Tire Size Help

[khamul02]

There has been a bit of discussion in some previous posts but I'm a newbie and have never ordered tires for any vehicle so I want to be really sure about these sizes before I pull the trigger today. Please let me know if this is ok??

one side note, I would like max clearance up front for fender and Procooler clearance.

I have 9's on the rear so I'm going with: 245/45/16.

I have 7's up front so: 205/50/16.

Thanks in advance.

[khamul02]

This is what I'm thinking. It seems like a good deal since I can't pick up anything local

https://www.tirerack.com

245/45ZR16 Yokohama AVS ES100
Blackwall In Stock 2 $109.00 $218.00
205/50ZR16 Yokohama AVS ES100
Blackwall In Stock 2 $85.00 $170.00

FEDEX 3 DAY EXPRESS SAVER 3 Business Days $36.94

Grand Total:

$424.94

[DaveE]

I like the ES100 for my daily driver '78 SC. It's not the most modern tire but it wears well and is a decent performer for a street car, both dry and wet weather, and at a great price. I can't comment on your sizes. I have stock wheel sizes on my car, 6X16 front with 205/55-16 and 7X16 rear with 225/50-16.

[jmohn]

That is the "correct" sizes for those wheels. From all accounts, the ES100's are good daily driver tires.

Jerry M
'78 SC

[Noah930]

Like jmohn said, those are the correct size tires for the wheels you've got. My 930 has that size rim/tire package. However, at the same time, those rims are wider than what originally came from the factory on your car, I believe. (Was OEM 6s and 7s?) If you have stock fender flares on your SC, I'm not sure if there will be any interference if you're going to install aftermarket coolers in the fenders or if you make any suspension lowering modifications. Maybe yes, maybe no. Perhaps someone running those size wheels/tires on an SC body can comment.

The AVS ES100s seem to have a pretty good following on this board. At least, most people seem to be happy with them. I had them on my Nissan daily driver, and thought they were great. Decent stickiness. Predictable. Good wear. Reasonably quiet. If you go on Tirerack and read the reviews, though, the opinions are a little more mixed. Still, from my good experience with them, I'd be willing to go with another set come replacement time.

[Bill Verburg]

The usual sizes are 205/55 and 245/45 x16

The 205/50 will drop the front of you car ~1/4" more than the 205/55

If you want a little more rake then that's ok.

[rusnak]

I have 205/55/16s on my 7" wheels. The front struts are Bilstein RSRs. I have no problem with clearance unless I turn into a concrete driveway a little too fast. The inner tire will rub on the fender lip and pull it out a little. My solution is to brake hard just before I hit the driveway, and then let off the brakes just before contacting the driveway. The front lifts up, and the tire clears without rubbing.

The 205/55s work well with street driving and give plenty of protection against potholes and railroad tracks, so I'm keeping them. The only problem is that they look like truck tires compared with the rears, which look fine.

As for tire choice, I am still hoping/waiting/praying for Bridgestone to come up with a SO-4 or something that comes close to the discontinued SO-3.

[khamul02]

Thanks guys. You have given me something to think about.

Right now I have 55's on the front (on 6's) and 50's (on 7's) on the rear and the ride height looks good.

On another note if I were to put 55's back on the front would the wall height be a bit less because I'm stretching them on to 7's in stead of the 6's that are currently on the front?
It seems like it would, but like I said before I know nothing of tires.

[JoeyD911]

I run the same sizes on smaller rear wheels though. 245/45 and 225/55. These are run on stock 16" wheels. Just had a set of fusion ZRi's installed Saturday. I would advise taking a good look at them. They look great on the car and have sidewalls made of iron.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by Bill Verburg

The usual sizes are 205/55 and 245/45 x16

I just this week put my second set of these sizes (ES 100s) on my SC (7s & 8s x 16) daily driver - like them just fine.

I got almost 20k miles off the rears and the fronts had more to go of course, but I replaced all four for $463.77 incl. mounting, bal. & tax at Discount Tire.

They'll quote you quite a bit more than their web price if you don't mention it, but will match lower priced competitors (they didn't have the fronts but found them on Tire Rack I believe).

Was going to try Hankooks but they're a lot softer and would probably only last me 10 k miles.

[rusnak]

Originally Posted by khamul02

Thanks guys. You have given me something to think about.

Right now I have 55's on the front (on 6's) and 50's (on 7's) on the rear and the ride height looks good.

On another note if I were to put 55's back on the front would the wall height be a bit less because I'm stretching them on to 7's in stead of the 6's that are currently on the front?
It seems like it would, but like I said before I know nothing of tires.

In my own opinion, the stock 205s are too wide to fit really well on the stock 6" wheels. When you put the 205s on 7" wheels the tire seems to sit more square on the road, and (maybe) has a bigger contact patch. None of this has been tested, but my own seat of the pants feeling is that this is the case. As far as the wheel sitting higher or lower, I think there is almost no difference. The ratio is an aspect ratio, meaning that the fronts need to be 55series in order for the wheels to match the height of the rear wheels if they are 245/45/16, or 225/50/16. The guys at Tire Rack can help you on this.

All good questions on this thread....

[Bill Verburg]

Originally Posted by khamul02

On another note if I were to put 55's back on the front would the wall height be a bit less because I'm stretching them on to 7's in stead of the 6's that are currently on the front?
It seems like it would, but like I said before I know nothing of tires.

yes, the same tire on a wider wheel is stretched, it becomes wider and shorter. Note the tread width does not measureably change, just the flexible sidewall ares.

if you have 205/55 and 225/50 now then just changing to 245/45 will drop the rear a tad, i.e.less rake

depending on how the car is now setup, you may want to change ride height at one end or the other or both.

[StayGold808]

If you want an awesome dirt cheap tire that's up there with the now discontinued bridgestone s-03's, try the Hankook RS2's. The tread pattern is similar to the S-03's. I just got them a couple of days ago on the rears only, as my front S-03's are still fine.

The hankooks seem just as good, but a little quieter. But have to wait and see after they wear down a little bit.