I don't think he meant just for looks but you gotta get a good looking tire, otherwise you'll look like you're riding on minivan tires no matter what the width.
Below are pictures of the same kind of performance tire with the same rating but one made by Dunlop and one by Continental.

This Continental is pretty stupid looking if you ask me:


The Dunlop is going to look much more aggressive. Especially from the rear and side-angle pics:


Go for performance sure, but don't get a stupid looking tire and ruin the looks of your car.

 

Though I disagree about getting tires about looks I'd like to add that stickier compound tires usually have more aggressive grooves. In essence, I think the above poster just wants people to get good tires .

Sport cars deserve sports tires.

 

impressive....which tires?

 

no i9 agree

 

Khumo Ecsta MX, I made 512 to the wheels back in Feb and these tires hold it just fine. Sometimes if they are cold and i get into the loud peddle they will spin but after they heat up just a little, only shocking them will break them loose.

 

I run 255/40/17 Kuhmo mx as well, with no traction problems at 450whp.

 

matty.. i found traction unpredictable w/ stock rim/tire set-up over 350 rwhp. I am running 265's in the rear w/ my 17 by 9. 5's. Totally different car now. G

 

Used to run the S03's, and they were ok. Since I have gone to their brand new top of the line tire, which is the RE050A Pole Position's. I actually went from a 265 width rear to a 255 cause they dont make the new tires in 265's, and I still have so much more grip. Ill only get massive amounts of wheel spin if its real cold out. These tires work great at the track as well.

 

I run the s03's right now.. Almost time for new ones. Cgotto.. you like the reo50's ?

 

Oh yea, I love them. They work good enough in the rain the few times Ive been caught out in it, awesome cornering grip, only start to make noise when your reaching the limit, seem to be wearing pretty well. I noticed the biggest difference at the track. They get up to temp and get very sticky, but they are yet to chunk out like I have seen some tires do at my local track. My dad has the PS2's on his zo6, and those have excellent traction until they get real hot while lapping, then they almost get greasy feeling. The re050's seem to just get stickier and stickier.

 

Getting a tire based on it "prettyness" is gay as hell. Real tires don't have tread. I drive on my slicks everywhere and don't have any problem with them.

 

that really is amazing considering that they are basically the same width as my 245s. i am really starting to think they are defective or something....the traction is that bad with the toyo t1-s. one thing that makes me think that is that they are hardily worn and i abuse them. they are suppose to wear fast too.

anyways does anyone want to buy 16 inch 245 toyo t1s? will sell cheaaaaaaaaaap.

 

this may sound dumb but can the one inche bigger tire make some sort of a difference?

**** the kumhos arent available in 245 45 16. **** now that i look there are hardily any brands in 245-45-16;s.

any good r compound tires that will give me 10k-15k miles. thats like 3 years of use for me....so that could be an option. and will the r coupound perform well on the street when they arent as heated as they would be when driven on a track?

 

are u talking sub 60 degree weather....or winter type weather?

 

i think the toyo t1-s's were the official scca tire or soemthing/ just reading your post is making me think that the tires have to be heated significantly to perform well. maybe thats it?

 

i was thinking...when i lowered my car i never got an alignment done. do you think this could be the culprit for such terible traction? i must say i never got it done b.c i havent found any symptons of a poor alignment ie irregular tire wear, car not driving striaght, shimmy in steering wheel, etc....

what do u think?

 

Matty, time to step up to some real rims and tires.

I run a 275/40 BFG Gforce KD on a 17x10 Fikse and hook up pretty damn well with my current setup. On my stock rims and some yoko zr-rated rubber I get zero traction (when WOT at 15 psi) until 4th gear.

I've also heard some great things about the new Potenza RE050As and the new Yoko Advans.

 

yeah ur probably right. but i also dont feel like spending 2-3k. also i just liek the stock appearance.

but dont u think if zinx could do it with 500 rwhp and with 255s....i should be able to do it with 360rwhp and 245s. i think ti comes down to the proper tire selection. maybe now i am wondering if its the alignment too....what do u think rich...u think an alignment could result in such poor traction? i could take it to get done tomorrow....just pain in *** to find someone who can get a lowered fd on the machine

 

Matty,
The problem is mainly tire compound. The more milage the tires accumulate also has an effect because the rubber gets harder as the tire wears down so the problem with traction gets worse...now add colder weather. I run Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 and they are quite sticky.

 

those tires have been recommened to me by several people...but man they look so much like my toyos///almost identical tread pattern.

 

Anyone else have any feedback on the PS2s? There aren't many choices once you move up to considerably wide tires... Plus I figured the PS2's must be real good, given that they're OEM on the Porsche GT3.

 

try getting the apexi avc-r it has boost settings per gear try that also do research on suspension setups its not always the tires that need help get a lsd that helps too

 

While tread pattern does play a role, compound composition is a much more critical factor when it comes to tires. If you have two tires with the same tread pattern but one is made of a softer compound, you'll see a much better improvement over the harder compound. It'll heat up more quickly and adhere to the road much better. The downside to softer compound tires of course is tire life, with the softer you go the shorter the amount of time a tire will last. With softer but cheaper racing tires you also have the problem of the tires getting oily on you through too much abuse, but most "seroius" track tires don't have that problem. Basically you need to read a lot of reviews on what really works and then choose the best tire based on your needs such as budget and tire life.

 

Matty, I see many hours of happy web surfing on www.thetirerack.com in your future

I'm inclined to agree with Chris that you can get away with narrower tires (stock rims) if you go with a stickier compound. Problem is, nothing is really available in 245/45 anymore, you'd have to 'downsize' back to the original oem 225/50 size, which considerably decreases your contact patch.

Edit: This is probably your best choice, if you dont mind dropping a grand and can avoid driving in the rain, you'll basically be running a road race tire in the rain: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....speed_rating=Y

 

agreed!

sucks to see less 245s out there. also sucks to take off practically brand new toyo t1-s tires.

about the rain, i dont drive the car unless the weather is nice. so i def dont need tires that are good in the rain.

edit: i do believe that i need a competition style tire if i plan to get traction at this point. llike i said if i get 10-15k miles out of them thats a few yrs for me. thats good enough