I have searched and read the stickys :-)

I need to order tires for my wife's 06 enthusiast z.

I am considering these tires:
front: 255/40/18
rear: 275 40/18
Looking at RE050a Pole Positions

I am asking if they'll fit because most setups I've seen here run a 245/40/18 in the front with the 275/40/18 in the rear.

But my math tells me that the 255/275 combo is much closer to the factory front/rear height ratio. I don't want to make the TCS more touchy than it is from the factory.

So the numbers for a 255/275 versus stock are:

Front circumference (stock/aftermarket):
81.58 in/81.77 in.

Rear cicumference (stock/aftermarket):
83.81 in/83.75 in.

Are there clearance issues with a 255 in front? Just asking because these tires are $$.

She is running the sportmax 962 wheel in an 18x8.5 size front and an 18x9.5 rear. Offset is +35, but she got some 20mm spacers, which we have not put on yet.

Also, Why do some people say tire clearance depends on how low you are? I have heard them say that a particular wheel/tire combo will work as long as you're not lowered. This makes no sense to me. If your tires rub while lowered, they would also rub while at stock height, just maybe not as often, and with more force.

She is still at stock height, but she has some Tanabe GF210 springs waiting. I would think lowering should not make a difference. the tire should clear everything in the entire range of the suspension's motion, in case you ever bottom out. So a tire should never clear at stock height, but not clear when lowered.

Thanks...

 

When members talk about tire rub, they are generally referring to the outside of the tire rubbing the inside of the fender.

 

yup!

 

You will be fine , just not with those spacers , 10 to a 15mm spacer is really all you need with the same tire combo.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I am just convinced that if the tire size and offset will rub, it will rub regardless of how low you are or arent. The suspension's travel path is defined by the geometry, not the height. lowering defines where you start in that path. Just trying to debunk the myth.

I'll have to keep an eye on the outer fender. I'll try the tires without spacers first, and I'll have to gauge it from there...

 

There is no myth to debunk.

Tires are not bottoming out on the top of the fender liner. Members are pushing the wheels beyond the fenders. If you lower the car, the edge of the fender may cut the side of the tire.