i just "upgraded" to thinwall tires.. honestly. i dont like it. sure its MARGINALLY more responsive, but its it gives VERY quickly and not predictable. even though ive got signifigantly more traction with the new rims and tires, its harder to drive as fast.. small bumps in the road can upset the tire into skidding a bit. the instability over small bumps is what i hate the most.

on a smooth road.. ill take the thinner stiffer sidewalls anyday. it definately works better, and its faster.. but in the real world with pot holes and bumps, i liked my older setup more..

.. sooooo! in conclusion, id go with a 16 inch setup, 205/50/16 front and 225/45/16 rear.. im on 205/45/16 front, and i think the extra 5 on the sidewall would make a difference and balance out stability while keeping stockish diameters.

you're only looking at an 8 inch wide rim, so you wont have problems finding tires. 17's DO have alot more tire options, but you have to go with a thinner sidewall profile to keep stockish diameters.

all imo.. im trying to burn off the tires i have now to step up a sidewall size. i wouldnt want 17+ rims at all!

 

You already changed tires? Did you originally go with 205/50 and 225/50 for the volks? Did you end up trying out those Hankooks?

 

went with 205/45 FK451 fronts and my odd brand 225/50 rears. i should have went with the hankooks. im still trying to burn the rears off to trim down to a 45 series.. the rear im not concerned about.. i just absolutely hate when my steering stops steering where im trying to make it go! maybe its the tires, but i doubt it.

 

Finally! A thread that talks about reasonable sidewall!

I went from

215/40-17
245/40-17

to

225/50-15
245/45-16

and it's a huge difference. There's more sidewall on my current setup and I can tell you I didn't notice any turn-in difference, especially with our quick steering ratios. Tires today with 50 aspect ratio and lower have stiff as hell sidewalls so don't sweat it. The car is way faster this way and feels more 'tossable'. There's more bite in the front end then with the lower pro tires because they're wider and the sidewall 'roll-over' I've heard others talk about just isn't there.

 

I want to ask this question for a long time. It sounds like 16s has better performance after all.

 

tire choices is the problem. 17" rears have much better selection.

 

I know it is harder to find tires in 16's but I am willing to fight a little on that side if I get a better set up. I have found some 245/56 16 that I would be happy with. Would I want a bigger tire than that with sub 300hp? I am just trying to find the best set up realizing that I will be driving during the week. I don't mind a little extra hunting to get the parts if I can get a good setup.

 

245/45 16 would be plenty I'd think?

 

yea my friend has 16 and its hard to find tires in the R compound class but i have 17's on my to i run 215/45 on the front and 255/40 on the back i've never had a problem just a little under steer but that mostly due to the crappy tires on the front that take a while to get to temp. i have goodyear eagle F1's on the back there a good tire dont hydroplane at all and they have plenty of grip..... goodluck on your decision cause at times i wish i had 16 cause of the harsh beating my rims take with the short sidewall.

 

So I am still trying to find out if there is going to be a performance differance. With tire sizes available, is there going to be a performance hit in autocross style driving?

 

Finally! A thread that talks about reasonable sidewall!

I went from

215/40-17
245/40-17

to

225/50-15
245/45-16

and it's a huge difference. There's more sidewall on my current setup and I can tell you I didn't notice any turn-in difference, especially with our quick steering ratios. Tires today with 50 aspect ratio and lower have stiff as hell sidewalls so don't sweat it. The car is way faster this way and feels more 'tossable'. There's more bite in the front end then with the lower pro tires because they're wider and the sidewall 'roll-over' I've heard others talk about just isn't there.

thats exactly what im talking about! im going with a taller wall next tire buy.. i really regret these 205/45's

 

thats exactly what im talking about! im going with a taller wall next tire buy.. i really regret these 205/45's

Hey, 205/45s aren't that bad. The 205/40s I had on my SC made bending rims as common as a full moon - one of the reasons I've been through so many sets of wheels & tires.

I think we're getting to a point where rim size and bling is overshadowing the great benefits of advanced tire technology. Sidewalls are so stiff these days - especially with advanced grade materials like silica - you don't need spray-painted rubber over wheels anymore to get great performance coupled, but you get a great ride too. But then, as Paalo mentioned above, tire selection in 16" is its Achilles heel and it's only getting worse.

 

im just saying.. i felt that i could push the car much harder and overall drive much faster on the 195/60 205/60 14's.. my new tires are many times stickier, but the feel and confidence just isnt there..

 

Its hard for me to compare between my new tires and my old 15's cause my old tires were absolute crap. I've got so much more grip with my 17s and yoko's than I did before. However I will agree theres less notice before the rear end starts to slide and I'd never even think about turning hard on a bumpy road.

But main difference is just the ride quality. After I got my 17's on the car was much much less soft. Its certainly a tradeoff between looks and ride comfort. But they do look so good

 

sorry but i don't quite get it yet. what will be the difference in handling between sidewalls except for looks.?? can anybody help explain it a little bit better.

i'm also debating whether to get either 205/45 and 225/45 or 245/45 in 16s. will the big difference between the 205 and 245 helped handling or hurt it?

 

Lower profile tires allow you to fit more width of tire under your fenders as the actual rim size increases but the overall circumference of the wheel/tire stays more or less the same. For the most part more tire width = better grip and improved handling. Less sidewall = crisper response but rougher ride.

I'm just saying you don't have to go to extremely low-pros (like 40 or 35 series) to reap the rewards of a better handling car.

To address your second question: Many dudes with MKIIs have 205s front and 245s rear and they comment that the car handles well. I would think there would be a bit more understeer then say 215 front & 235 rear. 205s front and 225s rear is more in line with the proportions that the car shipped with from TOYOTA, 2 tire size differences between front & rear works well on the MKII. It's always best to follow the factory proportions unless you plan on more involved suspension tuning and know what you're doing.

Clear as mud?

 

One give-up is lower profile tires are fussier about camber change. Rubber band tires just won't tolerate a lot of body roll.

 

I think u should look at the brand of tire. I just changed from 205/40 17 all the way around. I think they were toyos not 100%. but I changed to 215/40 up front and 235/40 in back on 17. Nitto NT450. I love them. and the rides not to bad.
The old tires side wall rolled alot more then the new ones. wich should be back words.
I like my 17s but from what I hear ur not going to get much going to a 17 from 16. I thinck the 17s look better.

 

I definately agree as far as looks. 17s look alot better, I think the 16s will be more comfortable. It also seems like people are saying the 16 will give better feedback at or near the limit. I am still trying to learn this.

 

Why not 16" in front and 17" in the back?

 

I'm running 205/45/16 and 225/45/16

This buying guide I made is about 6 months old now but should still be helpful in locating size 16 tires in width:
205, 225, 245



http://www.boomspeed.com/wallcrawlr/tire_comparison.txt

 

I don't want to run 17's is there any place you can find a decent set of light weight 16's ??? Any brands anyone know of if not I'll just get some gram lights. It's just a pain finding 16's in a staggered setup.

 

I'd be shooting for some enkei rpf1 in 16x7 +35 and 16x8 +32