Widest tire on stock rims?

[Black_Sunshine]

Hey fellas. Well, spring is rolling around the corner, and it is probably about time to get some new shoes. What is the widest tire you can put on the stock 17x8 rims? I know that some brands are wider than the other, like 275 Goodyears might be a little wider than 275s BFG, or visa versa.

So, for you guys that have upgraded to a wider tire on stock rims, what brand and size to have? Thanks.

Peace...B_S

 

[griffined]

How do you feel about having the front end follow every groove and rut in the road?

Plenty of folks comment that when they go from 245's to 275's in the front, the tendancy to do this goes way up.

The lack of this in my 01 with stock sized tires, makes it a little nicer to drive on longer trips, than my R with the wider rims and 275 tires. It requires regular attention to keep it pointed straight, and it is in alignment.

Just something to consider.

 

[E. Green Cobra]

I've got 265's up front, and 275's out back -Kuhmos-their decent tires and the price is killer. When I get a set of 03's I'll prolly use nittos. They hang over a bit-kind of a chubby look but otherwise look good. IMO a 265 up front is perfect specially on a wider rim. Fills the well w/o stickin out on lowered cars, and as bid as ya can get in the back. As far as tracking with grooves and such-it did that with 245's so I haven't noticed a difference.

 

[Spiffy668]

I have 275/40s all around with Dunlop SP5000 rubber. They were on the car when I bought it, so I haven't had much to compare with different tire brands (I'll be going with Kumho Ecsta MX on my new wheels :-D) The front tires rub the sway bar when the wheel is turned full lock, but nothing with normal turns while driving. The do look chubby on the wheel, which I don't mind so much. Here's a pic from the rear (let's hope my bandwidth holds out ) .

 

[sssSnake 01]

I have had 3 sets of tires on my car at 32,000 miles. Started with BFG T/A COMP 245/45 ZR17s, then went to Dunlop 5000 275/40 ZR17s now have BFG G-Force 245/45 ZR17s.

Here is my take:

OEM orginal BFG T/A Comps with 180 tread depth seemed greasy and did not hold up on the back on hot Texas asphault.

The Dunlops have a 340 tread depth and last a little longer but as others have mentioned the 275s on 17X8 in rims really make you work on grooved roads especially at low speeds.

When I replaced my rear Dunlops due to wear I put the original BFG fronts I had saved back on the front of the car. I experienced much better handling and turn-in. The down side was that I ended up with mismatched sizes and directional tires that could not be rotated so I quickly burned the rubber off the back.

I am back to 245s all the way around and went with the BFG G-Force. They have much better wet traction which is important since my car is a daily driver. Also the fact that they have 400 tread depth, are non-directional (they don't have to be mounted oriented in the direction of rotation) and since all 4 tires are matched I can rotate them so they last longer. These tires don't bulge off the rims, look good (nice tread pattern), last longer and are priced less than many inferior tires. Do the math and take it from someone who should own stock in Discount Tire.

Cheers:beer:

 

[sssSnake 01]

Originally posted by Black_Sunshine
Hey fellas. Well, spring is rolling around the corner, and it is probably about time to get some new shoes. What is the widest tire you can put on the stock 17x8 rims? I know that some brands are wider than the other, like 275 Goodyears might be a little wider than 275s BFG, or visa versa.

So, for you guys that have upgraded to a wider tire on stock rims, what brand and size to have? Thanks.

Peace...B_S

OBTW....One other piece of advice. When I got my second 01 I immediately put in a K&N filter and pulled out the silencer. I think this proved to be a mistake. The silencer directs the air flow correctly to the MAF sensor and also prevents hot engine compartment air from entering the intake. I kept the K&N but put the silencer back on. Magic ...no more pinging under heavy acceleration and it feels like I picked up about 10% more low end grunt. Removing the silencer in my opinion should not be done unless you get a good cold air kit and work out the airflow issues.