Is it possible for me to upgrade my tires from the 205 Potenza RE910s to something grippier along the lines of a 225 width? I don't plan on changing my rims from the 89-91 TII style, so will this size tire fit without any rubbing problems? My car still has the stock suspension setup, but I plan on moving to KYb shocks and performance springs which will lower the car a bit.

 

That should be no problem. My vert rides on 225 50 15's on the stock suspension and what not. You ought to be able to do that without any trouble at all.

 

If they have the same offset as 87-88 TII wheels, you will probably rub in the front. I had some 255/50-16's on some 87 TII rims in the rear, with 205/55-16's on same in front. When I swapped the fronts for the rears, the inside of the front tires rubbed on the springs.

I had some 17x8 Cobra wheels that I managed to stuff under the car, and had 225/45-17's on it with no probs. I had 235/45-17's in the rear. If I swapped those to the front, they wouldn't rub, but they would stick out of the fender a bit. I did manage to get 255/40-17's in the rear on the same rims, but they were designed for an 8.5" minimum-width wheel, I think, so I put the 235's back on.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem Mazda intended for us to have many wheel/tire options.

Ren

 

I think you will rub on the front springs. I can't even stick my finger between my 205's and springs. rear is no problem. just go to a store and get them for the rear. but after they mount the rear 2 just stick one on the front and see if it fits. if it does get 2 more. if not just stick with the 205's in the front.

 

how wide are the stock 89-91 T2 rims anyway...7"? my stock 91 n/a 15's are 6 inch wide...i'm guessing the T2's were wider???

 

How would it affect my handling if I went to 225's in the rear and 205s in the front? I want my car to grip the road and handle perfectly. I know many of the high-end sports cars use larger tires in the rear, but what kind of change would I expect if I changed my tires without doing any other suspension mods?

 

225 is worth it, i have a stock setup, as far as shocks go and they fit in the front. But here is what to look out for. I have 225/50/16 Yok's in the front and they clear the springs by about 3 or 4 mm. However, i have the same size dunlops and they are phsyicaly larger then the Yok's. Even though they say they are the same they want fit in front. I cant tell you what size to look for, but i can share with you what i have found.

Oh, and to who ever that was asking about TII rim size 16x7

Chris

 

yeah,i run 225/50/15 on the front,they fit just fine.(on stock rims].

 

I totally agree. You should beware of varying "SECTION WIDTHS" of the tires. I do believe tire rack's site should indicate that somewhere if you dig into the tire's specs somewhere while trying to browse.

I know that the 87-88 GT-R's were a 7" width, but I don't know the offset. I am not sure if the 89 and up were upgraded to a 7.5. My 88's say the width on the outside of the wheel, so check around where the mesh hits the lip or something.

I guarantee that you will rub when lowered though, and since tires will last a little while, it'll be a waste when you lower it.

When I had my coilovers(GC's) on, with the lower spring perch cut off(Illuminas), I had no rubbing problems with the spring in the front. Which coincides with the clearance mentioned above.

If you do a shorter profile I think you would fit. Try the 225/40/16. It will only look good when you lower it though. It's made by a couple of manufacturers, dunlop SP9000 and Kumho. I run these front and rear on my Miata. It's a great size. For you, only in the front and if you don't have ABS brakes.

Later, Rishie

 

I had Fulda 225/50R16's all around on my 88 TII with stock suspension and wheels. The fronts rubbed on the bottom lip of the fender well when I went over speed bumps or driveway curbs, bending the bottom 1/4" of sheet metal outward as the tires rebounded. The tires may have fit OK in the front had I bent the fender lip flat prior to the installation, but I'm not sure. The rears were fine, and the car handled fine. Next time I'm either going with fender flares or sticking with 215's, though.

 

Well, my car has ABS which rules out changing the overall width of the wheel (is this correct?).

However, what kind of handling will I expect if I put 225's on the back and say a 215 or 205 tire on the front? Will it be more biased for understeer, oversteer, or what?

 

I've got some Yokohama A509 in 225/50 16 and they fit just fine with some factory TurboII rims. The wider tires are nice the have and they do look better but remember a cheap wide tire isin't going to handle any better(probably worse) than a good performance tire in a stock size.

 

Yes, 89-91 TII rims are 16x7. So are 87-88 TII rims. If anyone wants to know: 88-91 convertible rims are 15x6.5.

 

All of those rims have a +38 mm offset. 225/50/15 will fit up front on the convertible rims, but they get VERY close to the springs.

 

225/50/16 goodyr gt II on the front--88 TII rim

245/50/16 goodyr hp on the back--88 TII rim

i love it, i have stock suspension. i plan on lowering it with coil overs soon. i would think anything lower .75 of an inch with the tires i have on front would rub some. but thats the beauty of coilovers. just adjust it yourself.

just dont put anything under 245 width in the back. they fit nicely on the stock turbo II rims. the wider the better but your limited to 245 on the stock rim, bummer!