Meaty Tires Thread

[Sourskittle]

The consensus is that 215/45R17 will fit with some trimming of the front bumper tabs and, perhaps, the sheet metal found at 3:00 in the rear wheel well. 235/40R17 are a tad shorter but they are a wide tire for a 7" wheel. I haven't heard of anyone trying a 225/45 and there aren't many good USP tires in 225/40.

I'll prob stick with 205/40's then.

I've run 2 ( maybe 3? ) front sets of 235/40-17's on stock fronts. But... the car lost some steering speed. But more importantly, the tail of the car whips a lot with such a difference in meat.

 

[M-Sport fan]

^^^There are quite a few very sticky tires available in our factory size; Nitto NT-01, various Federals, Toyo R888/R888R, Falken 615K.

But, on most of them, you are giving up MUCH standing water on the road traction, and much more yet tread life.

Driving where you do, I suspect that WET traction is an important factor?

 

[Sourskittle]

^^^There are quite a few very sticky tires available in our factory size; Nitto NT-01, various Federals, Toyo R888/R888R, Falken 615K.

But, on most of them, you are giving up MUCH standing water on the road traction, and much more yet tread life.

Driving where you do, I suspect that WET traction is an important factor?

Yes sir, I'm going to give the Federal 595RS-R's a shot.

I have a Yukon and a fiesta, so wet weather isn't really an issue
Plus, I only drive 8 miles to/from work. I've only ever bought the most "Summer only" tires I can.

 

[Goingnowherefast]

I've actually heard really good things about the Federal's

 

[neeqness]

[MENTION=4988]neeqness[/MENTION] how are you man?!

I'm still on stock suspension. Based on the comments and input from more experienced members here I decided to go with 195 width tires as that seems to be the best match for 15x8 wheels, i.e. diameter, matching the wheel width (little to no stretch/squeeze).

I am very happy with the set-up, currently BFG sport comp-2, and would repeat it when the time comes. But waiting to see how the RS-4s turn-out.

Doing good now man! Sorry to get back so late but have been so busy I haven't been able to check the forum lately. Glad you are liking your setup.

My 15" wheels are narrower so I think I finally decided on a 185/55 tire with the Federal ss595. Would get Indy 500 as I'm loving them right now at 205/45 for my oem wheels but unfortunately, they are not made in 15s. :-(

 

[LILIKE16ST]

Am I crazy or will a 195 width tire be stretched like crazy on a 8" wide wheel?? Heck, my 215's are stretched on a 7.5" wheel!

He is running the same tires I am on the same wheel the 195/55/15 bfg sport comp 2 is pretty wide for a 195 it has a 7.7 tread width and around 8 inch on the section which is as big or even bigger than a lot of 205s and even some small 215s. It's not nearly as bad as it sounds it's barely stretched at all if any it kind of looks like a square fit to me but what do I know. I do know the setup performs awesome. I didn't notice any loss in turn in over the oem setup (mine came with the all seasons) because of the fact the wheel width limits the rollover of the tire as does the sidewall stiffness on these tires.

[MENTION=4988]neeqness[/MENTION] how are you man?!

I'm still on stock suspension. Based on the comments and input from more experienced members here I decided to go with 195 width tires as that seems to be the best match for 15x8 wheels, i.e. diameter, matching the wheel width (little to no stretch/squeeze).

I am very happy with the set-up, currently BFG sport comp-2, and would repeat it when the time comes. But waiting to see how the RS-4s turn-out.

+1 I love my setup I'm also running the td pro race 1.2 in 15x8 with the same 195/55 bfg sc2 and I think it's a really good setup. Considering something stickier next time like the 205/50 star specs or something like that (which are also 2 lbs lighter per tire over the 195 bfg might I add). This setup performs great and isn't stretched near as much as what it sounds. Very very slight of any stretch imo. Love the setup

 

[Waterfan]

Am I crazy or will a 195 width tire be stretched like crazy on a 8" wide wheel?? Heck, my 215's are stretched on a 7.5" wheel!

