Hey Guys,
I’m looking for tires for my wife’s R60. Stock tires are 225/45/18. I want to go wider and 255/40/18 is about the closest to the OE size as I can get. The difference is 30mm witch is just a little over half an inch on each side. I don’t think there will be any clearance issues but wondering if anyone has done anything like this already.


Also, there are a lot of good tires in that size and I’m wondering what you all are running. The BF Goodrich G-Force Comp 2-AS and the General G-Max AS -05 were rated really well on Tire Rack. Also surprisingly the Sumitomo HTR AS P02 are cheap and also scored well and had decent reviews. I’m a little leery about the sumitomo’s though.

Thanks formyour feedback
Dom

 

30 mm is over a inch fyi

 

correct, which would be divided by 2 for the outside and inside of the tire.

 

From Tire Rack:

As you're shopping for winter wheels and tires, you'll likely come across the recommendation of going to a narrower tire. This is the exact opposite approach that you would take for summer traction, where wider is better. If you're likely to drive through deep snow this year, you'll want winter / snow tires and wheels in sizes that help put the laws of physics on your side.

The reason for this is that traction is achieved in winter by cutting through the ice and snow. With wider tread, you're more likely to start snow plowing or floating on top of the surface instead of pushing down and through. This floating will result in loss of traction sooner than with a thinner or narrower option. A good way to picture this is imagine a pizza cutter slicing through a pizza.

Another way to think about this is from the perspective of the contact patch. A tire's contact patch or "footprint" greatly influences its performance. On the same vehicle, the area of the contact patch essentially remains the same with different width tires. When the footprint gets narrower as it will with a narrower width tire, it has to get longer. And the mechanics of the longer footprint help with the longitudinal traction for acceleration and braking.

 

How does that answer my question?

 

my error. I read 'winter' tires and then talk about going wider rather than narrower. Gotta get these glasses changed soon.....

 

No worries.

 

I don't think 255s really fit. I think what you would want is 245/40/18....and even those might need aftermarket wheels or spacers to get them out a little.

good info: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post4182850

 

Yeah, that's what I ended up ordering. Fingers crossed there won't be any issues. I went with BF Goodrich g-Force COMP 2 A/S from TireBuyer.com

Thanks
Dom

 

Idk if these 245’s will fit. The shock front tube is right there behind the tire. Maybe 15mm away? I think pic the rear tire says it all. These won’t fit right. A 5mm gap is t enough?

 

5mm is enough, but you need to see how that gap likely changes with suspension articulation. Typically it would increase with compression and maybe hit the tire on rebound.

This is why the aftermarket 40-45mm offset wheels are likely needed for such width. Worst case its a good excuse for new ones!. If you do, also get the lightest ones you can afford.

 

Yes, after reading countless threads until the morning hours I would either need wheel spacers or aftermarket wheels to make these tires work. That's just not gunna happen with Christmas less than a week away.
So I'll return these tires and just buy the stock size. Still going to be a hell of a better tire than the stock Duellers HP Sports. Sometime before these new ones need to be replaced I'll get wheel spacers. It'll be a funny test to see if the wife notices. LOL
Then in 2yrs or so when these new tires need to be replaced I'll have the wheel spacers and can play around more with wider tires options.

Thanks
Dom

 

245 is about as wide as we can fit, without having a lot of negative camber. Width is nice, but if the tires dont heat up all the way, you'll never really see the full potential of the wider tires.

I think 245 is probably more than big enough for the power and size of our cars, 255 would be cool, I just think it would add rotational mass at that point and not totally benefit from the extra rubber.

I think 245 would be a perfect fit for our cars as a tuned car, I would definitely upgrade brake pads too.

I have 17x8.5" ET40 wheels that I'll be wrapping in 245/45/17 soon.

 

right, they look great in the side by side pic with all that meat under the car. With this being my wife's care she doesn't like aftermarket rims so I'll have to go the spacer route.

 

for what it's worth Tirebuyer.com has been great, cheaper than Tire Rack and I get a 7% military discount

 

Just change the wheels, she'll never notice... jk.

I'll have to check them out, thanks. I wonder if they also offer veteran discounts.

 

Yes they do

 

wait- my oem tires are 205...... not 225......
with the low power output of the engine, rotating 255 or 245 wwould probably kill your mpg

i was thinking of bumping to 215 just to get less highway road steer, but i couldnt see 245 for any reason- even for snow. the footprint benefit would be nulified by the lack of power ability to turn that 245 through snow.

 

That is very true. Someone would definitely want a thinner tire for snow -- a 245 tire, like you said, is way too wide, 215 is about as wide as I'd go for snow.

Even in the summer time, a stock S wouldn't see a benefit at all. The heavy OE wheels with bigger tires will definitely add rotational weight, which is weight we don't want. I think 225 tire is plenty with a stock (37mm) or JCW (39mm) turbo.

My tire & wheel setup, for example, will be dropping roughly #40 of rotational mass. 17x8.5" with 245/45-17 tires. I also have 100+ hp over stock. I also have a clutch/flyhweel installed that dropped #20.

 

Going to move this to the Wheels/Tires/Brakes area. Trying to do a little cleaning up here in the Countryman subforum until somebody volunteers to help out.

 

We went pretty aggressive on my wife’s 16 c.m. 17x9+20mm, 235/40r17. Here are pics, let me know if you have any questions.

 

Very nice. Looks good! I do have a few questions... About to put my 17x8.5 wheels on this month.

How much camber are you running in the front? And rear?

Did you use any wheel spacers?

Any rubbing at full turn? Or when hitting bumps?

 

No change from stock in camber on front or rear. No spacers.
No rubbing at full lock. The two pics that the wheel is turned, is full lock both directions.I could fit 45 series tire, but with less than an inch of clearance at full lock with the 40 series tire, it’s to close for my comfort. At full lock and a large bump, a 45 series would rub...nut much just a kiss. But if it rubs, it does not truely fit.

 

Awesome. Thank you!

 

Yeah no worries on rubbing there. Those are nearly an inch-and-a-half shorter than a stock wheel/tire. Not to mention your speedo likely being off 4-5 mph, plus adding about 4 extra miles to the ODO for every 60 you drive.