My plan is to run the stock set-up and buy 18's in the future to run from March through December. I really like the set-up adrenalin has on his car with 255's up front and 285s in back. We do on occasion see a little snowfall here in Seattle during the winter, but not enough to warrant all out winter tires. The pirelli tire that came on the car is outstanding and affordable (imo).

 

My plan is to keep the stock Pirellis until I need to change them anyways... then go to the 255/50's from then on. The buldge on those 275's really don't look that bad to me, but you will see just as much of a difference from 235 to 255 as 255 to 275. So, I think 255's are the right size for me. Plus, I am definitely putting the same width tires front and rear, and do not like the look of 275's on the front. Too wide IMO.

 

In measuring the tire tread on the pavement, how many inches wider is the 255/50/17 over the stock tire?

 

255mm is 20mm over the stock with of 235mm... so that's just over 3/4".

 

Yep. 1"=25.4mm so 20mm= .787"

FWIW tire sizes break down as follows. Lets takr for example a 255/50zr17. The 255 means its 255 mm wide. The /50 means the sidewall heigth is 50% of the width. In this case 127.5 mm tall. It is not in itself a measurement, it is the aspect RATIO. The 17 means it fits a 17" rim. The z is the speed rating (and I believe z is 155mph+ call manufacturer) and is for an extended time. So you can go faster than what a tire is rated but only for brief spurts. The r means it is a radial and not bias-ply. That pretty much sums it up.

 

Can you send some down the side photos.Want to see how much of the wheel well opening is filled with these.

 

I couldn't see myself spending $1,000.00 to replace the stock tires either, so I spent $1,600.00 instead . Then again, I did sell the Pirelli's for $600.00 so I guess I did only spend $1,000.00 for my tires

 

hey bamaburnum, I saw ur car the other day driving down the road...I love the rims!

 

Here is another link to someone running 255/50 BFG g-force on their stock rims. Also contains a comparision chart to a 235/55.

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/index.php?showtopic=22082

Greg

 

If you are getting the Nitto 450s that is what I have and I love them. Have 255 on frong and 275s on back. I have 17x9 chrome bullits with a black GT and it looks like something out of the 60s which is just what I wanted.

 

I recommend M/T ET Streets radials 26x11.5x17's. They hook like no other, even better than the Biased ET Streets. They will wear faster than the Nitto's. The better they hook, the faster they wear.

 

255/45/17s on mine; if you plan to drop the car, i don't think i'd go any smaller than 50 series. mine scrapes on just about everything.
[attachmentid=20310]

 

Well - I'd better throw my two cents in here.

I just ordered 18x9.5 wheels with 255/45-R18 (BFG Gforce KDW). I had 275/40-R18 on order but after seeing this tire in person on a Mustang (not lowered) I thought it was too low profile for me. The ride height was only 1/2" differince but for some reason I didn't like the look (more open space in the wheel well I guess).

John- (adrenalin) seems to have a great set-up. I must say his car sits great. The tire combination he went with is exactly 27" high throughout (John did some homework). I would've went 285s on the rear too but I feel the need to rotate my tires.

255/45 is a great way to go all around and looks great after you lower the car.





Cheers_jay

 

I don't mean to pick a fight, but your argument seems to be:

"I smoked a pack a day, and I never caught cancer, so cigarettes don't cause cancer". Or "I was in an accident, and I wasn't wearing my seatbelt and I survived, so seatbelts don't help".

You went one size higher than the max recommended. That doesn't mean that things are automatically going to explode! You were running your tires outside the recommended range of wheel sizes. That means that your tires were under more sidewall stress and probably unreasonable wear conditions.

Sounds to me like you wanted the looks of an authentic performance package, but were unwilling to pay to do it right. Running overly fat tires on skinnier rims isn't a recipe for performance, you aren't getting the most out of the tire.

 

For those wanting to calculate tire sizes here's the math:

Section width in inches = (section width in mm / 25.4)

sidewall = (section width / 25.4) * (aspect ratio /100) = (section width * aspect ratio) /2540

Overall diameter = (2 * sidewall) + rim diameter

For the stock 235/55-17

Section Width = 235/25.4 = 9.25 inches

Sidewall = (235 * 55) / 2540 = 5.09 inches

Overall diameter = (2 * 5.09) + 17 = 27.18 inches

 

If you are getting the Nitto 450s that is what I have and I love them. Have 255 on frong and 275s on back. I have 17x9 chrome bullits with a black GT and it looks like something out of the 60s which is just what I wanted.
[/b][/quote]
lets see some photos,please......

 

I remember an earlier post 255-50-17 doesn't require a speedometer re-calibration.
[/b][/quote]


you are correct 255-50-zr17 are a 1/2 a percent diameter change (smaller). 60mph your really doing 60.3, 100mph your really doing 100.5 mph.

765 rpms up to 769 rpms

however they fill up the wells nicely

heres a picture of them
[attachmentid=20376]

 

Here's a couple of shots of the Nitto NT450 255-50/17 next to the stock tire.

 

I don't mean to pick a fight, but your argument seems to be:

"I smoked a pack a day, and I never caught cancer, so cigarettes don't cause cancer". Or "I was in an accident, and I wasn't wearing my seatbelt and I survived, so seatbelts don't help".

You went one size higher than the max recommended. That doesn't mean that things are automatically going to explode! You were running your tires outside the recommended range of wheel sizes. That means that your tires were under more sidewall stress and probably unreasonable wear conditions.

Sounds to me like you wanted the looks of an authentic performance package, but were unwilling to pay to do it right. Running overly fat tires on skinnier rims isn't a recipe for performance, you aren't getting the most out of the tire.
[/b][/quote]


I have run 275's on 8" wheels many times. No problems. They look great also. A very slight bulge. What is it you guys are worried about happening here? Some are making it sound like you are riding in a time bomb. Not the case.

 

you are correct 255-50-zr17 are a 1/2 a percent diameter change (smaller). 60mph your really doing 60.3, 100mph your really doing 100.5 mph.

765 rpms up to 769 rpms

however they fill up the wells nicely

heres a picture of them
[attachmentid=20376]
[/b][/quote]
Andrew,What brand of tires are those.BFG,S? They do look real good.