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Old 08-13-2005, 07:51 PM   #1
youralljerks
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Default tire sidewall hight on stock rims. help!!

I currently have khumo 205/55R16 tiers on my 2002 WRX, I’m thinking of going smaller (205/40zr16) the car is lowered with the Tein S.tech springs so I’m not concerned with wheel well gap, fuel efficiency, odometer/speedo corrections Ect. The smaller tire will theoretically give me a better gear rate.
So what is the best size tire for this? What will the stock Rims fit? what is the best brand tire? please keep in mind price, I could just buy Pirellis if I wanted the best. Around 95 bucks a tire. All suggestions are helpful. And please keep in mind all 4 Questions as they are all important when i go to pick a tire. and sorry just relized wrong form for this topic
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Old 08-13-2005, 09:00 PM   #2
REX8
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Try the wheel/tire section for all these questions, especially the best tire. Real quick. Anything from a 195 to a 225 will fit you your stock rims. I suggest a 215. You can get a pretty close 215 to your current 205 55. Remember, not all tires are the same heightm i.e. not all 215 50's are the same height (believe it or not), so look to specific tires. Your fuel economy will get worse, as your gearing will get shorter, your odo will be off too. In this case, you'll have more miles on your car than you've actually gone.
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Old 08-13-2005, 10:58 PM   #3
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Toyo Proxes 4 205/50-16 for teh win. 3% smaller than OEM and this will make your speedo off just a touch, so when you are going 70, you are actually going 66-67 or so. They are also still about the same size as your spare tire, so if you have a flat you can safely use the spare. This is about the smallest size you want to go and still use your OEM spare. Anything smaller will mean you have to trust fix-a-flat as the spare would be outside the 1/4" variance range.
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Old 08-14-2005, 05:52 AM   #4
ripvw
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Quote:
Originally Posted by youralljerks
...I’m thinking of going smaller (205/40zr16)
this size does not have the load capacity needed for your 2002 WRX. this size has a load capacity of 83, i.e. 1074 lbs. you need at least an 86(min 36psi cold)/87(min 32psi cold) load capacity to be safe. the 205/50x16 size that Unabomber recommends below would work fine, and the gearing advantage is also a nice thing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by youralljerks
So what is the best size tire for this? What will the stock Rims fit?
the 205/50x16 is good for light weight and gearing advantage. for handling, the widest size tire you can put on the stock 16x6.5 alloys is 225/50x16. no gearing advantage, and depending upon the specific tire they can be much heavier than the stock 205/55x16 or 205/50x16 alternative, but this size does put the rubber down and would be a great choice for canyon carving. if you already have engine mods then the gearing advantage of the 205/50x16 and the weight disadvantage of the 225/50x16 may be non-issues. 225/50x16 is the size I would run if I had to stay with the stock wheels

other sizes available include:
215/45x16 - limited tire choice, 5% undergeared makes this size a favorite with auto-x'ers, according to tire mfg's not safe to run on 16x6.5 - need 16x7 min.
215/50x16: limited tire selection, 1.7% undergeared

Quote:
Originally Posted by youralljerks
what is the best brand tire?
no such thing - depends upon what your needs are, and will change as new tires are introduced. there are, however, differences in tire types. max performance tires offer the best dry and wet handling, but typically don't wear as well and can be somewhat noisy and harsh riding compared to lesser tires. ultra-high performance all-season tires like the Toyo Proxes 4 that Unabomber recommends and the Pirelli PzeroNero M&S that you allude to are a jack-of-all trades type of tire. Compromised by the fact that they are designed to work in the snow, they offer longer tread wear and a quieter and smoother ride than the max performance tires, while sacrificing some wet and dry performance to gain the fact that they will work in the snow - although not nearly as well as dedicated snow tires. So where do you live?

max performance summer tires are a great choice year round for warm places like Houston, or can be combined with winter tires for use everywhere else. the all-seasons can be a good choice if you get snow and can't or don't want to run seasonal tires. here's some choices for each:

max:
Falken FK451 - extensively tested, unreal wet, great dry
Kuhmo MX - extensively tested, good wet, unreal dry, not available in 205/50x16
Hankook Ventus RS2 Z212 - limited testing, unreal dry, wet reputedly better than the MX

all-season:
Toyo Proxes 4 - never tested, reputedly one of the best A/S in the wet
Pirelli PzeroNero M&S - extensively tested, good A/S wet, excellent dry,
Dunlop SP5000 - extensively tested, excellent A/S wet, very good dry, not available in 205/50x16

Quote:
Originally Posted by youralljerks
All suggestions are helpful
if only that were true...
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Old 08-14-2005, 06:57 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ripvw
215/45x16 - limited tire choice, 5% undergeared makes this size a favorite with auto-x'ers, according to tire mfg's not safe to run on 16x6.5 - need 16x7 min.
215/50x16: limited tire selection, 1.7% undergeared
This is NOT true. Not all 215 45's or any size for that matter are the same. There are 215's that are within 1% of RE92 standard height, andthere are some that are 3% different. You have to go by the tires themselves NOT the size. And a 215 tire on a 6.5" rim is pefectly in range with the mfg's limits. 225's are even in the spec range for a 6.5" wheels for most tires. www.tirerack.com
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