[TBova]

I'm buying an '06 in late August, when they are avaliable at my dealer here in town. I'm not paying for the 18" wheel set from them because frankly, I want two sets

One for winter, one for summer. I've done a lot of reading and looking around, and the only thing that confuses me is what tire size do I get that will fit the wheels I want? I used the sizing guide on 1010tires.com and compared them to stock, and chose the closest rating that wont throw my spedometer way offline when I'm driving. However I see people talking about getting 245's on their 18's, but what I saw that fit best was a 215...

Help!

These are the wheels and tires I will definitley buy, just dont know which size tire is best.

Wheels: 18" Falken Circuit Spec - Gunmetal

5/100 was what was listed for factory bolt pattern on the 05 tc's, assuming it is the same on 06?

Tires: 18" Falken GRB FK-451 Chose 215/40

Thanks for any advice and information!

 

[TBova]

After more reading I realized these have the lowest wear rating but best grip rating of Falkens because they are very high speed (Z and Y) tires.

Thinking about these instead now

http://www.1010tires.com/tire.asp?tirebran...l=Ziex+ZE%2D512

Much better wear rating and still an A-A Traction/Temp rating.

 

[lo bux racer]

Here are the closest fit tires:

215/45/17 OEM
245/40/17 must have 8.5" rim to fit right
225/40/18 +1 fitment
245/35/18 Must have 8.5" rim

Anything else is going to be somewhat larger in diameter. When you get to 19 and 20 things get difficult very fast.

 

[TBova]

Since the 18's I am looking at are a 7" base, would that have any adverse effect on the stability and grip of my car? If I go for the 19s the 5/100 pattern they have is an 8" base, but I dont know if I want to go that big.

 

[lo bux racer]

There isn't any tire I can find that fits an 18 x 7. I don't even know why they would make one. Minimum should be 18 x 7.5, even that doesn't fit a lot. If the rim is an 18 you should be getting a 8.5 width. I would run that with a 245/35/18 if I wanted a heavy but wide combination with good grip.

 

[TBova]

According to the website the 215/40/18 fits a 7-8.5 inch rim. The size you reccomended is even closer but I cant seem to find a wheel I like thats at least 7.5

yes I am kinda picky, heh. If I order from them, they mount and balance the tires too before shipping, so I would assume they wouldnt say it fit if it didnt (the checkout tells you specifically if the tires and wheels you chose match or do not match).

 

[TBova]

Is it that 7 is just too narrow for an 18? Performance wise? Im sad Falken doesnt make the style any wider, I really like them and cant find anything else similar.

Also what did you mean when you said +1 fitment with 225/40/18 lance? Pardon me for being a newb

 

[lo bux racer]

+1 means 1" larger diameter with one size wider and usually a 5% decrease in sidewall height.

Those minimum widths are not the preferred widths. If you want the tire to work best, it should be on the recommended width, not at the extremes of acceptable fit.

If your primary interest is the style of the rims, and you don't work the tires that hard, you'll be OK with the narrow rim and the narrow tires. I hate to slow down for turns, so I like wider tires and need wider rims to support the wider tires. If it's all about bling, go ahead with the 7" rims, they'll be OK.

 

[Ryan'stc]

Also 1010 tires is the biggest rip off in tire land. They got great support but I wouldn't buy from them. Your better off if you live outside Canada to buy from tire rack. There was like a $400.00 diference between them and tire rack for my 245/35 kdw's.

 

[TBova]

Yeah, I was wondering that also. Their website is setup really nice, and seem to have a good reputation, but they're based in Canada and International purchases/shipping make me wary (even though its like a 4 hour drive to canada from where I live.

Thanks for the info also, lance. I dont plan to push them real hard or anything, but I do like to keep pretty fast in my turns like you do and accelerate fast in whatever im driving. I suppose I'll keep looking for something that strikes me good

I visited Tirerack.com and was dissapointed in their website, because it will only show me wheels for the TC that it thinks fit, when i visit the page and it asks me for the car i am shopping for. I didnt see any link to just browse everything they have. What about WheelsNext.com? I notice they are also pushing free shipping, free cosmetic repair for one year, and a free set of Maxspeed? springs with any regular priced tire & wheel combo.

 

[Ryan'stc]

I found it better to call tire rack and have them work with you when it comes to sizes and styles.