hot wheels

[randall]

I have black '92 and looking to upgrade to 16/17, but not much selection. It seems the 17/18 sizes are more popular,if went w/ the 17/18's what tire size would I have to run to not effect the TCS/ABS computer? And would the car need to be lowered to look right? I'd rather not lower if I didn't need to.thanks Randall

 

[nsxtasy]

There is some discussion of tire sizes here.

Of course, if you like the OEM tires (Yokohama A022H or Bridgestone RE010), you would need to stick to 16"/17" wheels, since they don't come in larger sizes.

 

[randall]

sorry I wasn't clear Ken,

my question was for the 17/18 sizes and if that would affect ABS/TCS?

 

[nsxtasy]

my question was for the 17/18 sizes and if that would affect ABS/TCS?

Your question was clear. And it was answered in the section of the FAQ to which the above link goes.

To be more explicit, there is discussion on that page in the FAQ of various sizes and how to calculate whether it will affect TCS. Here's what it says:

"Will Different Sizes Affect TCS?

You can check diameter for any tire size at: http://www.powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi

[KS] The RATIO between front and rear should be within 5 percent of the STOCK RATIO. Based on the '91-93 OEM
sizes, the ratio should be between 2.7 percent and 12.7 percent. Based on the '94-98 sizes, it should be between -0.3 percent and 9.7 percent.

However, as a general rule, your best bet in choosing tire sizes is to not only shoot for the stock ratio between front and rear, but also the stock outside tire diameters. Otherwise you will be changing what some people call the "effective gearing" of the car, i.e. the number of engine revs per mile traveled. With bigger wheels, if you're not careful, you are likely to wind up getting tires that are a larger diameter than stock; think of this as equivalent to getting LONGER gears put in your car. Not very desirable for performance."

Here are some of the sizes mentioned in the FAQ:

"rear suggestions:

245/35/18 or 285/30/18 is just 0.1% larger than stock, so you will not feel the acceleration drag.

front:

215/40/17 is 0.7% larger than stock
225/35/17 is -1.8% smaller than stock
235/35/17 is -0.6% smaller than stock"

and

"Popular" fitment: Front - 215/40R17 on 17x7.5, Rear - R 265/35R18 on 18x8.5. I used these. Front:Rear ratio 6.4%

"Bigger" fitment: Front - 235/40R17 on 17x8 (modified wheel well), Rear 285/35R18 on 18x10.

225/40-17 F are probably as wide as you want to go withouto rubbing --> rare size (SO2 only?)

235/40-17 F will fit, but you will rub on full-lock turns (pound inner wheel well)"

[This message has been edited by nsxtasy (edited 20 November 2001).]

 

[ncdogdoc]

I found this site a couple of days ago. (Looking for wheels for my LS400)It is great. It shows you the difference between what you have now, and what you will have with a new tire/wheel size. Check it out.

------------------
Gary Yates
1995 Red/Tan

 

[randall]

Ken,

what about lowering the car if I go w/ the quoted "popular size" 17/18's will it look ok w/out lowering?

 

[sjs]

Originally posted by ncdogdoc:
I found this site a couple of days ago. (Looking for wheels for my LS400)It is great. It shows you the difference between what you have now, and what you will have with a new tire/wheel size. Check it out.

Lot's of similar calculators out there and they are fine for an initial approximation, but they don't account for the difference caused by rim width (wider means effectively shorter for a given tire as it stretches to fill the rim) or for the variation between tire make/model. If you look at manufacturer's specs you will be surprised by the differences between tires of the “same size". While the differences of each of these points is fairly small, they can combine to push a marginal selection (in terms of TCS) into an ill advised choice. Specs for diameter and revs/mile (on a particular rim width) are available for most tires at the respective manufacturers site, and at sites like Tire Rack. One caution, I've already seen two major errors on Tire Rack specs where diameter and revs/mile didn't correspond to each other. When in doubt, double check the math and check the manufacturer’s site before you make the final decision.

 

[nsxtasy]

Good advice, sjs (all of it).

Incidentally, those sources of error are why it's best not to get too close to that 5 percent threshold on the TCS operation. In fact, as another source of error, the difference in outer diameter from a tire when new (10/32" tread) to the same tire when down to the treadwear indicators (2/32" tread) can be as much as 2 percent.

 

[grippgoat]

For performance, I'm a huge fan of 215/40/17 front and 255/40/17 rear. However, after going to NSXPO and seeing all the NSXes on the lawn lookin' all sexy with their lowering springs and 17/18 setups, and then seein' mine at full factory height with 17s front and back, I kinda wanna get some 18s in the rear and lower my car about 3/4" again. =)

-Mike

 

[nsxtasy]

what about lowering the car if I go w/ the quoted "popular size" 17/18's will it look ok w/out lowering?

Looks, of course, are a personal matter.

If you want to see for yourself what your car would look like before and after installing various wheels, you might want to check out Tire Rack's interactive website at http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/wtpack.jsp