General Chat
Q:
I have some 16s for my Z and they have 205/45s on them now, and the contact patch is more narrow than the actual wheel. They barely look like they fit. W/o knowing the width of the wheel I layed it flat on the ground and stuck a ruler between the spoke to the ground and a flat piece across the other lip of the wheel, and it sat right at 9"...however as you can see in the pic below, it doesn't look like a tire could mount flush to the very outside lips of the rim.
As you can see, the ridge just below the 83V on the tire is where it starts to cut in to where it mounts to the wheel. The tire connects to the rim about 1/4" in from the outside lip. I'm curious if it does that just because the wheel is so wide and has such a narrow tire on it, or if some wheels mount that way. If someone can help me I'd appreciate it. I'd like to put some 225s, maybe even 245s on these wheels if I can. And yes I know a 245 will fit on a 9" wide wheel.
A:
I'd say you have an 8" wheel as there is usually 1/2" on each side beyond the bead seat. That said, the tires are too narrow for even an 8" wheel. Approved sizes are 6.5-7.5" for a 205/45R16.
Jeff
Northville, Michigan
'78 280 10:1 CR, Web Racing cam, Arizona Z Car header, urethane bushings, Tokico springs, Illumina struts, Panasports, Maxima alternator
A:
Nominal tread width for a 9" wheel is 255mm. You're 50mm - or about 2 inches - too narrow. Not good.
-- Next Up: SCCA ITR 300ZX --
A:
Yea, they have no problems with flexing or risking coming off of the wheel...but it just looks kinda silly when you look at the side. There's a big gap between the wheel and the tire. Maybe I'll just look into some 245/45s, or maybe some 245/50s to keep the speedo a lil more accurate.
A:
You can get good information on height, width, rim size, how many revs to make a mile and so on. Look at the foot notes and you will know how much to + or - width for every 1/2" you off on the size they used for the specs...
I was thinking of stepping down to this grade of tire because the 235x45 17 come close to stock height...
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/assets/pdf/gforce_ta_kdw.pdf
77 280Z with SBC, 700R4, Vette C4 IRS W/11.5 rear disk, Centerlines 16x9.5 W/BF G 245x45ZR Comp T/A Rear and 15x7 Ft W/BF Goodrich Euro 225x15 on ft. Soon to have Coleman 12.2x1.25, x-drilled, zinc plated, Rotors W/Billet Outlaw 4000. Z U V8ter
A:
Talk about asking for rim damage. Here is one of the few situations the term 'rim' actually applies.
19[TT]91
My TT beauty is gone.
2[00]2 Honda 954RR
Suzuki 1200 S; sportscar eater
19[I4]94 Integra GSR Sedan
Long live the Z...
aka SAHTT
A:
Eh there's a little bit of curb rash on there on some, nothing major though.
A:
if all of your wheels are 16x9,do a 245/45-16 on the front and a 255/50-16 on the rear.
If all were equal, none would be strong.
Ballistic,Ruler of Interstates
Stage XX+ 1993 Z32 NA
"SoulTaker"
A:
Matt - did you see the update I made in your last tire request post? I found a couple of 245/50/16s
______________________________________________
'82 280zx -- 400+hp 355 sbc / T-56
'72 240zt - T3/T4 hybrid / TEC-II / not much stock
'82 280zxt - Stock...for now
'77 280z 2+2 -- Ongoing battle; currently in the process of "ricing
A:
Like Jeff said, if it's 9" outside to outside, it's most likely an 8" width. I'd go 245/45-16
A:
Ok sounds good, thanks for the help guys.
A:
Why would anyone put too narrow tires on a wide rim? I can understand too wide tires on a narrow rim because at least that gives more grip.
You should always try to get the best sidewall flex/grip combination in a tire. Why waste rim width?
I think that 245s would work fine on 8" rims. I'd probably use at least 255s on a 9" rim.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1976 Datsun 280Z 2+2:
-'81 L28ET with 1984 Z31 ECCS
-'81 Turbo snowflakes
-205/60/15 BFG G-Force Sports
-Tokico springs and HP shocks
Post Edited (Nov 15, 8:52pm)
A:
Well the p/o has these on there...the fronts were just fine and have TONS of treat but the rears are chewed up and have absolutely ZERO tread, there's barely any remnants of what the tread pattern even looked like on the back...one blew out cuz the metal was poking out from under the tire, and probably would have in another 100 miles or so on the other rear. They musta been lighting these tires up a lot.
A:
It also seems to be a popular look with the Japanese/Euro crowd for performance tires. They like to see the tires roll in towards the top, so they look like kart tires for some reason. Check out all these wacky cars.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://tanetane92.web.infoseek.co.jp/IMG_78092.jpg&imgrefurl=http://tanetane92.web.infoseek.co.jp/20040626ncs.html&h=318&w=480&sz=36&tbnid=1aBUWoIpDogJ:&tbnh=83&tbnw=126&hl=en&start=3&prev=/images%3Fq%3DJapanese%2Bcar%2Bshow%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D
'73 Turbo, not much stock. Sold now... :-(
A:
I think it's for a drifting setup. Sidewalls are stretched to the point that they're essentially rigid, should make it easier to initiate sliding.
BTW, if anybody's got a source for lightweight, 15x8 or 16x8 wheels with 5-114.3 lug holes, ~25 - 35mm offset, LEMME KNOW!
Need to get some track wheels/tires for the newly acquired '95 240SX.