yo, what sup team... I just bought some 17x7.5 30+ offset in the front and 17x8.5 35+ offset in the rear.. The car is lowered on rs*r springs and i'm just wondering about tires, i was thinking 225/45/17 in the front and 235 or 245/40/17's in the rear... What do you guys suggest?

 

Well what are you looking for in a tire? Knowing that will enable people to better advise you. I've got some Kumho SPT's and love them. They're cheap, they've got good quality, good dry grip, excellent wet grip, they handle well and won't wear out too quicky. I've also use Falken FK-451's and was initially impressed with them, but they wore out faster than expected and lost a lot of grip when worn down. Other than that they were good.

 

I was looking at the falken zeix 512's

 

check out tirerack.com
there's reviews, specs and consumer commentary there

 

My experience with ziex 512's is that they provide some pretty good grip and last forever. They're awesome in the rain, they just cut through puddles.

The sizes look right, even with the 245 on the rear.

 

I'm running 225/45/17 Kuhmo MX in the front and 255/40/17 Kuhmo MX in the rear. Works awesome.

 

A freind of mine had some Zeix 512's on his 93 MX-6 V6 and they wore out pretty quickly on the front (within a year). Mind you it's a fairly front heavy car, but he's no wild man either, he drives like a normal person. It seems to me that Falkens wear out much faster than their wear ratings would seem to indicate. I'd say that the SPT's are a better tire in every way, and it's not like the Zeix's are going to be of any use in the winter anyway (other than maybe at the coast if it doesn't snow). If you need the tires to do some winter driving too, you should look at something other than a performance all season, as most won't be very good in the winter at all.

 

Cars is off the road in the winter. But thanks for all the input guys! really helps!

as for tire sizes do you think that a 40 in the front with 225's and a 35 in the rear with 245's is too low of a profile?

evan

 

I think that question's irrelevant, since those sizes are extremely uncommon, or non-esistant. I looked at the tire rack, and they list no 225/40/17's and only one 245/35/17. The correct tire sizes are 205/50, 215/45, 225/45, 235/40, 245/40, 255/40. Going lower is fine, it'll give better acceleration, but will also throw the speedo off and cause your cruising rpm's to increase, potentially causing a slight reduction in gas milage.

As for the sizes, a 245/40/17 is only reccomeded for as small as a 8" wide wheel (as are 235/40/17's). While you can probably put the 245 on it's less than optimal and the tire will be pulled in at the sides, reducing the contact patch, which defeats the purpose. I'm a big proponent for running equal tire sizes front and rear, the handling balance will be far better with less understeer, which is nearly an inevitable concequence of a stagger, and you'll be able to rotate your tires. I'd reccomend getting 225/45/17's all around. That's what I've got and it's very nice, and that's an incredibly common size, meaning you get lots of choices for tires.

 

I had mine on a front heavy car as well, H22a civic. Also taking to the drag strip and some spirited driving on the road. I had them for a year, and they still had a good 40 percent tread left, then I sold the rims and tires before selling my civic.

 

I'd go with a 255 / 40 / 17 in the rear with the 8.5" width.
It's good to have a little more meat back there, especially with higher power levels.

The 7.5" should be able to handle a 235 / 40 / 17 or 235 / 45 / 17.
Both are common sizes now, and the 10mm nominal width advantage over the 225 / 45 / 17 minimize problems with the stagger.


-Ted