stretched tire reviews

[Juujai]

stretch tires have become common practice when it comes to flush wheel/tire fitment with heavy camber in our community. although a lot of you guys don't agree with doing this as it isn't optimal for handling and safety i also agree but it looks so flush i can't resist. i know there are tire reviews all over the place but our market is slightly different as not all tires are good for stretching. ie stiff sidewalls, thread wear differences after stretching.

some tried and true "budget" choices are es100, st115, fm901 but i'm looking into other options as many as possible for a somewhat aggressive stretch 215/45/17 on a 9 width maybe a 40 series if i want to get lower. i've already gone and bought a set of st115 but when buying tires i feel a picky because of the stretch problem. i know people have stretched insanely weird so i'm looking for some real feedback for different tire choices. pirelli, bf goodrich, bridgestone, michelin and goodyear maybe.

[maxnix]

Ever wonder why the engineers don't design them to be mounted that way?

Let's see, it's right here under lemmings........

[BaliLover]

a 235/40 is about as stretched as I'm willing to go on a 9"wheel, anything less than that is just asking for your wheels to scrape the ground on hard corners

[onosqv]

I have 225/40 stretched over a 9. That's not insane at all - it's what I had, so I used it. There are guys who have stretched 215... even 205!!!

My tire: Yokohama Parada Spec 2, 225/40R18 on an 18x9 wheel.

Sidewall Flex: What flex? I run about 35 psi minimal for daily driving (anything too much below and it feels sloppy when braking hard).

Tends to slide/lose grip more easily on sandy sandy/wet surfaces than it did when I had these tires on an 18x8 or 18x7.5 wheel. That could be due to a lot of other things I have on the car now though.

As for hitting the ground... I've scraped curbs parking... but the sidewall basically stays put during autox / hard driving, very little rollover (although I haven't chalked yet since I'm changing setups soon anyway) w/ 37-38 psi in front. 35 works good too.

[McRussellPants]

Womp Womp, I'm grumpy because nobody likes my 16x6.5 wheels =/

What a profound argument sir, Nissan put 15x6.5s on my car - therefore I should use 15x6s for the best handling.

You obviously haven't tried it so you can GTFO.

moving on...

Stretched tire thread on Nico? Nico is so lost in the stoneage its not even funny, all you'll get here is people crying about "ZOMG you'll curb your rimz" and "you can't stretch on 7in wide wheels"

Most car manafacturers do a small stretch... maybe about a 30 degree angle sidewall. On a street tire this comes through as more progressive breakaway and snappier initial turn in. Some people argue that its at the cost of peak grip, but others disagree.

The stretch your talking about is pretty agressive. with a 215 tire you'll need R compounds to grip anyway so you might want to think about a wide 225 or a 235.

Right now I run a 235/40 on a 9in and am going to go to a 235 on a 9.5 sometime in April. The rear is gonna get whatever I can find... which right now is shaping up to be some free 225s... which will look retarded but it will roll.

[Juujai]

brokeas is that on an s13 also? a fatter tire will be harder to fit any idea how much more camber will it take approx to flush a 225/235 over a 215? btw what are you fitting 235/40 under? s13 with unpulled fenders? camberspecs/width/offset

[turtl631]

235/40 on a 9" wheel is fine...most models of tire in that size are rated for 8-9.5" wheel anyways. Super stretch is stupid, but using a wheel on the upper end of the recommended range isn't somethign you need to worry about.

[continental_drift]

I have 195/55 fm901's on 15x8. works great for me.

stay within reason and you'll be fine.

[gabossie]

I couldn't imagine stretching a 215/40 over a 9" rim. I have a set of 215/40 Nitto NeoGens on my old 7.5" rims and that was perfect, not stretched at all. I considered stretching them on the 9" rims I just got but when you hold a 215 tire next to a 9" rim flags just fly everywhere. Common sense says it's a bad idea, at least my common sense. I'm putting 235's on my 9" wheels.

[gabossie]

And as for NICO being in the stoneage in regards to stretched tires, perhaps it's because most people, especially in this forum are concerned with performance rather than their mad stretched tires looking flush w/ 2 deg camber.

[nismofly]

depending on how my budget lines up my "looks" wheels may end up being 17x9 +21, but ill be running *at least* a 235/45, i dont want it slammed flush anyway so its ok for me

my 11.9 lb. 16x8 function wheels come first though

[Juujai]

235/45 would be a bit tall but i think you're not into the looks though right?

there's so many choices for tires i can't decide what to buy next. this is a dd so i can't go crazy and do anything like potenza s03

i've been looking at bf goodrich kd/kdw/kdw2, goodyear f1 gs-d3, michelin ps2, and pirelli nero zero. budget is a big concern $500 or less but i'll pay more if it's really worth it, same with mileage looking for like 20k. i'll cry if i had to change tires every other oil change =/

[nismofly]

235/45 would be a bit tall but i think you're not into the looks though right?

