Best tire & rim size combination for performance?

[rlmfire]

I looked at the tire & wheel size and offset chart on the site and compaired it to what my local tire shop said was doable.

That left me wondering what i would want because people pick after market equipment and modifications for many different reasons. Some are purely performance minded while others are apperance based with many inbetween. Going bigger than standard 'vette rubber maybe possible according to my tire guy, but there's always handling ballance to consider.

I'm looking for the most performance with good street drivability. What's your personal opinion to what works best for your car? What was your experience and decision based on? Track experience or just a good guess based on some rough calculations and budget concerns?

Of course I'm mostly interested in information on the early coupes since I have an '04 6mt. What can I say? I'm biased. I admit it. But having a wealth of information on all platforms would be usefull to others besides myself.

And now that I think of it no performanced based poll of handling would be complete without knowing something of your suspension setup opinions.

Thanks in advance for your advise and opinions. Happy motoring!

[pfarmer]

I looked at the tire & wheel size and offset chart on the site and compaired it to what my local tire shop said was doable.

That left me wondering what i would want because people pick after market equipment and modifications for many different reasons. Some are purely performance minded while others are apperance based with many inbetween. Going bigger than standard 'vette rubber maybe possible according to my tire guy, but there's always handling ballance to consider.

I'm looking for the most performance with good street drivability. What's your personal opinion to what works best for your car? What was your experience and decision based on? Track experience or just a good guess based on some rough calculations and budget concerns?

I don't have a coupe, in fact an 08 sedan x. However I have done this before and there are things to consider which often are not. First off consider where you drive most of the time. Is there going to be issues with clearance for bumps, issues with risking rim damage due to curbs, etc. Second is handling. I have found that if you end up with a wider stance you may end up with what I refer to as 'twichy'. That it may become very sensitive to straight line travel. In my area for example there are a lot of problems with roads that have a lot of heavy truck travel. The width of the new shoes come into play because of how the pavement has been affected by these trucks.

Hydro plane issues. You live where there is rainfall. Wider tires can add to problems with hydro planning. You want to make sure this is compensated for by the design of the tread.

If you go with larger diameter wheels then you need to consider the weight of the new wheel. However it is not just the weight but where this weight is located. This can drastically affect your braking power and you may want to enhance your brakes at the same time to compensate for this issue. You can have one wheel with 90 percent of its mass located within 6 inches of the center and another weighing the same with most of its mass located near the rim. Guess which one needs the better brakes. You may want to consider suspension upgrades as well.

So while there may be some who chime in saying that a certain wheel and tire combination is 'hawt', keep in mine the package as a whole and how it affects handling, wear, and so on.

I like that you appear to be heading in the right direction rather than just going out and bolting something on because it may look good.

Perry

[rlmfire]

Ya. Did this with my 7 before (RX-7 FB). Did Hawk HP pads and Eibach coil-overs before any other mod. After some performance tires damn thing almost stood on it's nose when I tried a hard stop for the first time.

Wheels, tires, brakes first. Then drive train with some minor bolt on engine mods. Then things get serious or stay just the way they are. Depends on how the car feels as I go.

Currently the G throtle steers very nicely around any corner on stockers. Could use more hook up on launch and corner exit. I like a bit loose like it is rather than pushing when tuning the set up. Damn fun car tho just the way she sits.

[cheapazz]

I left my backspace the same but got 8 1/2 wide in the front and 9 1/2 wide in the back on 18's. I am going to go wide with the tires when I wear the stockers out. Can't decide if I should put some spacers in or not, there is a reason Nissan went with the stance they did on the G's and Z's. The Nismo Z has an 18" on the front and a 19" on the rear.

You might get a better response/reasoning in the tire and wheel section.

[pfarmer]

Could use more hook up on launch and corner exit.

Mine is AWD. Usually on drive payment I can get a little chirp out of it before it claws its way down the road.

Perry

[rlmfire]

Ya, so like I'm a dumb a**. This is what I get for having multiple windows open on my computer way too late at night. Posted this in the wrong section. Ya. I'll try over where I thought I was.



On the upside thanks for not flaming the moron!!!