ZR8ED Posted December 27, 2001 Share Posted December 27, 2001 I know I'm crazy already, but is this just tooooo far? I want/need to fill out my new flares, and would like to stuff 275 wide rubber in there.. (yes it fits) I have currently 16x9 rear wheels, and I found a 275/45/16 tire made by Hoosier. I also found a 265/45/16 tire by another mfg (the name escapes me at the moment) Anyways.. the hoosiers are dot legal race tire...i guess similar to a bfg R1 or a yokohama A008 Pretty darn sticky, and they will wear out fast...and they suck in the rain...SOOOOO I don't drive in the rain as it is, and the car sucks in the rain already... I don't put a lot of mileage on the car, and when I do, I demand good handling all the time. Question is, am I going to kill myself driving around with these tires on my Z? I need the width..that is the problem, and there is almost nothing very large in a low profile 16" tire... I have heard of some guys in my club switching to the racing style Proxis tires, to get the width they need for their 14" rims, and are putting up with the high tire wear... Check out the Hoosier website and look at the road race tires that are dot legal... Opinions..? (and no I don't want to sell my 16" rims..they are WAYYY to expensive to replace) Thanks, Scott. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom sixbey Posted December 27, 2001 Share Posted December 27, 2001 well if you're implying that they're slicks, i guess rainy street driving would be crazy, but otherwize it just sounds expensive... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted December 27, 2001 Share Posted December 27, 2001 I KILLED a set of BFG R1s in 12 Solo2 races one year... Don't know if I'd run those or hoosiers or Yoko a008s on ANY street car... Lots of companies make large size Z rated tires in size 16...Check out the Bridgestone RE730s! I'm running those in a 275-40-17 on the rear and 255-40-17 on the front... I've also got flares, so I understand the fitment issue... Mike Kelly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperZ Posted December 27, 2001 Share Posted December 27, 2001 Just curious... Why do you need that much width? All the Z road racers I know run a good sticky compound 205 width to 225 or 235 width. If you go much wider it's hard to pilot the car on the street thats for sure, and more width doesn't (IMHO) help very much with added grip. I know this goes against common thought, so don't flame too hard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted December 27, 2001 Share Posted December 27, 2001 quote: Originally posted by SleeperZ: Just curious... Why do you need that much width The answer, I'd imagine is TORQUE versus straight line TRACTION? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZR8ED Posted December 27, 2001 Author Share Posted December 27, 2001 I checked many manufacturers of tires.. a 245 is about as big as it gets.. there are 255/50/16's out there..but nothing else..I have to becareful of the diameter as well.. traction is an issue...filling in huge wheel wells is the other.. the flares are massive...a little bit of vanity jabing at the issue too. hehehe 17" wheels are a snap to get wide rubber... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted December 28, 2001 Share Posted December 28, 2001 The S03 series of tire you are looking at are not designed for drag racing. They are an autocross (A compound) and road race (R compund) tire. As such, they should be mounted on rims that are as wide as the tread width. For your 9" wide rims, the optimum size is 245/45-16. And yes, you'll get less than 2,000 miles out of these tires and they are not designed (nor does Hoosier recommend) that they be driven on the street. These tires do not have steel belts in them, puncture very easily, and can be flat spotted quickly if you are clumsy with braking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimZ Posted December 28, 2001 Share Posted December 28, 2001 I believe the Kumho V700 Victoracer was the tire that came in 265/45ZR-16. This would be a much more suitable tire for the street, IMHO, and still very competitive. A friend of mine used to autocross with the Hoosier autocross tires, and they didn't look like they would last five minutes on the street. The construction was extremely light - they sounded like balloons if you flicked your finger on them . They were very effective for autocross, but he swapped street tires back on when he left the race course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tom sixbey Posted December 28, 2001 Share Posted December 28, 2001 zr8ted, if you do go out and lay down the hard cold cash on some serious rubber, at least be ABSOLUTELY sure that it is contacting the ground! - personally, i'd go with the 245 wide street tires and a tire barometer... - good luck man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted December 29, 2001 Share Posted December 29, 2001 Scott, 255/50-16 is a lot of rubber. I know you are intent of filling up the wheel wells, but what is more important, as previously stated, is putting the rubber to the ground and making it stick. Since you swapped in the turbo, you seem intent on running at the drag strip, so be careful with getting a tire with too stiff a sidewall. Since you are not a pure drag racer, you will have to get something that is a compromise. I recommend the Toyo Proxes RA-1, 255/50-16. Popular tire on the twisties and also proved itself at the drag strip. Comes with a 8/32 thread depth and gets better as it wears. Eddie Bello used to shave them down and he ran into the 9s @ 150+ with his 911 turbo, picking the wheels off the ground in 1st, 2nd AND 3rd. I saw him do that in So FL, then drive the car home, to NJ!!! That is an all-around tire if I ever saw one. I am running 255s on 8s and will snap a pic this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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