i've been looking at bf goodrich kd/kdw/kdw2, goodyear f1 gs-d3, michelin ps2, and pirelli nero zero. budget is a big concern $500 or less but i'll pay more if it's really worth it, same with mileage looking for like 20k. i'll cry if i had to change tires every other oil change =/

i havent seen a 235/40 on a 9, but i saw a 235/45 and thought it looked pretty nice...im not into looks, but these would be my looks wheels if i got them, itd still be conservative though, hence the 235 tire, at least

i dont know about how they handle stretching but my avon tech m500's are right in that price/performace/mileage area, and they come in 215/40/17, 215/45/17, and 225/45/17, which sound like about the sizes youre thinking about

heres the 235/45/17 on a 17x9 +20 i was using for reference:

[BlackFlag_s13]

Gasp!... stretched tire thread on NICO? I Ran 215/45 on an 8.5 all around and had no complaints. Also had 215/45 on the front and 225/45's on the rear which I liked. I messing round with tire sizing right now buying 215's/225's/235's. Up next 225/235 stagger.

[McRussellPants]

And as for NICO being in the stoneage in regards to stretched tires, perhaps it's because most people, especially in this forum are concerned with performance rather than their mad stretched tires looking flush w/ 2 deg camber.

That last part seriously made me laugh.

2 Degrees of Camber? YOU MADMAN! Nobody runs that! You're CRAZY! hahahhaha

Concerned about preformance = 215/40 on a 240.

oh lordy... that was a good laugh.

[SmithSR]

You bishes bickering is a good laugh.or not.

STFU if you're going to have a rotten attitude.

[ArticDragon192]

A reputable race alignment shop actually recommended 2 degrees pf camber up front and 1 degree of camber in the rear for grip settings. I like it

[Juujai]

yeah some camber is good for our cars design. close to 0 camber isn't recommended at all. helps with stability and many cars come with lots of camber out of the factory, s2000, bmws etc.

what do you guys think about kumho mx? after a lot of reading through other forums, impreza, viper, mustang, ls1, rx7, nsx, m3 etc it seems that most guys are saying it's a bang for buck and comparable to the top tier street tires (s03, pilot ps2, g force kd, gs-d3)

i'm aware that overstretching tires will sacrifice a lot of handling/grip i'm trying to make the best of it. i'll try some 235/40 in the future.

the goodyears seem to be the best price for performance out of the 4 and i was considering it but the mxs are an even bigger bargain. any other choices in your opinions? i'm looking for cheap options for high performance braking/skid/lap times/"decent threadwear"/stiff sidewalls.

240 owners are budget conscious =/ all those nsx/m3 guys wont hesistate to buy a set of s03s.
Modified by Juujai at 8:47 PM 2/19/2006

[nismofly]

if you only need dry performance id get falken 615's

theres a bang for the buck tire

[Juujai]

oo those are the tires that replace the rt-215?

[nismofly]

yeah

im getting a set for the track this summer, set of 4 205/50/16 (they dont have a 55)...$395

[Juujai]

nice i'll read up on them price seems interesting sizing is difficult to work with which distributor do you buy from?
Modified by Juujai at 9:41 PM 2/19/2006

[sleepyRPS13]

fyi stretch marks are nasty.

[nismofly]

it wont help you but theres actually an on track tire shop at watkins glen that i can get them at

you live in socal right? im sure in that market theres plenty of places to get them, i just dont know if youll be able to find them for that kind of price

i wish tire rack sold falkens

[Juujai]

yeah why don't they? i prefer discounttiredirect over tirerack atleast when it comes to pricing and free ship.

the sizing is a little weirdhttp://www.falkentire.com/upda...s.htm all of the good sizes aren't there for us. 215/45, 235/40, 245/40 are not available only 255/40 is available.

[nismofly]

im seeing 215/45, 225/45, 245/45, 205/40(bleh), 215/40, 235/40, 255/40, and 275/40 as all the 17" sizes

im disappointed about the lack of sizes in 16"

[Juujai]

i think 215/45 and 235/40 are not available at the moment i checked around but not sure. lol yeah the 16s need some 55s/50s and more meat

http://www.vulcantire.com/azenis_rt615_t.htm some 16s coming soon same with 17 sizes but only about 100 a piece can't really go wrong if i can't find em i'll try out the kumho mx
Modified by Juujai at 10:44 PM 2/19/2006

[sleepyRPS13]

why is there no 225/40 17 available, except for nitto's. Is it a unlucky size or something?

[Juujai]

i have no idea but i'd like a set of 225/40. 225 would be somewhat proper for 9" and 40 series would help for a very low ride height. 45 series is like almost 1 inch taller. i'm sure there would definitely be a market especially with the 240 crowd.

[McRussellPants]

why is there no 225/40 17 available, except for nitto's. Is it a unlucky size or something?

Because 225/40 would be 90% as gross as 215/40.

The only reason to run 17s on the front of a 240 is to get a decently wide tire and a larger sidewall. get 18s if you are gonna run a 40 series anyway.

PS. RT615s and AD07s run big. if you want something around a 225 get the 215 and so forth.