Tire recomendations

[djv5150]

what is the best non stock tire,service manager at local dealer said to run all 4 tires same size, I found this strange,was I wrong?

[jstevens]

I am getting new rear tires this week with 15,400 miles on the odometer.
Early wear out due to some fun with the brake pedal.

I'm staying with the stock size. Some run all the same on all 4's but I understand the different sizes are to give the car a little bit of a rake to it.

[djv5150]

I will most likely go with stock tires. I only have 11830 miles on her and the backs are bald ,Im told she was made to be driven hard and I do.

[valleyman]

Due to having picked up a nail, I had two new front tires installed today at 16500 miles. I went with the 245/55 on the front so now all four tires are the size of the OEM rears. Looks are a matter of personal preference and, to me, the car looks more, well,...manly, while still retaining a slight rake. There is a slight, but noticable, softening of the ride when the front tire hits a pothole. Steering is unaffected. Headlight adjustment does not seem to be needed. Braking does not seem to be affected. No noticable difference in the handling BUT I have not pushed it hard enough into a corner to see if the taller sidewall will flex/roll under in a way that I can feel. I have neither cut springs nor an aftermarket swaybar on the front.

As far as tire pressure I now have over 4000 on my second set of rear tires and have NO dreaded center wear on the rears -- they are wearing evenly. If anything, I drive it much more spiritedly now than I did when it was new; I chirp the rears on the 1st to 2d shift at least half a dozen times a day.

The original rear tires developed center wear within th first 2000 miles and it never abated -- whether at 32 psi or 30 psi or 28 or 26 or 34 -- you get the picture. The difference this time? Since day one this set of rear tires has been at 42 psi. Yep, 42. It's counterintuitive, but I followed the suggestion of someone here on the board and have run them at this pressure and kept a very close eye on them: the rears wear better at 42 psi than at the recommended 32 psi. I can't explain it but it's actual and happenning on my car right now. Go figure.

[Petrograde]

There's a few here that run the same size in all 4 corners. I think that is odd coming a service manager,.. sounds like he might be mod freindly!

I'm still running original tires at over 20K,.. and they should last a while longer; only problem is excessive wear on inner fronts.

When I change them I want to go with Nitto 555's anyone know what size will keep my tire heights stock?

[Marauder]

When I change them I want to go with Nitto 555's anyone know what size will keep my tire heights stock?
255/45-18 will keep the front height very close to stock
295/45-18 will keep the rear height very close to stock
305/45-18 drag radial will also be close to stock height
with the last 2, you'll need widened rims.

I don't think Nitto makes a tire that's stock height for the rear that can use the stock rim.



I'm still running original tires at over 20K,.. and they should last a while longer; only problem is excessive wear on inner fronts.
When I had my car lowered in the front, I had the car realigned and I have no uneven tire wear in the front.

[SergntMac]

I agree with Marauder ^ there. Tire size and availability are manfacturer dependent. Not all sizes are available in all brands, you'll have to make some decisions based on compound, tire reputation, cost, size, and of course, brand loyalty.

It's not all that complicated, but remember, there is no one perfect tire, what works for you, is the correct answer.

BTW, the maximum tire width for proper fit on our stock 8" rims is 255. With 9.5" rims, it's 295.

[Warpath]

...BTW, the maximum tire width for proper fit on our stock 8" rims is 255. With 9.5" rims, it's 295.

Wheel width also varies with manufacturer and design. The 295s I have require 10 to 11.5 inch wide wheel. They are 35 aspect ratio though. The tire specs will tell you what wheel widths are acceptable. Here's my specs:

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/assets/pdf/gforce_ta_kd.pdf

[Marauder]

You could go with Pirelli P-Zeros in 255/45-18 (F) and 255/50-18 (R). That's what Kenny Brown uses and the size is fairly close to stock for the rear.

[ultravorx]

I was thinking of running BFG tires at a size of 255/55/18 on all four corners. Does anyone think this combo will be a problem. Right now i have 36k on the car and my stock rears have finally gone near bald in the middle, so by spring i will need new ones (i run winter tires during the winter).
Frank

[BBC-04]

Ultravorx,
I noticed your winter tires, how're the Toyo's. I'm looking for a winter set and wanted some opinions. (And 16" size specs):drive:

Ultravorx's setup "16" CVPI wheels/Toyo Garit HT Performance winter tires"

This might start a whole new thread......

Thanks,
Mike

BTW, BBC-04 = Big Black Car, My wife's '04 Marauder and I think it just hit 200 miles over the weekend.:cake:

[BillyGman]

Mike, there already is an entire thread devoted to snow tires in the "News" forum. But to simply give you a short answer here, 20 of us board members here (myself included) got in on a package deal from an online tire place last year ( www.discounttiredirect.com (http://www.discounttiredirect.com/) ), and purchased a set of four Michelin Arctic Alpine snow tires mounted on four 16" black slotted rims. The rims are Unique brand, and are called "OE style". The tires simply work fantastic in the snow. They're the best snow tires I've ever used, and I've had a lot of RWD cars. My car made it up some monsterous hills last winter through four major snow storms before the roads were even plowed, and did so w/out fishtailing.And my Marauder doesn't even have traction control (not that I'd want it anyway). I highly recommend those tires. They're usually about $100 a piece.

[SergntMac]

You could go with Pirelli P-Zeros in 255/45-18 (F) and 255/50-18 (R). That's what Kenny Brown uses and the size is fairly close to stock for the rear.
Yes, the tire size you mention is close to OEM sizes, but do you mean to say that the OEM front to rear "rake" is correct? If so, yes again, the OEM "rake" is identical with the Pirelli sizes Kenny selected. Plus, they put more rubber to the road, and have the strongest sidewall ratings on the market. If this is your goal, this is the way to go.

I was thinking of running BFG tires at a size of 255/55/18 on all four corners. Does anyone think this combo will be a problem. Frank
You shouldn't have any problems at all, Frank. Late this past winter, I needed to run Pirelli 255/50 on all four corners while waiting for my '04 tires to be delivered. I liked the feel on the highway, the car felt very balanced and sure-footed despite my low tread depth of 3/32. No alarms went off, no ABS issues, nothing like that. I did have some very slight frame rub in the front on lock-to-lock turns while backing into my garage (it's a steep incline and tight turn), but other than that, I was very pleased with 4 corners matching.

As long as we're talking tire swaps, y'all take note that the OEM lug nut is two pieces, and after some hard impact wrenching, the facade will break loose. If it does, you'll need a smaller wrench to address the actual lug nut. You can get very stylish and solid one piece chrome lug nuts almost anywhere, do the tight thing, eh? BTW...80 to 100 FtLb. of torque, no more, or you'll warp the front rotors.

[rayjay]

I could be wrong, but isn't 255/50/18 an exact match, diameter wise, for 245/55/18?

[MMM2003]

See my signature for the tire size I'm running (Bridgestone Pole Position-S03).

Installed at 20k, when the OEM BFG's wore out (inside front and center rear).
I'm at 48k and still have plenty of (even) tread left.

They handle great and no problems with tire size (ratio) compared to OEM.

Going smaller may not be everyones cup of tea, but I like them.

Just my $0.02

Here is a link (http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html) to a nice tire size calculator I used.