I previously posted this over on it.com, but am curious what your experience and thoughts are. Next year the maximum rim width I can use is 6”. I heard that the Hoosier 225/45 is considered to be the hot set-up. I am honestly surprised that the tire can be crammed onto a 6” rim. (I have a hard enough time with 215 Kumos on a 5.5” rim) The gearing difference obtained by using the 225/45 is also attractive.

What are the ITB & ITC front runners using? (From what I understand Catch22 uses the 225/45s) Do you have any experience with the 225/45 versus 205/60? Any thoughts / opinions are appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Nothing useful to add other than Scott says they fit, and they're fast. I'll let you know in a few months when I try it.

$.02

 

Haven't tried the 225/45, but I'm currently running some 225/50 that a fellow competitor had left over from '03 and they are still in great shape. I'm looking forward to trying the 225/45 next year to see how the gearing helps. Just my .02 worth.
Sam

 

Sam - was it difficult to stuff the 225/50s on 6" rims? Obviously they worked well enough for you to continue using 225s next year...

 

I've put 225 50's on my 14's a few times, Hoosiers rubbed the rear arms alittle but the kumhos didn't. the 6inch width is hindering the performance of the tire

 

I have an autocross ITR. It has 15x6 rims. I run 225/45/15 fronts and 205/50/15 rears. I have used Hoosier S03s, Hoosier S04s, Kumho V700 VictoRacers. I feel that although the 225 on a 6" rim is not optimal and is a real pain to put the tire on the wheel, there is an advantage over running 205s all around. My car was noticeably easier to rotate with the big tires up front.

That said, I have been trying the new Kumho V710 which is only available in a 205/50/15. So I have them all around. They are a very very nice tire. On asphalt they seem to have as much grip as the Hoosier S04, and are more progressive, forgiving and in general easier to drive. I do not feel that I have been hurt by the smaller front size (but I would like to try the wider Kumho if they ever make it!) The Kumho is considerably cheaper than the Hoosier as well.

BTW, in a given size Hoosiers seem to be about 3/4" wider then Kumhos. If clearance is tight a Kumho might fit where a Hoosier does not.

regards,
alan

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by granracing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sam - was it difficult to stuff the 225/50s on 6" rims? Obviously they worked well enough for you to continue using 225s next year...</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, not too difficult, main thing to worry about is the offset you are running to make sure that they don't rub.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ZUL8R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">6inch width is hindering the performance of the tire </TD></TR></TABLE>

while this is true, the handling of the car with the 225's is much better than with the 205's, and it is what all the local front running Civics in ITC are running.

 

On my ITC CRX I run 185/60-13s with excellent sucess. Even running on older BFG R-1s, I can turn similar or better times as other ITC cars in my area.

I feel that with my stock final drive ratio, the lower OD on the tire gives me an advantage over a slightly wider and/or taller tire for where I run. I have tried 205/60-13s in years past but these were not as fast as the 185s.

I would like to experiment with wider, similar OD Hoosiers when the finances allow.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by granracing &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sam - was it difficult to stuff the 225/50s on 6" rims? Obviously they worked well enough for you to continue using 225s next year...</TD></TR></TABLE>

You should ask someone who does the "stuffing" for a living....lol

They work just fine....keep that momentum up...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 00R101 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I have an autocross ITR. It has 15x6 rims. I run 225/45/15 fronts and 205/50/15 rears. I have used Hoosier S03s, Hoosier S04s, Kumho V700 VictoRacers. I feel that although the 225 on a 6" rim is not optimal and is a real pain to put the tire on the wheel, there is an advantage over running 205s all around. My car was noticeably easier to rotate with the big tires up front.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

i will echo that comment 100% many years ago i came across a killer deal on 225/50/15 A008Rs so i bought them and mounted them on old 5 spoke 15x6 GSR's. all tho not optinmal rim width it did provide extra grip. the driver has to learn to compensate for the "slack" that the sidewall flexing gives. on fast transition in autox it can get a little tricky. for sure grip was higher than 205's. just have to adapt to it.

 

Thanks all. Looks like I'll try the 225s.

I probably won't notice the "slack" much since I'm also installing a LSD so the car will feel very different anyways. It should be interesting to see how much faster I am with the Hoosiers then the Toyos I've been using.

 

i usually run the 225/50 on the 5 inch rim, but i have a set of 225/45s mounted up right now, will try them at the next autocross, i dont suspect i will have much of a difference besides for the shorter gears and perhaps a little different turn-in.

I have had no problems getting the tire temps even across the tire within 60-70 autocross seconds, aand i run a 1/4th inch spacer with the stock size wheels because otherwise, i rub enough to smell burning rubber sometimes.

As far as mounting I can do it with two people on a half decent machine, and i can do it by myself in less than a min on a machine with the extra hydraulic arm to compress the tire.

Jon K
http://www.seat-time.com

 

I was going through the Hoosier web site and it talks about how wheel width dramatically affects wear and performance of the tires.

How much faster will the 225s wear versus using 205s on 6� rims? Is the wear rate significant? Yeah I know, that is a bit subjective but just trying to get an idea.

 

wider is better