The time has come to get some new tires, and I'm looking to improve my traction from a roll while doing so.

Right now Im running 15x6.5 Rotas w/ 205/50 712's. What benefits would I see by stepping up to a 215/50/15 or even a 225? What is the correlation between tire width, and actual contact patch? What will a wider tire on the same size wheel do for me?

Getting a 15x7 wheel isnt out of the question, although I would like to stick with my current set. Will wheel width make a bigger difference than tire width?

Supposedly a lot of guys are running 215's on stock wheels, so Im not so much worried about the rubbing as I am the added benefit.

I know all of you guys run into the same issues with traction...what have you done in terms of tires? Car is daily driven, so drag radials are out of the question

 

good ? I would like to know as well

 

well rite now your 205's have the following dimensions
diameter 23.0
aspect ratio 4.0
width 8.0
step up to a 215/50
diameter 23.4
aspect 4.2
width 8.4
and a 225/50
diameter 23.8
aspect 4.42
width 8.8..
i'll be runing 225/50/15's on my rota's (as soon as they get here)

 

The 215's Im looking at are:

TW - 280
Width - 8.9"
Tread Width - 7.9"
Overal Diam 23.4"

Will that extra .6" over the Kumhos Im running now (7.3" tread width) make that much of a difference?

 

225/50/15's will rub slightly near lock, but it depends on the wheel offset, and how much you are lowered as well.

 

Lowered a little over 2" (tires come to about the lip of the fender), and +38mm offset.

 

I ran 225/40/17 on enkei rs6 on my teg, never had any clerance problems. But it was on stock springs/struts.

 

I want to know this also. I am looking to run 225's when I get new tires. Will they fit under the stock fenders? Or will they stick out? Also will they rub?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by underpressure02 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I want to know this also. I am looking to run 225's when I get new tires. Will they fit under the stock fenders? Or will they stick out? Also will they rub? </TD></TR></TABLE>

There are plenty of people on here running 225 BFG drag radials on here, if they stick out it's only a little bit, and I have heard they will rub a bit near lock. I have 225/50/15 BFG drags on slips waiting for when I get my turbo setup (sleeved stock bore GSR, 8.5:1 CP pistons, crower rods, ported head, ITR cams, quaiffe, and an SC61) done in the spring time, so it's gonna be some fun driving for a while

 

Will I see a big difference in traction with a 215 vs a 205? Im not sure of the benefits created.

Going from Kumho 712's to SP9000's BTW.

 

khumos suck. a 175/85/13 dunlop would offer more traction than a 235/45/17 kumhoe... but, i'm biased

why the dunlops? no one runs them.

bfg's on the front
azenis on the back.

can't go wrong

 

Just because the masses dont drive on them, doesnt mean they aren't good

SP9000's, in my experience, are awesome tires. Just overpriced. I can get them cheap in 215, which is what Id like to try out anyway, so I figure Ill give them a shot. Only if Ill see traction benefits.

I guess I just want to make sure that a wider tire, in this case 215's means more of a contact patch, which means more traction. They certainly will be stickier than the Kumhos. I also need them to last since this is my daily driver. Cant afford to get 7k out of the BFG's and 12k out of the Azenis. Also need it to be somewhat driveable in the snow and grip well in the wet, which the 9k's can do.

 

Since you brought up the wet. How are the Azenis in the rain? I heard people saying you can not go over 55 mph or they will loose grip like crazy.

 

Azenis' arent bad on wet pavement, its when you hit puddles that their poor water channeling design shows. Easy to cause a scare hitting a puddle at 80mph with Azenis'.

Im still not sure that getting a wider tire will make a difference in terms of getting traction. I have to imagine there is something we can do in terms of size, not just compound, that will affect traction.

EDIT:

OK here are the 2 tires Im looking at right now:

215/50 Dunlop SP9000's:


Sec width - 8.9"
Tread Width - 7.9"
Overall Diameter - 23.4"

205/50 Yok ES100's"


Sec width - 8.2"
Tread Width - 7.5"
Overall Diameter - 23.2"

I know its easier to say it looks like the Yoks will get better grip, but does anyone have experience with the 9k's and hard acceleration? My experience is limited to their handling grip, which was great.

 

start posting up pics of these tire sizes on the cars if possible..

 

I bought 15X7.5 +43 TE37's about 3 months ago and ive been planning on putting 225/50/15 bfg's on em. I was planning on rolling the fenders and still trying to slam the car with them. hehe well see how they fit when I finally get them. They are in odd size so they are taking freaking forever.

 

Also looking into going the OTHER way, and getting 195/50 T1-S which Ive found a good deal on. T1-S' are awesome tires, just way $$$, like SP9000's, S-03's, etc.

If tire width makes little to no difference to traction, then Ill get the best tire I can score cheapest out of the 3, regardless of size. Thats the main question that no one has answered...physically, is width a big deal for hooking up?

Id love to get those 225 BFG's man, supposedly they make a WORLD of a difference. They also seem to avg about 6 or 7k a set, and since this is my DD, I cant swing it

 

Anyone else have opinions on the effect of tire width on traction?

 

my 215 pole positions rub like mad, i'm gona have to rase the car some! there on a '98 gsr with about a 1.5" drop. btw did anyone else notice this is in compleatly the wrong forum.

 

This isnt the wrong forum. What would you suggest?

The question is about tire selection for traction. Since most people have similar traction issues as I do in the forced induction forum, this is where it goes. As long as its tech, and as long as its FI related (as traction with an turbo'd car obviously is) its fine. I dont road race. Its not for drag racing. Its about traction on an FI car.

Is there a tire forum I dont know about?

Back on subject...I appreciate your response. Are your pole positions 15's? Do they rub on full turns, bumps, or just always while turning?

 

i don't think the width will make much difference as opposed to running more sticky tires.. if your setup has more turbo lag and you get a larger kick once it kick in, you'll find more traction problems..

if you do get wider tire, get wider wheels as well.. i run run my 205/50-15 kumho mx (felt more sticky than s-03's) on 15x7 and if i had more money to spend i'd run some 205's on 15x7.5 if not 15x8 - that does improve handling, stability and more rubber contacts the ground but i can't say it will make big difference unless you change tire compound.

 

ya i guess, oh well whatever. i thought meby it would be better in the suspesion fourm, but who cares. no they are on 17's x 7". they grip realy well too. i like them better than the michellens or the g-force.

 

Im at this point as well. I want to run 225s on a 7 or 7.5" wide wheel. Is 17" more likely to rub than 16" and where exactly will it rub? And can a change if offset avoid rubbing? Someone clue me in.

 

To answer your question: I think the extra size wont make a huge difference but when your already running the best rubber available, you bought a LSD, installed traction bars and still have no traction until highway speeds then I would say you need every bit of traction you can get from where ever possible.

 

pick the tire you want first, and then size it to rim/car..