GsrSol

Thanks to everyone that helped me out with the offsets and tire sizes.
Heres what I got:
Volk Racing GT-A
17x9 front w/ +44 offset
17x10 rear w/ +41 offset

Those were the best offsets available so I hope it comes out good.

JoeD

good choice! i love VOLK GT-A's.

havn't seen pics of them on an FD. i cant wait!

SleepR1

Just be sure to get 245/40-17 tires for the 9 x 17s and 255/40-17s for the 10 x 17s. Once you see how the sizes fit on your car, then go wider if you need to on the next set of tires! It's better to be conservative at first.

Good luck!

Post pics with wheels/tires on the car!

Johnny

255's on a 10...lip is going to sticking out big time..

I know because I have 265's on 10's...and it sticks out..235's on 9's is worst..good to see you are going with 245's...

me next time is 255(front) nd 285 (rears)..but I drive the car so little that may be sometime from now..

GsrSol

Sleep, you should write a book man.
I'll post pics for sure but it will be atleast 2 months before I get them. Gonna wait and get tires when the wheels come in. I hope the rears are gonna look ok.

JoeD, its gonna be a long 2-3 mnths if your gonna wait for pics

JoeD

for 10 inch rims, you need AT LEAST 275s. anything smaller than that will look really odd since the lip will be sticking out a cm or two.

Toadman

Nice GsrSol, but like JoeD said, watch those curbs with them.

Flybye

VERY nice!!!

I like the color

Johnny

I will post a pic of what my 265's look like on a 10" inch rim...It's not too bad, but it may sway you to go wider....I'll also post my 235's on a 9...that will really make you want to go wider...

Anyways I got my tires for like half price (only because of the size) so I cant complain too much..

Johnny

as promised..

this is the 265 on 10

Johnny

and 235's on 9

JoeD

those lips are out there! make sure you wear out your tires quicky to get a set of 255/285s.

Johnny

are you kidding..I've put only 5k miles on this latest FD in 2 years of ownership...goodthing these yoko's only have a tread rating of 180
But really I got all 4 for ~500...how could I go wrong

I admit the angle I snapped these at makes it look a little worst than it is...the tires still have some side bulge that is really close to even with the lip...still no curb protection...but I dont plan to parallel park to much

GsrSol

Those pics show the truth at the perfect angle. Of course you won't be able to see the lip as much from another angle but those are what we needed to see.

After I saw the tire prices for 18's in what I like, I decided 17's won't be that bad after all.

SleepR1

As I mentioned, my tire suggestions are conservative, because the offsets your Volks have are a bit low for safe clearance away from fenderlips. A 9 x 17 front position wheel should really have 45 to 50 mm of offset to keep the tire sidewall away from the fenderlips, particularly the left-front position; there's a fenderliner bolt that really causes problems if clearance is not right.

I suggest a 245/40-17 because that tire has a shorter-than-stock overall diameter, while providing enough width for your 9-inch wide rim. A 235/45-17 will be too tall, and a 235/40-17 will not be wide enough.

I suggest a 255/40-17 in back because of the low offset of 41 mm. IMHO, 45 to 50 mm for 10 x 17 rear position provides a neat, tucked-in look, and doesn't have the wheel/tire sticking out too far from the wheel wells. The 255/40-17 will help ensure your tire sidewall doesn't contact the rear fenderlip.

As for a 255/40-17 not being wide enough to protect the rims--that all depends on the manuafacturer's tire specs. Here's a Tire Rack link to Pirelli P-Zero Asimmetricos spec. Scroll down to the 255/40-17 and you'll see that the rim width range for that size is 8.5 to 10 inches. The measuring spec rim is 9 inches wide, which yields a 10.3 inch tire section width. Generally adding 0.5 inches of rim width adds 0.2 inches of tire section width to the tire section width spec. If you do the arithmetic, that means a 10-inch wide rim will yield a 10.7-inch wide 255/40-17 Pirelli P-Zero. Check for yourself! http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...em+Asimmetrico

For comparisoin, here's a Tire Rack link for Yokohama AVS Sport. As you can see their tire spec for a 255/40-17 is 10. 2 inches section width mounted on a 9-inch wide rim. If you apply my "rule-of-thumb", that means a 10-inch wide rim will yield a 10.6 section width. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...odel=AVS+Sport

The widest 255/40-17 mounted on a 10 x 17 is Bridgeston'e S-03 Pole Position--10.8 inches http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Spec.j...+Pole+Position

Both the Pirelli and Bridgestone tires come with integral rim protection, so I wouldn't worry too much about curb rash.

