mazdaspeed7

Better tires mean so much more than extra width when it comes to grip.

Jerk_Racer

I am in 100% agreement with that. It's like when people think that expensive sparkplugs give them a lot of power over stock pieces. But in reality they just needed new plugs. Same deal when people strap on too wide of tires on the stock rims. They think the wider tires are the reason alone for the good grip. They are going from whatever old and hardened tires they had to fresh rubber. Most likely all they needed was a set of stock sized tires.



I just believe in getting the right tires for the right wheels. Sure, they fit. But they aren't being used to their full potential when the rims are too narrow (or sometimes too wide).

mazdaspeed7

I learned the hard way, I have 225 50 15's on my 15 x 6 GTU rims...

CharlieDontSurf

- had to laugh when I read this, since you're right.



Although the 225's where $35 cheaper than 215's in the same tire, so there was also a gain in my wallet... or at least not as great of a loss







Surprisingly, the 225's don't rub at all and the turn in is just as tight. No detectable bulge - really stiff sidewalls.

Jerk_Racer

Stiff sidewalls is an Advan trait. What works for the ES100's isn't going to work with a set of all weather touring tires. That's why you see a lot of wide tires on narrow wheels at autocross. When people can not go with wider wheels due to class restrictions, they max out the tires that the class regs allow. Many race tires have very strong sidewalls. But nice and quiet mud/snow/rain touring tires generally don't. I've heard a lot of bad things about Kuhmo 712's in this respect. I really like Yokohama Advan tires so I'll be getting a set of ES100's the next time I need tires. They've been out for ages in Japan but were only recently released in the U.S. They are Yokohama Advan DNA GP's over there. Just like the Falken Azenis Sports, there are a lot of sizes for them in Japan, but we don't get them all and it took years for the tires to reach our shores.



The only way 225's will rub on a FC is if the wheels have an incorrect offset.



Look at it this way, tire treads are (in their resting position) natuarally flat. Put them on the wrong wheels and you will need to vary the tire pressure to counter the flex in the tire carcass. Put the tires on too wide of rims as is done occasionally in Japan on drift oriented car and you will need to raise the tire pressure above what is normal for the tires to make the tread flat again. This works well for them. Narrower tires are cheaper. They off less traction than the same tire in a wider size. The extra air pressure alllows the tires to break free easier.



The same is opposite for putting tires on too narrow of wheels. You will need less pressure to flatten out the tread. Less pressure than what is normal will lower the lifespan of the tire. They will heat up more and the more heat cycles they go though, the quicker the tread gives up it's stick. Depending on the construction of the tire this can make for much worse handling at the limit.



Not all 225 tires are equal. Some are wider than others. My 225/50/16 Yokohama Advan A-032R's were about 3/4 of an inch narrower than the 225/50/16 Yokohama Advan AVS Int. I use 16x8 +30 offset on my FC for a frame of reference. Same company, same tire family. But they couldn't be more different. The advertised width is not a perfect system of telling the width of a tire. Read those maufacturer specifications for actual dimensions. Even the treadwear ratings are not a standardized rating either. Don't you just love this stuff?



Too often all the focus is on getting wider tires. But without the proper wheels they do not give you all that they can give. Don't or can't afford the wider wheels? Time to get a less expensive hobby. Or just get top quality tires in the stock size. Focus on the quality of the tires well before you care about the maximum width that the wheels can handle.

FrestyleFC3S

except for situations like when i bought my mr2



i drove it home to NJ from long island, and the next week i changed my sparkplugs



i felt a lot of more power....i looked at the old sparkplugs, and one was dead dead dead....so i was only running on 3 cyl.