Wider rear tires worth it?

[Lumpeecamm]

My tires are shot, after having a tire shop and a dealership check out the car for problems it took me all but 5 minutes to jack up the car and set the rear wheels a spinning to see they are out of round and wobbling. Maybe thats where the "vibration" is coming from, hmmmmmm. Anyways after doing a search I discovered some guys are running 255/45's on their stock 17's in the rear, does this help hook up the rear wheels any better? Are there any unpleasant handling characteristics? Should I forget about the whole thing and just go 245/45 across the board?

[bvbull200]

What kind of tires are you going to be putting on? Drag radials, street, etc? Conventional thought suggests that the more rubber you have contacting the pavement, the better traction you will get. There is another school of thought though, and that suggests that if the tire is too wide for the rim (even if it fits fine), that you wouldn't get enough wrinkle in the sidewall for optimum traction, at least in the case of launching the car. I don't think there would be too much of a gain with 255's. It may be worth it to keep 245's just so you could rotate them to the front and get a little more life out of them. Depending on the tire, you may be able to go all the way up to 275's. I have 275/40/17 Nitto 555r drag radials and they fit fine. Hopefully that helps some!!

[City Goat]

going from 245/45 to 255/45 in the back isn't much of a gain, at that point I would just keep 245s all around so that you can rotate your tires.

Although 275/40/17s in the rear with drag springs would be a nice addition.

[TriflowM5+M3]

all depends on contact patch..what percetage contact patch are the tires that you are considering running and what size are they really when compared to their "listed" sidewall sizes.

[caritter3]

Got to agree, with the little bit of difference it'd make much more sense to stick with 245s to retain the ability to rotate and save money in the long run for tow new wheels and drag radials.

[vhalin]

What kind of tires are you going to be putting on? Drag radials, street, etc? Conventional thought suggests that the more rubber you have contacting the pavement, the better traction you will get. There is another school of thought though, and that suggests that if the tire is too wide for the rim (even if it fits fine), that you wouldn't get enough wrinkle in the sidewall for optimum traction, at least in the case of launching the car. I don't think there would be too much of a gain with 255's. It may be worth it to keep 245's just so you could rotate them to the front and get a little more life out of them. Depending on the tire, you may be able to go all the way up to 275's. I have 275/40/17 Nitto 555r drag radials and they fit fine. Hopefully that helps some!!


is the entire tire making contact with the ground? i have some 275/40/17 MT DRs and only about the middle 85% has wear. i was running ~19psi too so i dont think its that they are over-inflated.

[1INSANEGTO]

Whats the best tire to run on the rears for street use. 500rwhp guys? I know with stock I have issues with wheel spin. Ideas on brand type and size?

[ddawson]

Even with 275 1st and 2nd are useless if you floor it with street rubber. In 3rd it starts to hookup but it’s a fight.

I saw a GTO with 18x9.5 and 295/35-18 BFG Drag Radials but even with rolled fender it was rubbing but on the drag strip I bet it works well.

Once my Pilot sports are worn out I'm going to the Goodyear.

[1INSANEGTO]

I think I am going to go with some BFG DR I will let you know how much I can shove under there :)

[AMUshooter]

I have 255s on the rear. Sumitomo street tires. They are good. I go through rears so fast that it dosent really matter what size get. I have a 12.3 with a 1.8 60ft on them. So they hook up good and were only 60$ a piece.

[caritter3]

Where'd you get these at that price? I'd be interested.

[Lumpeecamm]

TireRack has the Sumitomos for ~$60 but haven't there been some quality control problems with those tires like separation of lavers and bubbles?

[AMUshooter]

TireRack has the Sumitomos for ~$60 but haven't there been some quality control problems with those tires like separation of lavers and bubbles?

I've got no clue. TireRack seems to be pretty good if you have problems with something though. If your tires are junk you should give them a call. Mine seem fine. But like I said the Rears just aren't all that important to me. I can't justify spending the extra dough on Michelins or other real pricey stuff. The General UMP I hear is a pretty good tire for not that much.
E

[axles of evil]

im always wondering how good a 255 could hook up on a 500 rwhp car... something tells me it would just turn them into smoke and ash.

even stock these cars can really break loose, makes me nuts that they cant fit big fat back tires.

[caritter3]

I've got no clue. TireRack seems to be pretty good if you have problems with something though. If your tires are junk you should give them a call. Mine seem fine. But like I said the Rears just aren't all that important to me. I can't justify spending the extra dough on Michelins or other real pricey stuff. The General UMP I hear is a pretty good tire for not that much.
E

Thanks, I'm gonna look into TireRack now because I need another rear set of tires. :bomb:

[1INSANEGTO]

How big of a slick can you fit on a 15" rim????????????????///

[1INSANEGTO]

Do Note this. Nitto 555R's size 275/40/17 Do not fit without rolling fenders. Atleast not with the rims I have.

I have to drive home realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy y careful. I will be rolling my own fenders tonight.

[sccaGTO]

im always wondering how good a 255 could hook up on a 500 rwhp car... something tells me it would just turn them into smoke and ash.

even stock these cars can really break loose, makes me nuts that they cant fit big fat back tires.

Hell, 275s are roasted by our cars. I'm working on this problem. It just takes a little time.

[bvbull200]

Do Note this. Nitto 555R's size 275/40/17 Do not fit without rolling fenders. Atleast not with the rims I have.

I have to drive home realllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy y careful. I will be rolling my own fenders tonight.

Hmmmm....I guess there are enough slight variations from car to car to produce different results. I have 555R's in 275/40/17 and I have experienced no rubbing on stock 17's. I can't claim to have many track launches, but certainly no issues on bumps or any other street driving. I do have drag bags at about 7 psi which could account for it.

[1INSANEGTO]

Yeah I have no drag bags. O Habor Freight grinder FTW. I had no other choice as I could not wait for drag bags and I will be damned if I was going to throw away $411.00 for 2 tires again.

I just cut the lip off. I have a little more to do on the passenger side.

O and I do not have stock rims

[8100hammer]

You can fit 255/45/17 all round, BUT you need to roll your front cambers to 0+, and depending on you choice of tire may need 5mm spacers for the fronts. Or noltecs strut bushings with the camber adjustment to move the strut away from your tire. This setup would make a good Midwest highway driver/ DD Drag strip car.
You get a taller tire, and more sidewall for better ride. For those that drive highway a lot.

[Lumpeecamm]

I just decided to go with the regular 245/45/17 setup, went with the Sumitomo HTR+ "all season" UHP's through Tirerack. Funny thing is they called to tell me there may be rubbbing issues, so I asked if they sold anything in that size that would not be a problem and the rep said "nope" so I scratched my head and just said "...ok, thanks". We will see how these tires perform in the cold NE winter (wooohooo).