Stock tire sizes look like giant bus tires to me from the side. I'm looking for replacement tires with low profile sidewall that fit existing 88 GT rims. Is this available for our stock rims and does it improve handling?? Pics and recommendations are appreciated!

Want to go from looking like this:


to this:

So you want to give up gas mileage, ride height, and add a funny looking appearance for a smaller sidewall? Or maybe I'm just missing something lol.

Nitroheadz is right, the name of the game is to try to keep the overall diameter of the wheel and tire combination the same, or bigger within reason. The correct way to get the look you're after is to plus-size your wheel diameters, and down-size your tire side walls or profiles. To do otherwise will result in puny looking wheels and tires in those huge wheel wells. The tire mounted on the rim by itself will look cool, but once it's mounted on the car, it will look like you made a mistake.

I'd be interested in pics also. I'm curious what P235/50R15 looks like, since P235/55 doesn't seem to exist. But any nonstandard tires on stock 15" wheels would be interesting to see.
My hangup is actually opposite of sricka - I like the look of the 60 profile, and wonder whether a 235/50 would bug me looks-wise.
I imagine a 225-235/60R15 would drive fine on a stick shift other than the speedo accuracy. But on an automatic I'd rather not lose the RPMs.

quote Is this available for our stock rims and does it improve handling?

I don't remember particular brands or product names, but there are some 50 profile 15" tires available. Lower profile should reduce flex when cornering. I've never tried before/after on an identical car, but I imagine the lower profile should make it feel stiffer and more responsive but not necessarily actually take the corner faster (the contact patch isn't getting any bigger). Lower profile I think don't last as many miles and may ride a little rougher, if you care about that.

If you also increase the width, then it should potentially corner faster up until you hit a rough spot. Then suspension would be the dominant factor, and you'd be going faster when this occurs. So with a bigger tire on same suspension, it could actually make the handling a bit more unpredictable. Not that I'd worry about it on any reasonable size.

[This message has been edited by armos (edited 06-04-2011).]

Don't reduce the over all height, get larger wheels. I have 225/40/18's on my GT, but they are the same or really close overall height as factory.

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86 Fiero 2M4 Silver, and 86 GT

I doubt you'll find any actual pictures of cars with shorter sidewalls on 15" rims since most people realize it wouldn't look good, given the size of the wheel wells. Here's a chart that should help you visualize what various changes would look like relative to one another. (The chart was created by a PFF member whose name I've misplaced, but would give credit to if I could find it).

quote Originally posted by Bloozberry: . . sinp . . Here's a chart that should help you visualize what various changes would look like relative to one another. (The chart was created by a PFF member whose name I've misplaced, but would give credit to if I could find it).

The chart was made by Joe Torma, a New Jersey guy.
Below is this complete thread of wheel offsets and tire profiles.
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/058236.html
I hope this proves helpful.
~ Bob

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"Its nice to be important.
Its more important to be nice."

Totally unrelated, but I put 245/60/15s on stock wheels in the rear of my Fiero way back in the day. They're still on the car just because I'm in the process of restoring it... but I don't think I'm going to go with such huge tires next time. 225 / 60 / 15s is probably what I'll end up with.

They do look good... but a 3.2 liter V6 does not really need steamrollers as traction is hardly an issue for it... heh.

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Totally unrelated, but I put 245/60/15s on stock wheels in the rear of my Fiero way back in the day. They're still on the car just because I'm in the process of restoring it... but I don't think I'm going to go with such huge tires next time. 225 / 60 / 15s is probably what I'll end up with. They do look good... but a 3.2 liter V6 does not really need steamrollers as traction is hardly an issue for it... heh.

82-T/A would you happen to have a pic of this tire combination?
Thanks for the input to all (mostly constructive criticism). I just wanted to know the pros and cons.
Now with slimmer profile (whether it be stock rim or 16", 17") does that curtail some of the fishtailing one might get from say a tall sidewall tire?

I think the P215/60R14 look better than the 15" equivalent. The larger diameter makes the tire look more narrow, even though it's really the same.
So if the 14" looks good, then that implies there should be room to reduce the profile a bit on 15" tires without the diameter looking bad.
Anyway, I'm leaning against 50s myself but if I'm in the mood maybe I'll try it, don't need tires anytime soon.

quote Originally posted by sricka01: Now with slimmer profile (whether it be stock rim or 16", 17") does that curtail some of the fishtailing one might get from say a tall sidewall tire?

Absolutely. Imagine the tire sidewall as a spring. The taller the sidewall, the more flex there is sideways when say, changing lanes quickly or turning a corner, as well as up and down when hitting bumps. Shortening the sidewall stiffens up that spring in side to side and up and down, so the primary benefit from a shorter sidewall is an increase in directional stability in turns, however they will also stiffen the ride over bumps. Most people on this forum agree that those are both positive changes, but some prefer a softer ride than others.