Tire Diameter vs Tire weight.

[OM3GA]

So im thinkin about gettin Falken ZE-912's for my 16x7.5 wheels which weigh around 13 lbs each. I am wondering what would be the best thing to do because i would like to run 50 series tires because they look good and will raise the car off the ground a little bit when i lower the car once my coilovers are installed... I like the low to tire look not low on the ground scraping everywhere. So im kind of stumped because these wheels are really light and i bought some federal 535's in a 205 50 16 and the brought the wheel+Tire weight to 38lbs a piece! which to me is pretty heavy.... which mean the tires weighed 25 lbs each. I was looking at the ZE-912 sizes and weights and im trying to decide whether i should go with the 18LB 205/40/16 or the 20LB 205/45/16 or just go with the 21LB 205/50/16 they are all lighter then what im running right now but i am into driving in the mountains and am going to start auto x ing and maybe some small track things. So im wondering what would you go with? Is 40 series too small? Is 50 series too heavy and is it gonna make my car sluggish? Or should i just go in between and get the 45 series even though i have never heard that size before??

[gumby74]

The Tire Rack has very detailed information on the tires they sell. That said, a 205/40 is ridiculously small. Look for a 215/50 or the 205/50.And for comparisons sake the 245/40's on 17x9 rears check in at 41.7 lbs on my car. Lightness is always better, but if this is your daily driver/whatever else, sacrifice some weight for width. Unless you are more seasoned than the steaks in my fridge, I can pretty much gaurantee you will not be affected by the weight difference. If you fly off your mountain pass, it won't be because the tires were 2lbs heavier. Something to think about.Find you a good 225/45.

[OM3GA]

What about doin a 205 45 im lookin for something like that i mean the wheels and tires on my car now weigh in at 35 lbs a piece which is only 3 lbs less then what i was gonna run but if i do the falken ze912's then i could choose from any of these and pick a weight. I was just thinking 40's because they are very light but yes i know they are rediculously small... I hate the way they look i love the way 50 looks but its not about the look its about the weight and predictability of the tire. How about any of these here in the red Look at the weight also. I was thinking of going with the 45s because they are in between what i want but they are 2 lbs heavier then the 40's and only 1 lb under the 50 series. But still with these on my car if i run the 50 series ill be under by 1 lb on each corner so im still gaining. If i run the 40s im down 4 lbs each corner which to me seems like a decent amount. I want my car low to the tire not low to the ground.

[gumby74]

I just keyed in an incredibly looong reply. But it comes down to this.Do not begin your foundation with this particular tire.If you must go with this tire, go with the 215/50. Do not concern yourself with the variable of weight at this point.

[adrianfromthecastle]

Do not concern yourself with the variable of weight at this point.

and Jesus man... you made like 5 threads that revolve around the same damn topic...

quit it, its annoying.

[nismofly]

neither weight nor size will be a worry when youve got tires like those...not very grippy at all

wtf wheels do you have that weigh 13 lbs a piece in that size, thats like forged monoblock territory

[evildky]

on a 7.5 wide wheel you should be running a 225-235mm tire, and when autocrossing tire compound is more important than weight, Falken azenies, bridgestone potenza reo-1 are the 2 fastest tires in the street tire classes right now

also a 15" wheel and tire combo would likely weight less, my old 15x7 keizers with kumho V710's 225-50/15 wighed right about 30lbs each (keep in mind the wheels were just under 10 lbs each) my new setup is CCW 17x12's wearing 315-35/17 V710's weight right about 50 lbs each, in my car I don't notice the extra weight but I sure do notice the extra grip if you are low on power in like a miata the weight is more of an issue, when in doubt add power