[Gphoffman]

I am looking at the Motegi Wheels (45mm offset) ... and have a line on 255-35-18 used Hoosiers. Has anyone tried that size to see if they will fit without rubbing? .7” wider than the 235-35-19 on it now ... but .5” smaller diameter.

 

[GetQuirky]

I think you might be alright. But what width wheels? Because if they're 8", 255s are gonna be pinched on there.

 

[Gphoffman]

Thanks; I checked the Hoosier website chart... and you are right. They recommend a minimum 8.5” rim width....

 

[Piro Fyre]

I know a couple guys running 255/35/18 RE71Rs and they don't rub. I was running 255/40/18 71Rs and that rubbed the fenders. 255/35/18 is a shorter tire (by .5" to OEM and by 1" to my 255/40/18) so you'll end up hitting the bump stops before rubbing.

 

[Gphoffman]

Thanks Pirouette Frye.... the next question is the wheels to use .... 8”? 8.5”? Or? And offset? Any suggestions are welcome. The Hoosiers I have the line on are R7s

 

[GetQuirky]

I know a couple guys running 255/35/18 RE71Rs and they don't rub. I was running 255/40/18 71Rs and that rubbed the fenders. 255/35/18 is a shorter tire (by .5" to OEM and by 1" to my 255/40/18) so you'll end up hitting the bump stops before rubbing.

These are on 8" wide wheels? I would imagine the amount of pinching would be more detrimental due to loss of contact patch and the tire being a little softer.

 

[Piro Fyre]

These are on 8" wide wheels? I would imagine the amount of pinching would be more detrimental due to loss of contact patch and the tire being a little softer.

Yeah, we're doing it because of SCCA rule limitations. It's a squeeze but what can you do when the rule states you can't run wider than OEM wheel size.

As for wheel width to run, a 255 is meant to go on a 9" wide wheel and that's what I would run. I just go off of my own little chart to determine how wide of a tire I should run for certain wheel widths.
Example:
235 = 8"
245 = 8.5"
255 = 9"
265 = 9.5"

 

[GetQuirky]

Yeah, we're doing it because of SCCA rule limitations. It's a squeeze but what can you do when the rule states you can't run wider than OEM wheel size.

As for wheel width to run, a 255 is meant to go on a 9" wide wheel and that's what I would run. I just go off of my own little chart to determine how wide of a tire I should run for certain wheel widths.
Example:
235 = 8"
245 = 8.5"
255 = 9"
265 = 9.5"

Oh I get it, I was going to go 255s but ended up on 245s because I just felt like 255s were too pinched. Then I moved to STU smh.

 

[Fauxfreshness]

Yeah, we're doing it because of SCCA rule limitations. It's a squeeze but what can you do when the rule states you can't run wider than OEM wheel size.

As for wheel width to run, a 255 is meant to go on a 9" wide wheel and that's what I would run. I just go off of my own little chart to determine how wide of a tire I should run for certain wheel widths.
Example:
235 = 8"
245 = 8.5"
255 = 9"
265 = 9.5"

It was funny, as I looked at this chart and thought “this looks more like a Hoosier chart than street tires..” and then had to scroll up. WRXs used to always run Falkens in 245 on 8” wide wheels, but then you see a Hoosier “225” on a Miata and wonder where they’re getting their metric rules from. ;-)

Which street tire makes are you guys going for anyway? I’m thinking an 8.5 with a 255 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S for daily driving, and haven’t decided if I’m going to bother competing again next year.

 

[Piro Fyre]

It was funny, as I looked at this chart and thought “this looks more like a Hoosier chart than street tires..” and then had to scroll up. WRXs used to always run Falkens in 245 on 8” wide wheels, but then you see a Hoosier “225” on a Miata and wonder where they’re getting their metric rules from. ;-)

Which street tire makes are you guys going for anyway? I’m thinking an 8.5 with a 255 Michelin Pilot Sport 4S for daily driving, and haven’t decided if I’m going to bother competing again next year.

Depends on wheel availability, tire sizing availability, tire's design, etc. Don't know which Falken tires you're talking about but I'm just going to assume maybe the RT615K+? I've had a set of 215/45/17 on my Civic Si with 17x7 wheels and the design of the tire makes the 215 look more like a 210 tire but not quite a 205. Probably not a bad choice for those WRXs to run a size bigger, especially with how much they weigh and how much they would understeer while the tire rolls over. Don't know about the Miata running Hoosiers but if I were to guess, it's because of limited tire sizing but wanting a full on slick for their driving duties. But it's not like they're losing much tire out of it since the tread width of a 225 Hoosier is almost as wide as a 255 RE71R.

I'm currently running the Michelin PS4S in 235/35/19 on stock wheels. In terms of street driving, it's a FAR better tire than the OEM PZ4s. For autox though, I have some 265/35/18 RE71Rs on 18x8 wheels. Now for this pandemic to calm down so I can attend events before I start to see snow fall...

 

[Fauxfreshness]

Yeah, I'm talking about when I ran my WRX, which was a 2004. And that's the reason for the initial 245 limit in STX. I ran the Azenis 215 and later the 615 on 17x8 wheels. It was quite common at the time, although I ran a 235 as they were still pretty thick.

 

[geeveetee]

Yeah, we're doing it because of SCCA rule limitations. It's a squeeze but what can you do when the rule states you can't run wider than OEM wheel size.

As for wheel width to run, a 255 is meant to go on a 9" wide wheel and that's what I would run. I just go off of my own little chart to determine how wide of a tire I should run for certain wheel widths.
Example:
235 = 8"
245 = 8.5"
255 = 9"
265 = 9.5"

So everything else being equal and/or stock, a 235/40/18 tire would work well for someone wanting to downsize the wheels on a PP N?

 

[Piro Fyre]

So everything else being equal and/or stock, a 235/40/18 tire would work well for someone wanting to downsize the wheels on a PP N?

Yes. The factory 235/35/19 PZ4 tires are 25.5" tall and the same tire in 235/40/18 stands at 25.4" so it's perfectly fine. Speedo will be slightly off by like 0.2-MPH but not even a huge difference to be worried.

 

[RedVN]

One word, no!

 

[AgentH]

Yeah, we're doing it because of SCCA rule limitations. It's a squeeze but what can you do when the rule states you can't run wider than OEM wheel size.

As for wheel width to run, a 255 is meant to go on a 9" wide wheel and that's what I would run. I just go off of my own little chart to determine how wide of a tire I should run for certain wheel widths.
Example:
235 = 8"
245 = 8.5"
255 = 9"
265 = 9.5"

I was going to run 245/40-18 on 18x8 to stay in D street... but the more I think about it, the less I care about being within rules for my class since I also want to run trackdays on the same wheels/tires. I'm no looking at 255/35-18 as I've heard many people are running these on 18x8 with stock suspension and having no issues.

Going off the rule of thumb that every 0.5" wheel width adds 0.3" tire width, will 255/35-18 on 18x9 still clear the struts and fenders since they will be as much as 0.6" wider than what the D Street guys are seeing?

I'm also wondering what offset wheel to get.

I'm going to get camber bolts, so that'll help with clearance.

 

[Leveq]

Gonna necro this a bit, anyone have any guesses as far as if a 18x9 +40 fits with 255/35s ?

 

[AgentH]

I've had some rub and poke with my 255/35-18 RT660's on 18x9 ET45 wheels.

Rear poke:

front strut clearance:

rear rub @-2.2 degrees camber.

Rub on front's @ -2.4 camber.

OE vs 660's

I'll try -2.4 in the rear and if I roll the front fenders a bit, I won't have any rub. I think 245's on 8.5's in the rear would be ideal.