grimesd

Hey everyone, the girls been running great. Thinking about putting new shoes on her before I "officially" take the car out in about 2 months here in NY. I saw these rims I REALLY like but wondering if they will fit the stock tires.

The website shows the tire is 18x9.

Under specs, the recommended tire size is 255/45-18.

Would stock tires be ok for this tire size or would I have to get new tires as well? The tires are practically brand new. I believe on the invoice when i bought it last month, it said the 2 front tires are 235 and the two back tires are 245 if I'm not mistaken.

Would a wheel that has a recommended tire size of 255 be ok to use with the tires that are on my old rims that right now I believe are 235 and 245 for the sizes.

The wheels in question are located at:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/black-gtcs-18x9-0514.html

Bert

If you look up the tires on Tire Rack, then go to the Specs tab, it will show the manufacturer's recommended wheel widths for those tires. It is always a good idea to stick with what the manufacturer's engineers recommend, they usually know what they are doing.

Without looking it up, I think a 9" wide wheel will be on the extreme wide end of the recommended range for a 235 tire. So that means it will be OK, but the tire will be a bit "stretched."

You should check the chart for your exact tires because it does vary a bit with manufacturer and specific tire size. Generally taller sidewall tires are more forgiving of wheel width than low profile tires.

One more thought -- before you buy new wheels, check your local Craig's List (and also other places like e-bay) for "take-offs." Sometimes you can get super deals on slightly used wheels and tires that someone "took off" when they updated.

grimesd

Thank you sir, For some reason I'm thinking that the tire size may possibly be 9" wide but i will check them and post here, and see what you guys think. thank you!

grimesd

Ok guys, just looked, and my current tires on the car are 235 50ZR 18.

By tireracks calculations, that means that this tire is good for a 9" wide rim correct?

On the site it says to to divide the first number by 25.4 to get the millimeters to inches. This comes out to be 9.3inches. Does that mean getting a 18 x 9 tire would work ok for these tires?

Bert

hmmmmmm . . . it sounds like you are looking at something different on Tire Rack from what I was suggesting.

I'm guessing you have the Pirelli P Zero Nero all season tires. Here is the Tire Rack link for those tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ero+All+Season

Scroll about half way down the page, and you will see "Specs" . . . .click on that (not sure if link below will take you directly to the specs tab or not)
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ero+All+Season

Scroll down the list to find your size -- P235 / 50ZR18

Under "rim width range" it says 6.5-8.5 "

So 9" wheel width is actually outside that range; wheel is a little too wide for the tire.

You could probably get away with it, but it is not the best set-up. I think I would wait until I need new tires, and then buy the wheels and tires as a set, so you can get the right size tires for the wheels.

And in the mean time, watch Craig's List and E-Bay or a deal.

MRGTX

9" wheel is pretty much optimal with 255s...up to 275 is passable but will bulge (and squirm) a bit more.

If you can find a 9.5" rim, you'd be comfortable running 275s all around.

I'm running 285s on my 19x9.5 and they work great but some say that's slightly too wide for that wheel.

In any case, good luck!! Keep us posted.

Gabe

Yeah for a 9" wide wheel you're really gonna want a 255 tire, which will fit nice and "square" on that wheel, meaning the sidewall will be just about perfectly flat, no bulging and no stretching.

This is a good example of that kind of fitment, my old 275/40/18 tires on my 18x9.5 wheels:

(the front tires/wheels in this pic)