Tire width question

Joined
25 September 2002
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Vegas....Baby!
I'm running 215/40/17 and 275/35/18. Thinking about going with a 265 width rears. Is the 10mm a big deal? and will it affect my alignment running 275's now?

Thank you in advance for any replies,

Skyguy :smile:




3966z_wheel11-med.jpg
 
Why are you switching to a narrower tire?
 
nbovelle said:
Why are you switching to a narrower tire?

Well, not decided on the switch as of yet, but Tirerack has the slightly narrower ones in stock and on sale and I'm on vacation for two weeks, etc. I'll just wait until the 275's come in from a very long backorder and pay a little more.






*insert jethro Bodine accent: "Goldernit, fixin ta shoot this computer, I can't find em' any wheres on this fandangle cityslicken web thinghy, 'bout as senseless as ms hathaway in a beauty contest.........Dang!"
jethro.jpg


Kuhmo MX's

Skyguy
 
Bill is this you? If it not, I just had another customer also waiting for the MX's to come in. going from a 275-35-18 to a 265-35-18, is actually 7mm "closer" to the OEM rear diameter. The largest difference in te OEM from front to rear occurred in the 91-93 with the rears being 45.4mm taller. 94 and up, the difference is around 30mm. with a 275-35-18 rear and a 215-40-17 front, it is 46mm difference, slightly more than the 91-93.
 
RP-Motorsports said:
Bill is this you? If it not, I just had another customer also waiting for the MX's to come in. going from a 275-35-18 to a 265-35-18, is actually 7mm "closer" to the OEM rear diameter. The largest difference in te OEM from front to rear occurred in the 91-93 with the rears being 45.4mm taller. 94 and up, the difference is around 30mm. with a 275-35-18 rear and a 215-40-17 front, it is 46mm difference, slightly more than the 91-93.

Uh... No but I'm still kind of waiting for tirerack to get some in on backorder, (275's) But if your "customer" flakes on you let me know how much $ for the tires.

Best Regards,

Bill :biggrin:
 
skyguy said:
I'm running 215/40/17 and 275/35/18. Thinking about going with a 265 width rears. Is the 10mm a big deal? and will it affect my alignment running 275's now?

Thank you in advance for any replies,

Skyguy :smile:
QUOTE]

I would recommend no bigger than a 275 on the rear if you are runnning 215 on the front. Stock stagger is no more than 40 difference front and rear and from my experience when you deviate from this balance with out adding more power, the car will tend to 'push' more in the corners. I was always happy with 215/255 on my car, made the car easier to 'rotate' going into a corner. If you don't track the car, just buy what looks good to your eye.

As far as alignment goes, changing tire width has no effect on the alignment, if your alignment is done with angles, there is no effect with any changes in wheels or tires.
 
titaniumdave said:
skyguy said:
I'm running 215/40/17 and 275/35/18. Thinking about going with a 265 width rears. Is the 10mm a big deal? and will it affect my alignment running 275's now?

Thank you in advance for any replies,

Skyguy :smile:
QUOTE]

I would recommend no bigger than a 275 on the rear if you are runnning 215 on the front. Stock stagger is no more than 40 difference front and rear and from my experience when you deviate from this balance with out adding more power, the car will tend to 'push' more in the corners. I was always happy with 215/255 on my car, made the car easier to 'rotate' going into a corner. If you don't track the car, just buy what looks good to your eye.

As far as alignment goes, changing tire width has no effect on the alignment, if your alignment is done with angles, there is no effect with any changes in wheels or tires.


Titaniumdave,

Thank you so much for the info. This will be the first tire change since I've had the NSX. I'm running the famed Bridgestone Potenza S03's. This tire is almost without peer. However......Not sure if I'm using the capabilities of this tire. Now before any flames appear, I know the philosophy of running the best tire you can get for the NSX. Z rating will also improve braking? I have read as many posts about stats, etc and believe the Kuhmo MX is the way to go. I know about the softer sidewall, etc, but it satisfies all my tire needs, (no tracking the car.)
The best tire information has been garnered here at the Prime, without question. As with any learning process, you would be wise to ask people in the know and sort the wheat from the chaff. The tire size question was a nagging issue that was cleared up with intelligent replies. I appreciate all the help.

Skyguy
 
Skyguy,
Enjoy the tires, I think the MX is the best tire buy out there for a max summer rated tire. I think you will find they compare to the S-03, and should be close in performance. These tires will not decrease your braking in any way you should notice on the road.


Now go out and drift some of those clover leaves on I-80/I-35, if they still exist :rolleyes: used to love to run those when I was a kid in my '68 Mustang :cool: Have been away for 20 years and don't visit often now...
 
skyguy said:
Z rating will also improve braking?
The speed rating on a tire has nothing to do with its braking performance.

In general, a tire that has good dry performance will do well in braking on dry pavement, and a tire that has good wet performance will do well in braking on wet pavement. An even better guide to braking performance is to check the comparison tests on the Tire Rack website, which measure braking distances, both wet and dry, of the tires being tested, and show results such as these (which are only comparable for the tires being included in that particular test on that particular day):

image008.gif
 
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