Big tires (Page 1/5)
hunter29 JUL 26, 07:35 PM
So I have been shopping around for wheels and tires. I see a lot of cars with tires much wider than stock.

Maybe that's good if you have HP, but if you have the stock 2.8 is there any point to wider than stock tires?

It takes more HP to turn them and with the 2.8 there ain't much to spare.

Also when matching tires to wheels what's the best fit? Widest wheel allowed, somewhere in the middle....??
cvxjet JUL 27, 12:34 AM
Adding weight (Un-sprung and/or rotational) will impact your car's performance. I eliminated 3 lbs from each rear wheel and 6 lbs from each front and the car went from driving like an (Old) pickup-truck to a modern car. Performance in every parameter improved...

Just as a simple comparison, the C7 Vette weighs approx' 3700 lbs, while a typical Fiero GT weighs approx' 2700 lbs- that is a ratio of 1.37 to 1.....C7s have 245 and 285 width tires...My Fiero runs 205/55-16s up front- thru that ratio that equates to 280 mm wide tires...my rear tires are 225/55-16s which convert to 308 mm wide tires on that fat Vette.

Do not over-tire your Fiero- and do not go to gigantic - DIE-ameter wheels....you can get up over 25 lbs on some of those 17-19" wheels. My VOXX Monza 16 x 7 wheels weigh approx' 13.5 lbs- and you can find lighter wheels.

The size tires l run on my Fiero were specifically selected because they were very common on several popular cars back a few decades ago- so there is a large selection. I prefer General G-Max tires- very highly rated all-season tire...and they are a bit lighter than most other tires for the same size

[This message has been edited by cvxjet (edited 07-27-2024).]

jim94 JUL 27, 12:51 AM
Ih, my car has 205 60 15 in front and back. Stock rims 7" wide. Falken tires are quite good and cheap too..
theogre JUL 27, 08:46 AM
Most do not want bigger tires. Many that do only want to follow Fads then has problems for several reasons.

check OE rims/tires as some have wider taller rear then front.

Some tire sizes closely match OE diameter to keep the speedo etc happy.
Bigger tires also affect performance & often not in a good way.


quote
Originally posted by jim94:
Ih, my car has 205 60 15 in front and back. Stock rims 7" wide. Falken tires are quite good and cheap too..

I think 205 tire "ideal" rims is 6.5" wide.
wider or narrower affect actual profile vs tire make spec. 7" is within "good" range of most tires but need actual spec for a given tire.

see
https://web.archive.org/web...~fierocave/tires.htm
https://web.archive.org/web...~fierocave/ratio.htm

------------------
Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.
(Jurassic Park)

The Ogre's Fiero Cave

hunter29 JUL 27, 09:17 AM
My thinking was to go to a 17 wheel no more than 20 # and a 45 tire 205 to 215 maybe 215 225 if necessary.

Thinking a lower profile tire for better handling and better tire selection. Is this worth while ? I see it a lot..

Edit, would like a summer tire, not a track tire and not a summer tire I have to bring inside when it gets cold, which I can't seem to find find in 15 inch..

[This message has been edited by hunter29 (edited 07-27-2024).]

hunter29 JUL 27, 09:20 AM

quote
Originally posted by jim94:

Ih, my car has 205 60 15 in front and back. Stock rims 7" wide. Falken tires are quite good and cheap too..



Checking them out right now..
hyperv6 JUL 27, 10:05 PM
Goodyear tested 16” for the Fiero but gound performance the same as the 15”.

More is not always better. Also note wider in the front often loses the on center feel.

The only reason most automakers are going bigger is due to the styling or to allow larger brakes. Tire side wall aspect and the amount of tread can be similar on smaller tires.
Patrick JUL 27, 11:35 PM

quote
Originally posted by hyperv6:

More is not always better. Also note wider in the front often loses the on center feel.



When I was autocrossing my Formula a few years ago, I mounted 225/50/16 relatively sticky tires on aftermarket wheels on all four corners. I liked how the car handled on the track at autocross with those tires, but I hated them on the street. The wide front tires would tend to follow the crown of the pavement, and constant correction was required to keep the Formula going in a straight line. Fortunately, the wheel bolt pattern of my Subie is the same as the Fiero, so those aftermarket wheels and tires found a home on my AWD Subie where they feel just fine. I currently have 205/55/16 tires on the front of the Formula, and 225/50/16 tires on the back. I'm more than happy with this arrangement.
Additivewalnut JUL 28, 12:58 AM
I have 17" VW bug wheels with 245/40/17 on them for autocross. Literally the only reason I have them is because I got some decent falken rt660 tires for free. Would not recommend going that wide. My normal street tires are 215/45/17 and it feels great.
82-T/A [At Work] JUL 28, 10:53 AM

quote
Originally posted by hunter29:

So I have been shopping around for wheels and tires. I see a lot of cars with tires much wider than stock.

Maybe that's good if you have HP, but if you have the stock 2.8 is there any point to wider than stock tires?

It takes more HP to turn them and with the 2.8 there ain't much to spare.

Also when matching tires to wheels what's the best fit? Widest wheel allowed, somewhere in the middle....??




I had 235 / 60 / 15s in the rear of my 1987 Fiero SE / V6 back in the day. It looked totally awesome... but it did nothing for my acceleration... hahah.