BFG SC2 are rather wide/fat for their labeled width (195 is more like 205, etc)

 

[neeqness]

Finally got my 195/55s on today!. Not so great of a pic but may post a better one later. Love the look but not as comfy as expected. Still it's not too uncomfortable and I may drop it soon and place Bilstein B8s on it to handle the rough roads.

Not sure why it posts upside down when it's right side up in my gallery (like the other pics I've posted so far)...

 

[LILIKE16ST]

Finally got my 195/55s on today!. Not so great of a pic but may post a better one later. Love the look but not as comfy as expected. Still it's not too uncomfortable and I may drop it soon and place Bilstein B8s on it to handle the rough roads.

Not sure why it posts upside down when it's right side up in my gallery (like the other pics I've posted so far)...

Nice I love race red had it been available on the 16s I very well may have went with that over shadow black. Anyways what wheels are those? I was thinking they were slipstreams but after closer inspection I'm not sure. I decided against the 15x7.5 slips in favor of 15x8 team dynamics. I figured I'd go with a slight weight penalty (close to 2 lbs per wheel from what I've read) in favor of having a half inch more width and a stronger wheel. Your ride looks nice!

 

[neeqness]

Nice I love race red had it been available on the 16s I very well may have went with that over shadow black. Anyways what wheels are those? I was thinking they were slipstreams but after closer inspection I'm not sure. I decided against the 15x7.5 slips in favor of 15x8 team dynamics. I figured I'd go with a slight weight penalty (close to 2 lbs per wheel from what I've read) in favor of having a half inch more width and a stronger wheel. Your ride looks nice!

Thanks man! These are the Focal F05. I kind of was duped into these. Would have preferred the motegi traklites, but for the price they are not bad. They weigh in about 15 lbs so they are fairly light, but they seem to be pretty strong. They are only 6.5 inches wide and overall have been growing on me. A nice clean, sporty look and feel at a reasonable price! My car feels so much lighter on it's feet, err, wheels now... the tires are nice too and I really like the meaty look although I MIGHT try a narrower tire just to see if I prefer less bulge next time.

I'm not done yet though because I plan to drop it a little and maybe put bilstein b8s on it if the eibach pro kit with oem dampers are too harsh for my area (hoping these meaty tires help here). But right now I have the oem springs with koni str.t and this is a great setup if I were to keep stock height. Only thing I would sub here at stock height might be the bilsteins b6 shocks. From what I've read so far I think I might prefer bilsteins to konis. But the konis weren't bad.

 

[neeqness]

By the way, I meant to post a follow up here regarding the Federal ss595s at 195/55 r15. Found out that the tire shop had the tires at way too high psi and this was why they felt too bumpy at first. Lowered the psi down to ~40 and they feel really nice now. Not as smooth or quiet as the Indy 500s but still comfy, more feedback, and relatively sticky (though I suspect the Indy 500s are stickier). Keep in mind though that the aspect on these tires is much higher than my Indy 500s were...if they were the same size, the difference in comfort levels should be more significant.

I think I may be pickier than most here on tire noise as I don't race and I rack a lot of freeway miles so it's a higher priority to me, but these tires have met the mark so far. The noise levels have only been slightly higher than the Indy 500s new. Have only pushed them a little but so far the grip hasn't disappointed on take offs and short jaunts.

...and the price is unbeatable. Let's see how they do on the long haul...

 

[LILIKE16ST]

Thanks man! These are the Focal F05. I kind of was duped into these. Would have preferred the motegi traklites, but for the price they are not bad. They weigh in about 15 lbs so they are fairly light, but they seem to be pretty strong. They are only 6.5 inches wide and overall have been growing on me. A nice clean, sporty look and feel at a reasonable price! My car feels so much lighter on it's feet, err, wheels now... the tires are nice too and I really like the meaty look although I MIGHT try a narrower tire just to see if I prefer less bulge next time.

I'm not done yet though because I plan to drop it a little and maybe put bilstein b8s on it if the eibach pro kit with oem dampers are too harsh for my area (hoping these meaty tires help here). But right now I have the oem springs with koni str.t and this is a great setup if I were to keep stock height. Only thing I would sub here at stock height might be the bilsteins b6 shocks. From what I've read so far I think I might prefer bilsteins to konis. But the konis weren't bad.

