i remember reading a thread about not going down to 35 because it will cause alot of road noise, i tried searching for the thread and i couldnt find it , so i wanted to see how many people have gone down to 35 and how bad is the road noise? is it a big difference from 45?

 

35 is good for 19" wheels, not so for 18" wheels. as for noise it is the tread pattern of the tire itself and the condition of the road that makes the noise, not the size

 

Can you please elaborate for me? Its not good for 18's in what way? safety or what?

 

it throws off the speedo and messes with the TCS/VDC

 

Ok that makes sense So what would you recommend?
Front: 255/40/18
Rear: 275/40/18

OR

Front: 255/45/18
Rear: 275/45/18

 

what size wheels you have? i know they are 18" but what is the width. for me personally i run a 245/40 and a 275/40 on a 8.5 front and a 9.5 rear.

 

I'm running rota's p45r 9.5 all around... will 40 affect the speedo?

 

My Buddy with P45r's runs 265/35 front and 295/35 rear. Speedo is off by alittle over 1mph and road noise is whatever. I can't tell I'm not listening for it so I cant tell when Im in his car. His VDC has been turned off since 6 hours after he bought the car 2years ago.

Tire calculator http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos

 

Thats what you want or go up to 275/35 front and 295/35 rear. Or square with 275/35 front and 275/40 rear.

 

for those widths, i agree with those. that would be the one case where a 35 profile would not matter much. gotta love the online tire calculator

 

Oops sorry my buddy runs 275/35 and 295/35

 

Some tires make more noise than others. 35 or 40 or 45 series. Doesn’t matter. They are just noisy tires.

 

I run 30 series on 265/275 19s which is equivalent to 35 series on 18s. I love them - I prefer the look and doesnt affect VDC at all. Speedo is very close and I like the somewhat shorter gearing it offers.

 

Would running wide tires such as 275's in the front affect handling or stock suspension? the only thing i have planned is changing the springs so i can get a drop

 

Not enought to matter, i would suggest sways and good shocks to compliment your setup.

 

255/35/18 is fine... just little small.. I have 245/40/18 on my front and want to step up to 255 next time also but deciding the sidewall heigh btw 35/40....

 

35s are sexy when lowered.
road noise is caused by sucky tires!

also, just an FYI. if you want
to keep your speedometer inline to stock specs..
you have to run a 285/35/18 in the front and 315/35/18 in the rear
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

you better have like 10.5-12" wide wheels or something hahaha because that will look disgusting.

(also, most ppl who run 35 series are actually running roughly 3-4mph off the speedo and just do not know it)