right your overall wheel diameter will be the same. Don't go stupid on the size though, last thing you want is the seal popping off mid corner.

[neil_se]

I've got 215s on 9.5" on the front of my car and haven't had any problems. Rears are 235s on 9.5" as thats the smallest the tyre shop would fit.

[MerlinTheHapyPig]

yeah, my fronts are a bit stretched too, 215's on an 8inch rim.

they're getting munted big-time - like camber wear, and chunks coming off the side..., but i can't tell if that's from the stretched look, or the amount of drift i've been doing recently, coz the braking drift is really going through front tyres.

[totoro]

i got 215s on 9inch rears and they look just nice... and went through the pits ok so that says something? and have 215s on 8inch at front...

one thing i noticed though is that the walls are stretched thus the rim gaurd bit of the tyre pretty much doesnt exist and i keep scraping the outer dish on curbs and islands!!! now my nice dish is full of scrapes.... thats the only concern i have with stretched tyres...

bit off topic but practicality side of things....

[GTR32]

there is merit in going with the smallest tyre you can put on the rim as it stiffens sidewalls BUT don't go nutz as you'll pay...tyre, rim, rear 1/4 panel etc. as for picking a tyre with stiff sidewalls i reckon it's anyone's guess to some extent unless you've tried them. ask a dealer and they'll fill you full of bs most of the time as they don't really know - there is no published data on sidewall stiffness. i had michelin pilots on a 32 GTR and they tramlined...a lot...like a big...er...tram but michelins were known for soft sidewalls. new falkens fixed that but no where near the grip. this isn't a tyre thread so not going there.

do a google search for tyre/rim size compatability charts and you'll find many manufacturers publish them, i keep the toyo one nearby but remember sizes ain't always sizes - and not created in equal widths for a given branding ie 235 - do a search on the suspension/handling/tyres forum for SK's notes and you'll see what i mean. point is a chart will give you an indication of what manufacturers recommend and then you know there's some room to move.

just my 2c