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drag racing the short bus
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Location, Location...
Posts: 21,983
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Tire Width tradeoff - what's more important to you...?
A recent thread about fitting 245-50-15 tires on a 15x8 Fuch wheel has me wondering (again) about tire size vs. rim size.
For a long time, I've wondered about fitting 205-50-15s on a 15x8 inch Fuch, and 195-50-15s on a 15x7 inch Fuch, thus going one size less width tire than what's usually mounted on these wheels. The reason for doing this is to eliminate sidewall flex when cornering. Yes, I realize that in a number of cases, 205-width tires are too narrow for 15x8 rims according to many manufacturers, while 195s seem to fall within territory of a 15x7 rim. So if anyone would like to comment on this proposal, please share your insight. My main question, however, is what would be your trade off: A: Wider rubber with the potential for more sidewall flex, or B: Narrower rubber with the potential for less sidewall flex. Thanks guys. 
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10-10-2005, 02:59 PM
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Non Compos Mentis
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Off the grid- Almost
Posts: 10,597
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As long as it's your money, I'll say go with 16" or 17" wheels for less sidewall flex, and go wider for more ultimate grip.
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10-10-2005, 03:33 PM
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drag racing the short bus
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Location, Location...
Posts: 21,983
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10-10-2005, 03:57 PM
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Registered
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I drove a '72 with a 3.6 in in for awhile. Fun ride with 205/225 SO3s on 7 and 8s. If the wheels would fit over my brakes I'd have a set of them.
There are race tires out there that worth looking at for playing around with as well. RA1? Yokos? Avon's slick witha 224/45/15 would be really fun I bet. Got to be others. Small tires are cheap as well. Last edited by rdane; 10-10-2005 at 04:28 PM.. |
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10-10-2005, 04:19 PM
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Administrator
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 13,333
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IMO, wider is going to yeild bigger returns than narrower, and sidewall rigidity is a footnote by comparison.
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Jack Olsen 1972 911 My new video about my garage. • A video from German TV about my 911 |
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10-10-2005, 05:06 PM
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PRO Motorsports
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Burbank, CA
Posts: 4,580
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Get the wider tires, and buy a brand with a stiffer sidewall.
You just need to find out which work the best. AVS ES-100's are pretty lame in this regard. The Kumho Ecsta supra and the MX's are both pretty firmly sidewalled. And anything with an "N" rating on the sidewall, but those are usually expensive. If you really want to firm the tire up, heat-cycle them brutally a few times at the track. My Toyo RA-1's were terrible until they had a few track days on them. If it were my car, I'd run Yokohama A-048's or Kumho Victoracers on the street. No flex there, and mucho fun in the canyons. BTW, where the heck would you even find 245/50's in a 15" size?
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'69 911E coupe' RSR clone-in-progress (retired 911-Spec racer) '72 911T Targa MFI 2.4E spec(Formerly "Scruffy") 2004 GT3 |
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10-10-2005, 05:08 PM
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drag racing the short bus
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Location, Location...
Posts: 21,983
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10-10-2005, 05:12 PM
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Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 9,569
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245 50-15 = Hoosier (they say 8" rim)
Anyway, it's a fine question. I have done 13 Club Races with 225's on 6" wheels, which everyone says you should not do, but I don't know any better. Do you think that 7's would be an improvement? DD, street application? Narrower. If you notice the difference you shouldn't be going that fast.
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'66 911 #304065 Irischgruen ‘96 993 Carrera 2 Polarsilber '81 R65 Ex-'71 911 PCA C-Stock Club Racer #806 (Sold 5/15/13) Ex-'88 Carrera (Sold 3/29/02) Ex-'91 Carrera 2 Cabriolet (Sold 8/20/04) Ex-'89 944 Turbo S (Sold 8/21/20) Last edited by 304065; 10-10-2005 at 05:30 PM.. |
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10-10-2005, 05:16 PM
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It's not just a simple matter of width. You want aspect ratio, compound, design and construction working for you. Everything is a compromise.
The things that make for good track tires are generally going to make for a poor street tire. Besides the tire, the rest of the chassis and supension have to be considered. The best tire in the world, w/o a chassis to back it up and a suspension to connect and control it, is useless.
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Bill Verburg '76 Carrera 3.6RS(nee C3/hotrod), '95 993RS/CS(clone) | Pelican Home |Rennlist Wheels |Rennlist Brakes | |
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10-10-2005, 05:23 PM
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10-10-2005, 08:46 PM
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1976 Porsche Carrera 3.0
1995 Porsche 993 Carrera Coupe