Nice not bad they look good I got the same tires but on the 15x8 pro race 1.2 it's an awesome setup due to sidewall stiffness and the slight stretch on the tires I didn't much if any loss in turn in response compared to stock all season 17s. The car does feel very light on it's feet our setups are similar weight I weighed my wheels at 15.4 lbs each without tires and that was without center caps probably 15.5 with the caps. I noticed a difference for sure when I went to the 15s but I actually noticed more of a difference when I went back to the 17s for winter the car felt heavier overall and noticabely less nimble. I seemed to notice more difference going to stock vs when I first put them on I can't wait to get them back on the car. Soon...

 

[Haggerty]

I have a new set of 215/55/16 BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 that I bought for my beater. Now that I have just bought the ST I'm wondering if anyone has tried something this big and had fitment issues.

 

[neeqness]

Nice not bad they look good I got the same tires but on the 15x8 pro race 1.2 it's an awesome setup due to sidewall stiffness and the slight stretch on the tires I didn't much if any loss in turn in response compared to stock all season 17s. The car does feel very light on it's feet our setups are similar weight I weighed my wheels at 15.4 lbs each without tires and that was without center caps probably 15.5 with the caps. I noticed a difference for sure when I went to the 15s but I actually noticed more of a difference when I went back to the 17s for winter the car felt heavier overall and noticabely less nimble. I seemed to notice more difference going to stock vs when I first put them on I can't wait to get them back on the car. Soon...

Thanks man! I really love these meaty tires. Gotta thank the OP for starting this thread because it was the main thing that inspired me to do this and now I am a believer! Besides imo I like this look better anyway. It's more rugged and sporty all at once. Not to mention the ride, better performance with lighter wheels, and everything. Only problem is the lack of tire options at this size (15"). Not so much of a problem for you though I think.

 

[LILIKE16ST]

I have a new set of 215/55/16 BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 that I bought for my beater. Now that I have just bought the ST I'm wondering if anyone has tried something this big and had fitment issues.

I plugged that into the tire size calculator and it came out to 25.3 OD in inches vs 23.5 stock that's nearly 1 inches so that would mean it would eat into your "fender to tire gap" nearly a whole inch. I would think there would definitely be clearance issues even with stock suspension let alone any type of lowering. Plus the sport comps are very wide for the their sidewall stated size so being 215 and that much taller I'm not an expert but I'd almost guarantee some fitment issues not to mention it would kill your gearing and probably add weight in a place you don't want to add it. My 195/55/15 sport comps are about 8 inches wide in section width so they run wide for their size. IMO 25.3 is way too tall for this car but maybe some other people who are more experienced in this can chime in...

 

[RAAMaudio]

In this particular case the tire size calculator was correct in showing the 215/55/16 BFG is 25.3" tall but far more often if you want the correct info you have to look at the actual specs like on tirerack, etc....the only correct thing about tire sizes according to sidewall markings, listings, is the wheel diameter, tread and section width, diameter and weight can vary greatly, far more than it would seem.

 

[jeffreylyon]

I plugged that into the tire size calculator and it came out to 25.3 OD in inches vs 23.5 stock that's nearly 1 inches so that would mean it would eat into your "fender to tire gap" nearly a whole inch. I would think there would definitely be clearance issues even with stock suspension let alone any type of lowering. Plus the sport comps are very wide for the their sidewall stated size so being 215 and that much taller I'm not an expert but I'd almost guarantee some fitment issues not to mention it would kill your gearing and probably add weight in a place you don't want to add it. My 195/55/15 sport comps are about 8 inches wide in section width so they run wide for their size. IMO 25.3 is way too tall for this car but maybe some other people who are more experienced in this can chime in...

Word is that 24.7" tall 215/45x17's just barely clear after trimming bumper tabs.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Word is that 24.7" tall 215/45x17's just barely clear after trimming bumper tabs.

That's even at factory ride height?

 

[TomCat]

I'm running 215/45x17 with no rubbing issues whatsoever (stock height).

 

[neeqness]

It's a little shorter, but I know that 205/45x17 has no issues at all with rubbing.