**Good Tire Thread**

[wtcii]

I had a hard time finding someone who would mount my tires because I went from a 205/65/15 to a 205/60/16. They said they weren't allowed to because they were not the original size.

[clapton924]

What do you mean by squishy?

Its sort of like wearing a shoe that is 1 size too big for your foot....it will go on...but the fit is not the best.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Ah ok, lol. I guess I'll go with the 215/55/16 then.

What's everyone else's suggestions?

[rocketstarter]

Heh, yeah, during the time span of my ownership of the car, I've hydroplaned about 4-5 times, and I wasn't even doing anything rigorous. One time I was at a stoplight, the light turned green, I LIGHTLY pressed the pedal, like just enough to barely move the car, and the tires started spinning in place, and I was slowly moving to the right lane. So I let off the gas then re-applied even lighter, and the tires STILL spun!

Also, my parents said that getting a wider tire will kill my gas mileage. How much would I suffer if I went from the stock 205/60/16 to a 225/55/16?

480 miles to a tank [13.5 gallons] 75% highway 25% city. your gas mileage will not suffer. Mine definetly didn't

What do you mean by squishy?

Its sort of like wearing a shoe that is 1 size too big for your foot....it will go on...but the fit is not the best.

As much research as you've been doing I figured you'd come up with a better word than squishy. Your analogy is correct, but the explanation is junk. Put your back into it

[rip_cord]

Whoa, take it easy, parcheesi.  hahaha

I think a better term is that fitting a wider tire on those wheels may result in a vaguer initial turn-in feel (with all things being equal).
But what you give up in turn-in feel, you make up in outright grip.
Of course, it also depends on the manufacturer and the tire you're using.
Some people call it "balloning" the tires.

I wouldn't overdo it on a daily.  I like Matt's set up.  
I've seen lots of autocrossers use 245s on a 6" wheel.
I think Robert Carpenter use to use 265s on his CRX with had the stock alloys.  I believe those came with 5.5" wide wheels.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

what do you mean by a vaguer initial turn-in feel? Are we talking body roll, steering responsiveness, or what? lol

[rocketstarter]

Whoa, take it easy, parcheesi.  hahaha

I think a better term is that fitting a wider tire on those wheels may result in a vaguer initial turn-in feel (with all things being equal).
But what you give up in turn-in feel, you make up in outright grip.
Of course, it also depends on the manufacturer and the tire you're using.
Some people call it "balloning" the tires.

I wouldn't overdo it on a daily.  I like Matt's set up.  
I've seen lots of autocrossers use 245s on a 6" wheel.
I think Robert Carpenter use to use 265s on his CRX with had the stock alloys.  I believe those came with 5.5" wide wheels.

what would I do without you Ricardo

[CrackerTeg]

what do you mean by a vaguer initial turn-in feel? Are we talking body roll, steering responsiveness, or what? lol

I think he means in steering response. Its like if you were running on moon shoes and tried to take a sharp turn.

[clapton924]

what do you mean by a vaguer initial turn-in feel? Are we talking body roll, steering responsiveness, or what? lol

I think he means in steering response. Its like if you were running on moon shoes and tried to take a sharp turn.

Right.  The sidewall will be more free to move and flex when turning.  

Using a +2 sized tire for track or autoX purposes is one thing...but for driving on public roads where safety and reliability is most important, I personally would not go wider than 215.  I remember Thien giving this recommendation as well on old G7A.

[rocketstarter]

what do you mean by a vaguer initial turn-in feel? Are we talking body roll, steering responsiveness, or what? lol

I think he means in steering response. Its like if you were running on moon shoes and tried to take a sharp turn.

Right.  The sidewall will be more free to move and flex when turning.  

Using a +2 sized tire for track or autoX purposes is one thing...but for driving on public roads where safety and reliability is most important, I personally would not go wider than 215.  I remember Thien giving this recommendation as well on old G7A.

And I personally wouldn't go wider then a 225. Safety and reliability have nothing to do with this case. If anything it might save your wheels from getting curbed. Stretching tires is a different story but this is not the case.

The tire is only 20mm wider in width. That's 1cm on each side if you need a visual. A 9% increase.

The rim is 165mm wide. Don't think that a 205 is dead on with the rim because in fact it's 24% wider, compared to 36% with a 225. That's 1/3rd more flex you'll see in your turn-in compared to stock. Which is unnoticable.

Also the
OD of a 205/60-16 is 25.7 ~810 revs per mile [~24 lbs.]
OD of a 225/55-16 is 25.7 ~807 rpm [~25 lbs.]
OD of a 215/55-16 is 25.2 ~827 rpm [~25 lbs.]
OD of a 215/60-16 is 26.1 ~796 rpm [~27 lbs.]

In other words a 17 rpm difference would throw your tach off by 4k if you were to keep it til 150k and bought it new.

Before I forget, MINIMUM WIDTH REQUIREMENT for a 225 width tire is 6". So it's still VERY WELL in the green zone.


EDIT

Should be easier to understand now. I'm gonna get a nose bleed if I spend another minute in this thread.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

So it's settled then, 225 it is, lol.

I think I have an idea of what you guys are talking about. The wider the tire is, the more of a tendency it has to flex away from the turn while the tread on the road is staying put. Something along the lines of that, right?

[rocketstarter]

So it's settled then, 215 it is, lol.

[Jeff Likes Bagels]

Whoops, typo, lol. 225*

[thisaznboi88]

Falken FK-452 is freaken sticky. Doesn't bitch like oem tires. All it wants to do is grab like hell. The only problem that I have is that they are loud since I got them used. I am not sure how much PSI I need either. They are all set to 41psi cold. maybe if I fix it would be better. But when I drive it feels the same as the lighter oem steely. Car uses the same RPM to move. Still doing 80mph using only 2600 rpm. Another I notices is that the car loses a lot of speed faster when it is coasting.

i have them in 235/45/17 with the gen3 TL rims 17by8

[clapton924]

I've heard the FK-452 is a good budget summer tire.  Most complaints I've heard is that they can wear fast and get noisy. Any comments on the wear ^ ?

41psi seems a little high to me.  You might want to try lowering the pressure to 35-38psi.