Tires revisited

[sad_rocc at yahoo.com (Dan Smith)]

THAT'S the kind of info I was looking for, thanks. After checking tirerack.com, they only offer 2 tires at 195/45/16 and neither are ones I would consider, so that makes tire stretching a moot point. Either way, it's good info to know. Looks like 205/40/16 is the size I will be sticking with.
 
Wear rating does matter a bit as even though the car won't be a DD per say, it will be driven every chance I get. I average about 600mi a week driving plus with the occasional 300mi roundtrip visit to Denver, so I could potentially eat through a set of tires pretty quickly. Luckily, I have about a month to decide and save up money and who knows, maybe a tire will go on sale or something. Looks like I'm currently inbetween the BFG Scorchers, Yokohama Avid H4S, Yokohama Parada-2 and BFG g-force Sports. Who knows though, when the time comes something may swing me toward a different tire.
 
Dan

Mark <mardak@cogeco.ca> wrote:

I'll explain my thoughts a bit further. There'll be less acceleration 
and braking traction due to a narrower contact patch. The cornering 
ability will also be reduced by the narrower contact patch, but more 
importantly the tire wasn't designed with the sidewall "rolled over" in 
a static position - so I would assume that the handling will not be what 
the tire manufacturer had in mind... Along with less overall cornering 
ability, I would guess that "at the limit" handling would be less 
forgiving, and that tire breakaway would be sudden and less 
predictable... You *may* end up even costing yourself more money in the 
long run, because the tire might wear differently (outsides wear quicker 
(?))


> The fender lips will be ground off as there isn't a whole lot left to
> them and if I tried to roll them, they'd probably just crumble. And
> yes, this car is getting a 2L turbo swap. However, it's going to
> mainly see streets and shows (eventually). Since I drive the speed
> limit and not like I'm on a road track, I don't mind giving up a
> little traction especially if I go with ultra high performance summer
> tires.

With a 2L turbo under the hood you're going to want as much traction as 
possible. I'd fit the widest tires possible, cause you should have 
enough power to roast the tires in 1st through 3rd gears at will... 
Also, if this isn't for your daily driver, the wear rating of the tire 
shouldn't matter as much...

> Cornering, yes that I'm not as keen giving up as I'm aiming
> for a neutral, go-kart like handling. Th e car will never see an
> auto-x track 

Never say never! :)


		
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