225/50/15 ok on S13 SE Alloys? .....READ THIS THREAD!!

[grip_racer]

is the rim width too small for these?

vulcan tire has some falken ziex 512s in this size for cheaper than 205/55s and it seems like the extra contact patch would be good.

but if not, here's a question for ya.205/55/15 in: Ziex 512 or Kumho 712?

and do fuzion ZRI's even put up a fight to these two?

[SmithSR]

I fitted 225/50-15 to a 7" wheel and still had that hotrod look to the sidewall.. a bit of squish instead of the JDM-ness stretch. The 7spoke is one inch narrower, so I would not recommend you try it.

The falken is superior to all tires in it's price point. Not sure why or if this will continue because of Falken tire's builder (ohtsu) being sold to Sumitomo. This could mean drastic changes to quality or it could mean little-to-no change at all..

Fuzion is there to capture market share from the import tuner community. I do not and will not ever recommend them over a quality built tire from Ohtsu.

[eddiec]

i have seen this question come up every once in a while so maybe someone can help me out, along with others that might ask a similar question.

aside from the jdm stretch and the hot rod squishyness is there a "recommended" tread size match to a given wheel width? recommended is a loose and subjective term here so most of answers could be opinions, so whats yours?

so let me make sure i ask this right, what would be the ideal tread width range for a given wheel width? say for instance for a wheel of x width the ideal tread width would be x-y through x+y.

[SmithSR]

Yes there is a recommended wheel width for a given tire size. This recommendation comes from the tire makers themselves, and I've seen a couple on the internet, so we know these listings are out there.

I'll look them up and give the links here in a little bit, but for sure i know I have read lists on Toyo tires, Bridgestone, and Falken RT615(not sure if this listing had recommended rim width, but I'll check)

[SmithSR]

Toyo RA1http://www.toyo.com/tires/tire_specsheet.cfm?id=1

Bridgestone RE070 (original equipment on STi Subaru)http://www.bridgestonetire.com...=1082

Falken Azenis Sporthttp://www.falkentire.com/tires_rt215_sizes.htm

Falken RT-615http://www.falkentire.com/upda...s.htm

Yokohama AO32Rhttp://www.yokohamatire.com/pdf/AO32Rbltn.pdf

Yokohama AO48http://www.yokohamatire.com/pdf/AO48.pdf

Notice the approved rim width listings.... this is what we aim for when selling to the general public. It's a measured ideal from the tire maker, it's a rule of thumb/starting point when dealing with a specific group like 240sx applications.

[eddiec]

thanks, very useful info. maybe something like this could be added to the wheel/tire faq.

[hannibal]

Meggala lists some general tire/wheel width combos on the bottom of this page.

http://meggala.com/wheelsoffsets.htm

[grip_racer]

does the "hot rod" tire squish affect cornering at all?

falken says 225/50/15 is cool on a 6" width rim.

[240marcuSX]

[QUOTE=falken says 225/50/15 is cool on a 6" width rim.[/QUOTE]

eh? that doesnt sound right.

[grip_racer]

yeah, take a look at http://www.falkentire.com/tires_512_sizes.htm

225/50/15 is recommended for 6-8" wheels. 6" is probably pushing it, but hey if the manufacturer recommends it i guess its cool.

but what i really want to know is if a squished tire hurts handling at all? like turn-in and response and whatnot.

[SmithSR]

6" wide wheel and 225/50-15 Can be done, it's just not pretty..maybe a write up is in order..

The squished tire onto super narrow rim usually people mention tramlining. The tire's full contact patch not optimized because of the bubble effect of squeezing the tire onto the wheel, forcing the steel belted casing to round out. It does have an effect.

I'll find some pics to help explain..

[Dirtylou]

That makes sense to me.

[skydragoness]

Have you seen the squish of a 205 width tire on the s13's 6" seven-spoke alloy? It's out there. I couldn't even imagine how bad it would look with 225's, not to mention the oodles of sidewall flex the tire will suffer... not cool. Just get some nice 15x7 or 15x8 alloys and be done with it.

[eddiec]

i run 205/50-15 azenis on the s13 7 spokes and i noticed the contact patch's edge gets worn down quite readily. i now run -2 camber all around to counteract any rolling over.

[Exar-Kun]

I souldn't go past any manufatureres reccomended rim width range for a given tire size, period.

It distorts the contact patch, sidewall, and other things on the tire..and it doesnt do it in any favorable way.

a 225-50-(ANYTHING) should not be mounted on less than a 6.5" rim. period...I would wager less than a 7" isn't a good idea. stick to a 205 for 6 and 6.5" wheels.

-Chet