Aside from fenderlip clearance, and aesthetics, the other major, and more important reason for going with a 255/40-17 is for acceleration performance. 265/40-, 275/40-, 285/40-17s are all taller than the stock 225/50-16's 24.9-inch overall tire diameter. The FD's rear end was optimized for a ~25-inch tire diameter. If you mount taller rear tires, you will lose acceleration potential (but gain top end speed). Taller tires also screw up your speedometer, by underestimating your actual speed (which leaves you open for speeding tickets!). If you want taller tires, you'll need to install a 4.3 rear-end. The 4.3 ring and pinion will compensate for the taller tires, and restore the acceleration and speedometer accuracy. Problem is a 4.3 ring and pinion is $600 plus labor! From a weight perspective the taller, wider tires tend to be heavier as well---certianly not a good thing for acceleration. When considering all the downsides to running taller, wider tires, it really doesn't seem worth the trouble just so you can look cool with fat tires in back!

FWIW, Fikse's tire size suggestion for their 44-mm offset, 10 x 17 rear position wheel is 255/40-17

Johnny

18's are expensive..arent they... I have some Dunlop SP9000 (2) 265x35x18 with about 1000 miles on them or so..even tread wear...one has a professionally done patch from a nail...

$250 shipped..

JAMMNN

Any pics of the GTA yet?

Thanks

RXTRA7

you will have NO clearance problems with 245/40/17 on front. 275/40/17 on rear will fit fine as well. The only problem with rear size is 275/40/17 is a bit taller than stock tire and will throw off speedo just a hare. Not enough to be a concern though.

silverseven's car is 2" lower than stock and has 9 1/2" rim with 245/40/17 on front. NO rubbing even on track. There is a fender liner bolt however that needs a slight adjustment. It's obvious which one it is. It sticks out like a sore thumb..

Coulthard Fan

I generally followed Manny's advice and went with 255/40/17's in the back on my new set of tires (being mounted tomorrow I believe). In the rear I previously had 275/40/17 Yokohama A032R's but SleepR1 and others suggested going a little more narrow to balance out the 235/40/17's I was using up front, reducing my car's tendancy to push.

For reference - my wheels are:
front 17x8 35mm offset
rear 17x9.5 45mm offset
If anyone is considering this offset in front be advised that you will need to roll your fenders (mine are rolled all around) since the front track is wider than stock. See the last pic in my sig for the look with 275's and the full PFS suspension setup.

One thing I didn't follow his advice on is that I went with Toyo RA1's... mainly because I wanted a competition tire that I could also use on the street (i.e. has some tread and steel cords), was more quiet than the Yokos, and was priced right. These are 10.4 inches wide in the rear and 9.6 in the front in my sizes. http://www.toyo.com/ I paid 150 for the fronts and 175 for the rears (total including shipping). They are still a compromise tire but so is life.

Scott

GsrSol

Damn this is an old post. Thanks for the pic Sunnyxwala.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/...6.jpg.orig.jpg

Coulthard Fan

jeez - didn't notice this thread was so last year.

So what tires did you get?

p.s. your FD looks very sharp.

GsrSol

None of these links want to work

Went with 245/40 and 275/40, no rubbing at all. fits great.

san7

I also run 275/40's on 17x10 with 45 mm offset. Very good size for rear. I would not say narrower, the car is very nimble with that size. But I can still break them loose when needed Fronts are 245/45's on 17x8.5 with 45mm offset. All are nitto 555's.

R Xplicit

i would definately consider a wider tire than a 255 with a 10" wheel in the rear. one, it will look like ****, handle like ****, and does NOT provide any protection whatsoever for the lip of the rim. I have 8.5's up front, and 9.5's in the rear. the tire sizes are 265/35 18 and 285/35 18, respectively.

spoolin

damn, that white one looks GOOOOOOOD!!! helps me on my decision on what wheels to get for mine!