Tires for stock 18's

[LS2Monaro]

Alright, looking at breaking down and getting a set of 4 new tires. At around 30,000 miles on the 06 goat,the rear tires have been replaced, 3 or 4 times and the front ones are still stock and are in rough shape.

At the moment, the fronts are those stock potenza's, 235/40/18 and the rears are cooper zeons (decent and cheap! $80 each) 245/40/18.

The 235's are pretty wimpy.... I know a decent amount of guys on here are running 245's all around. However, (and I know this subject has been beat to death) how do you know if strut rub isn't an issue while running those 245's in the front?

I plan on getting a set of four cooper zeon's again, unless someone can show me a better bang for your buck, for $80 a piece or cheaper.

What's the best way to check if there will be rubbing? Rotate the 245's to the front, run them for 500 miles and then take them off and look for marks or what?

It would be nice to be able to rotate the tires from front to back for change, without going to a smaller tire. :)

[thekingntb]

From my past experiences you will know when you rub.. For one you will be able to feel it and hear it... At least I did.. When I was calling around getting prices on a set of new wheels the local Pontiac dealership in Buffalo NY told me that 245 is the size I should go.. I have CSL Replica wheels that are 8.5 all around.. Some people notice slight rubbing with a 245 on that wheel.. So I decided to be safe and just get a 235 tire..

[LS2Monaro]

Hm... well, it wasn't an issue on ALL gto's right?

Would my best bet be to rotate the 235's the the rear and the 245's to the front? See if I notice the rubbing? it sucks that it is such a gray area.

It would just be really nice to be able to rotate tires, considering i go through them rather quickly, without sacrificing the wider contact to the road... while using stock rims.

[Dwil]

Would my best bet be to rotate the 235's the the rear and the 245's to the front? See if I notice the rubbing? it sucks that it is such a gray area.


That's really the only way you'll know for sure, 2nd best would be to just get under there and check for the 5-10mm of inside clearance (as long as you're using a similar brand tire)
If you have aggressive front camber you will prob encounter strut rub.

[LS2Monaro]

Alright, well guess I'll go ahead and try that, rotating the 245's to the front before I buy 4 of them.

I did notice though that those cooper zeons have a pretty tall edge. Hope that doesn't cause any issues.

You say that there should be 5-10mm clearance between the tire and the strut? Is that with the suspension loaded (on the groun) or unloaded (in the air)?

If there is minor contact, can that just be cured with an alignment?