Q. If you get different widths front to back, how are you getting the rotating benefits you talked about in the first post?

Q. If you are getting wider wheels in back, why not get a slightly wider tire?

Q. Isn't a 275/35 a bit wide for a 8.5" wheel?

 

+1, my exact setup, also no rubbing problems. I'm running RT-615s and it's pretty well behaved on the street, although it does seek road grooves. Street tire wear is reasonable also, running, -2/-3 degrees of camber. On an autocross course it was very competitive in BSP combined with the rest of my suspension work (shocks/springs/sway bars), and the extra tire meat gave a big advantage in braking. Highly recommended for racing!

 

been running rota's multiple vehicles for street/lots of autoX/and more recently HDPE.

never had any issues. glad i didn't over spend on big name wheels.

 

A. I would have to have the tires de-mounted and re-mounted and rotate the tires and not the rims. (Yes it would cost $60-$80 but being able to extend the life of a $1200 set of tires it still makes sense)

A. I was feeling the same way and was thinking that it would be pretty extreme to put a 275 on a 8.5" rim. I have heard of guys doing it though. Would this look pretty stupid?

Again the only reason for this crazy setup is because I want to try and make the staggered wheel look but be able to rotate the tires (not rims) as I will be burning off the rears and wearing the outsides of the front tires at a fast rate.

I am also thinking about going with a 17" setup as it will give be better handling but since I want to drive this on the street some too (Only sunny days and just hope the cops dont notice) I kinda like the look of the 18's

 

I run 17's. 9.5 rear and 8.5 front.

At the moment, I run 275/40-17 and 255/40-17 tires. Just last weekend my brother and I mounted 245/40-17's on his STi stock wheels. They are 1/2" smaller than the minimum recommended wheel width for those tires but they mounted without too much trouble and look ok too.

So... I am now thinking about mounting 275/40 17 tires on my front 8.5" wheels. (also 1/2" smaller than the minimum recommended width.)

As for the look of 17's, I don't have a problem with it. My SSR's are not as pretty as a set of 18" or 19" Volk's, but 16 lbs. / wheel feels good, and, when I buy tires, (at least twice a year.) the $$$ I save on 17" rubber is also nice.

 

Since you have an 06 track, in SCCA BS class you must run an 18x9 within 5mm offset of stock (+30) and you must run a 19x10 (+30) to be legal.

/end thread

 

Ok,

If you are planning on rotating them by remounting anyway, you might as well get staggered wheels and tires. The reason I say this is that by remounting to the opposite side, you get about all the life you are going to get anyway. Sending front to back does not really gain you any real time.

 

that's a sick picture Z1. What offsets are you running? Maybe when I move to slicks I'll drop down to 17" wheel again.

 

Thanks.

31 front and 35 rear.

BTW, I run on my street tires, so this is my 24/7 setup. Like I said, they are not the prettiest wheels, but the are not bad IMHO.

 

And that right there is why i hate SCCA classing so much.

Nasa points system just makes SOOO much more sense.

I never cared when i was in the mazda. But now i want to be competitive.
Hearing this **** is annoying.

I bought the car to enjoy autocrossing and track days and be at least competitive.

Nice thing about the z is that most wont know the different if i show up in my car with 17's.

Yeah track is 18x9s and 19x10's. which would have me a huge disadvantage due to their weight, nevermind the cost of tires.

 

Man, I hope STU2 eventually becomes a national class!

 

I was still planning on moving the rear tires to the front just like you would rotate normal directional tires. I know that running autocross I will get major wear on the edges of the front tires and I will wear my rear tires down by spinning the tires coming out of turns and such. I know that if I can rotate them even once I will extend the life of them by a considerable margin.

 

Forgive me if I've overlooked the answer to this ?. I've searched and found alot of threads containing examples of people using 265-285/35 fitments on OEM 18x8's but I still have questions about which tires can do this.

I've seen people using Dunlop Star Specs, Falken 615s, B'stone RE-01Rs, various R-comps, etc, but I haven't really seen any guidelines about how to tell if a tire can stand up to this. I'm under the impression that you need a performance tire with a stiff sidewall so you still have some lateral stability. You can't reasonably expect every tire out there to be able to do this effectively right?

Specifically, I want to know if anyone has used the Sumitomo HTR ZIII in this manner?

The Sumitomo marketing blurb states: "...hard rubber sidewall fillers help blend uniform ride quality with steering response and lateral stability."
Because of "hard rubber sidewall fillers" and some pretty good reviews by owners of the tire, I'm thinking that these have a chance of working in an oversized fitment.

I'm not expecting a world beating tire here but I would like to know if anyone has any input on whether I would be able to put a set of 265/35/18s on my 18x8's and run them, exclusively for AutoX, without excess "quiver" or stability issues. Has anyone done this with a non-extreme class tire?

 

While I may not be able to answer your question. I'm just curious why you would choose that tire when there are many other performance tires out there especially in that size. Cost?

 

Yea ... it's all about cost. According to Tire Rack, the Star Specs are gonna run me $1030 before they arrive at my door. The Sumi's are $660 to my door. Substantially different in price. I've been using Sumi HTR ZII for HPDE and AutoX and find them decent. BTW ... don't laugh, HTR ZII got me in the top 3rd of my Street Tire class and I'm suffering from a BSP pax index. Switching my index to BS alone would put me in the top 3 or 4 most days + the HTR ZIII is a better tire in every way.

Long story short, with the economy (especially Cali economy) sucking right now, funds aren't quite flowing like they used to. I'm looking at some plan B options.

I really have my heart set on a set of Dunlop Star Specs 265/35/18, and I may still buy them anyway, but I don't want this thread to turn into people stating their case for me to buy whatever their favorite tire is.

I'm really just looking for some insight into how people know which tires can go oversize and which ones can't. Is it simply trial and error the first time someone slipped on a set of oversized Falkens or RE-01Rs?

 

I've used both the RE-01 and Azenis in 265/35/18. Once of the reasons I went with those particular sizes is they were listed as "reinforced sidewall" in the manufactures specs. That in combination with the low profile will help offset any problems with putting a wide tires on a narrow rim.

 

Hey Dave. I remember I talked to you a few months ago, via PM, regarding the tire sizes you were using. Now that next season is drawing closer I'm actually looking to buy now.

Sumi's write up on the HTR ZIII claims "...hard rubber sidewall fillers help blend uniform ride quality with steering response and lateral stability." This says reinforced sidewalls to me and makes me consider trying this. Unfortunately, manufacturers give no specs on sidewall stiffness.

Does anyone have any experience with this tire or a similar tire going oversize? Maybe an RE050 or a Michelin PS2 going oversize?

I can say this, I'm not going to do it if I'm gonna be the first one to try.

 

+1,000,000

That one day, at the 2008 Florida State Championship, is the only time I have been able to compete in a street-tire class.

 

You are correct about manuf. not listing details about sidewall stiffness. I only determined it because they were listed that way on their spec pages. I never understood their determination of which ones got to be reinforced and which ones not.

 

You don't have to run in Stock with out of rules equipment.

Run BSP. You can run any size wheel and other aftermarket parts and have as much fun. Maybe more since the RX-8's don't stray there much.