Biggest shoes for style 135 (ZHP) wheels?

[RSPDiver]

I don't track the car, but I like to have fun on the street. As we all know, the rim scuff gremlin likes to lurk where you least suspect him. I'm wondering what the widest tires I could reasonably put on my wheels would be. Conservatively, I'm thinking that 235/40 on front with stock 255/35 on the rear would be pretty good, as that doesn't affect the overall ratio much. Going 245/40 front would support going 265/30 on the rear, but TireRack's charts (for the Pilot Sport and PS2) indicate that this may be a bit fat for the 8 and 8.5 inch rims.

Given the potential for rubbing, and factoring in reasonable rim protection versus optimal width for the wheels, what would you guys suggest for normal ("spirited") street use? Should I just stay with 255 rear and upgrade to 235 fronts?

Thanks fellas!

[gmlav8r]

Bump, Looking for an answer too.

[RSPDiver]

Gary? Andy? Bueller?

[Gary@Tirerack]

Gary? Andy? Bueller?

I'd let Andy answer this, as I cannot recommend sizes that our outside the safe recommended rim width ranges. Perhaps you may want to PM him/email him. He consistantly runs much wider tires and likely knows more than anyone else what fits in these borderline fitments.

[Andy]

I have run 265/35/18 Kumho Ecsta V700s all the way around on OEM 72M wheels (same size as the 135M). I experienced no rubbing in the front, but experienced a little rubbing on the inside of the rear wheel well under hard cornering, but nothing major. The 265 wide tire on the 8” wide wheel up front resulted in numb and mushy turn-in. I would not recommend this set up.

I have run 255/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s all the way around on OEM 135M wheels (same size as the 72M). I experienced no rubbing in the front nor the rear. This is the stock size tire for the rear, so the rears are fine. The 255s fit pretty well on the 8” wide wheel, but the turn-in was a little numb. I drove this setup at Mid Ohio with the car basically stock, the car felt a lot more neutral with less understeer.

For autox, I am now running 235/40/17 Hankook R-S2 Z212s all the way around on 17x8 SSR Comps. These 235 wide tires have more grip then the 255 wide PS2s and I honestly think more grip then the 265 wide V700s (which are R-comps, BTW). The rubber compound is super grippy and it’s shorter and lighter then any of the other tires I have tested. Not only do I get more grip, but better acceleration, braking and handling.

From all of the tire tests I have done, I have learned one important thing… when it comes to grip and performance it’s not all about tire width. In fact, I now put that last on my list of things to look for in a tire. If I had to rate which things to look for in a tire when it comes to grip and performance I would rate them like this…

1. The tire mfg and model (i.e. rubber compound, sidewall stiffness, etc.).
2. Overall diameter and weight. Shorter and lighter are better.
3. Tire width.

[RSPDiver]

Thanks for the info, Andy! I think I may go 235 front and stay 255 rear. I don't to a ton of hard cornering, so I probably don't need the lateral traction of 265s in back. 235 & 255 should help the understeer come down a bit, too, without significant increase in tire height.

[Andy]

Thanks for the info, Andy! I think I may go 235 front and stay 255 rear. I don't to a ton of hard cornering, so I probably don't need the lateral traction of 265s in back. 235 & 255 should help the understeer come down a bit, too, without significant increase in tire height.
That sounds like a good choice. :thumbup:

[Tex]

the rim scuff gremlin likes to lurk where you least suspect him.

You may want to look at the OEM Potenzas RE040: they have plenty of rim protection IMHO (they have a sidewall with a "cable" like thing that is meant to protect the rim, and it does a fairly good job).

[LDV330i]

You may want to look at the OEM Potenzas RE040: they have plenty of rim protection IMHO (they have a sidewall with a "cable" like thing that is meant to protect the rim, and it does a fairly good job).That was I was going to suggest. Actually all Bridgestones come with rim protection which is really rubber that projects out beyond the face of rim. Please note that this is still no guarantee that your rims will not get scuffed. Ask me how I know. :cry:

[RSPDiver]

Well, Pliot Sports have a lip on them, too. But they don't suck donkey balls like the Potenzas. While doing the "Rat Race" at the Perf Center (a chase race on dry and wet track surfaces, 180 deg out) the ZHP I was driving wallowed every time I came off the wet track onto the increased speed slalom. My passenger, who had been in a PS equiped car just before, said the other car NEVER did that in any part of the track. Stupid tires cost me the title on that track portion.

Thanks for the suggestion, though. Seems like I've seen some Dunlops with a pretty big lip on an M Roadster or M3 at the dealer. I'm really leaning hard toward the PS or PS2 as replacements for these tires. I like them a lot, and don't really have any complaints from normal spirited driving on them.

[CSBM5]

I have run 255/35/18 Michelin Pilot Sport PS2s all the way around on OEM 135M wheels (same size as the 72M). I experienced no rubbing in the front nor the rear. This is the stock size tire for the rear, so the rears are fine. The 255s fit pretty well on the 8” wide wheel, but the turn-in was a little numb. I drove this setup at Mid Ohio with the car basically stock, the car felt a lot more neutral with less understeer.


Andy,

Do you have any further comments/thoughts about the 255/35's on the 8" front rims on the ZHP with respect to tire pressures and wear for everyday driving? Since 8.5" is the minimum recommended rim width, I'm curious if running them on 8" rims results in more center tire wear as the edges of the tires are constrained on the narrower rim. I've seen the opposite on my old 850R where I have 215/45-17's on 8" rims, and I need to run higher pressures to even out the wear across the tire. Wow, now that I think about the 215's on the 8's, I'm not too interested in running the 255's on 8" rims I guess. :dunno:

Thanks,
Chuck

[Andy]

Andy,

Do you have any further comments/thoughts about the 255/35's on the 8" front rims on the ZHP with respect to tire pressures and wear for everyday driving? Since 8.5" is the minimum recommended rim width, I'm curious if running them on 8" rims results in more center tire wear as the edges of the tires are constrained on the narrower rim. I've seen the opposite on my old 850R where I have 215/45-17's on 8" rims, and I need to run higher pressures to even out the wear across the tire. Wow, now that I think about the 215's on the 8's, I'm not too interested in running the 255's on 8" rims I guess. :dunno:

Thanks,
Chuck
For everyday driving on the 255 wide PS2s, I was running 38 psi all the way around. I noticed no odd tire wear, although I still have plenty of tread left.

In terms of absolute performance, I would not run the 255s all the way around again. Instead, I would buy a set of 17x8 wheels and run 235/40/17 Hankook RS2 Z212s all the way around. In fact, that is what I did. :)

[CSBM5]

Thanks for the reply. I think I'm going to just go with the stock sizes again for everyday street use.

Chuck

[Andy]

Thanks for the reply. I think I'm going to just go with the stock sizes again for everyday street use.

Chuck
As far as everyday driving is concerned, you certainly can’t go wrong with that. :thumbup: