Tyres again

[SILICONE KID]

I want to down size the front wheels from 17 to 16"and fit 225/45/16 but can only get the pro race 1.2 with 7j rim.They are only 175 quid delivered for the pair(new).I can not find a tyre in a 215 to come close to the original set up(205/55/15),would i be pushing it with a 7j rim..Falken do not make a 215/45/16 but i wanted to have a taller wall height.

Edited by SILICONE KID on Monday 13th December 17:41

[grum101]

try nexen 2000s on front and nexen 3000 on rear very good tyres and cheapest around

[JR]

SILICONE KID said:

I want to down size the front wheels from 17" to 16" and fit 225/45/16 but can only get the pro race 1.2 with 7j rim. They are only 175 quid delivered for the pair(new).

That's because that's what TD make: http://www.teamdynamicsracing.com/pro-race/Pro-rac...

SILICONE KID said:

I cannot find a tyre in a 215 to come close to the original set up 205/55/15. Would I be pushing it with a 7j rim? Falken do not make a 215/45/16 but I wanted to have a taller wall height.

Toyo are happy to fit a 225/45/16 http://www.toyo.co.uk/productdetail.php?identity=p...

[SILICONE KID]

Thanks for that ,just checked the Falken website and 7j rim on a 225 is ok.Any one interested in two front 17" pro race 1.2 wheels and tyres like new..
will i need steering rack spacers (stopper) on a ET 25.



225/45ZR16
300-AA-A
89Y
28195602
7.5
(7.0 - 8.5)
24
8.9
870
8.1
10/32
23
51
1279

Edited by SILICONE KID on Tuesday 14th December 11:08

Edited by SILICONE KID on Tuesday 14th December 11:12

[BeastMaster]

Darren

Can you tell me why you are not happy with the 17inch up front. Am looking to change my wheel sizes in order to get more tyre choice, but do not want to upset the nice balance I have on the original set up - thanks Andy

[SILICONE KID]

My car as had a full geo set up but still as bump steer,its not to bad but i beleive with extra wall height it will help.I currently have
front 215/40/17
rear 245/40/17

only problem is if i change to 225/45/16 the front tyre wall height will be slightly larger than the rears and may look odd with the rear tyres..The different in height needs to be about 1" but its only going to be about 3/4".
My new setup would be
rear 245/40/17
front 225/45/16..
Does any one have this combination.
http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-...

Edited by SILICONE KID on Tuesday 14th December 16:37

[JR]

SILICONE KID said:

The different in height needs to be about 1" but its only going to be about 3/4".

TVR originally designed this chassis with 215/55/15 on the front IIRC, that would give a 1/2" difference in rolling dia. I don't think that you've got a problem there. As for the appearance that's a beauty is in the eye of the beholder type thing. You could fit a 205/45/16 onto the front but would that 1 1/2" diff in RD blow your mind?

[SILICONE KID]

But that would lower the wall height..the front tyre would be about 2.5 mm higher than than the rears (wall height)with the 225/45/16 set up.

[spend]

SILICONE KID said:

My car as had a full geo set up

..wouldn't be the first one to be set up completely wrong

[SILICONE KID]

Are you saying with a good geo set up there should be no difference between a 15" and 17" tyre..

[spend]

The only thing I can see you complaining of is bump steer. Assuming your geo is correct seems a rather large leap of faith IMHO. Even if it was set suitably you may have changed wheels, banged the wheels to affect the BJ's.... since that time.

I'd even hazard a guess that your car is at a ride height where the track rods and wishbones are far from horizontal in the neutral position.

[JR]

SILICONE KID said:

But that would lower the wall height..the front tyre would be about 2.5 mm higher than than the rears (wall height)with the 225/45/16 set up.

Well some cars had 225/50 f&r so that's the same height. What of it? It's merely one component in the suspension for which I know you will compensate and set up suitably.

[JR]

SILICONE KID said:

My car as had a full geo set up but still as bump steer,its not to bad but i beleive with extra wall height it will help.I currently have
front 215/40/17
rear 245/40/17

How wide are your rear rims? Can you not fit 225/40s on - this may lay to rest your tyre sidewall height fears.

[JR]

SILICONE KID said:

Are you saying with a good geo set up there should be no difference between a 15" and 17" tyre..

Wow! Where did that come from?

[SILICONE KID]

The set up i have is

245/40/17 8J rim wall height 9.8cm. diameter 62.78

215/40/17 7j rim wall height 8.60 diameter 60.38

Proposed front set up 225/45/16 wall height 10.13 diameter 60.89

This means the front wall height would be about 3mm higher than the rears and the diameter about 5mm higher than the fronts..but closer to the standard set up 205/55/15

I would gain a larger wall height which could help the bump steer but i wonder if i would notice the 3mm difference in wall height between the front and rears..Ity may look a bit club footed ..

[JR]

SILICONE KID said:

I wonder if I would notice the 3mm difference in wall height between the front and rears ...

No chance.

[SILICONE KID]

so they will look about the same..will i get any problems with this size..catching the arches and ball joints etc

Edited by SILICONE KID on Wednesday 15th December 19:29

[Ant.]

spend said:

I'd even hazard a guess that your car is at a ride height where the track rods and wishbones are far from horizontal in the neutral position.

Is this a good starting point Dave?

[JR]

Ant. said:

spend said:

I'd even hazard a guess that your car is at a ride height where the track rods and wishbones are far from horizontal in the neutral position.

Is this a good starting point Dave?

Good finishing point as well.

[Chris71]

BeastMaster said:

Can you tell me why you are not happy with the 17inch up front. Am looking to change my wheel sizes in order to get more tyre choice, but do not want to upset the nice balance I have on the original set up - thanks Andy

FWIW mine had 18s all round when I first got it and it was a bit of a handful. Very heavy steering and issues with fouling the inner wheel arches etc. It also seemed to introduce something rather like scuttle shake through the steering column. When I put it back to the 15s it immediately felt tighter and lightened up the (unassisted) steering to a vaguely manageable level. Even compared to the less-than-delicate Estorils on there now the 18s weighed a ton too.

That setup may have been rather crude. I don't doubt you can make them handle on larger wheels, but you do need to be quite careful what you go for.

On a different note, if you're having problems with wheel sizes, try phoning up Rimstock (that makes the Team Dynamics and Silverstone Performance) and double checking they can't do the ones you're after. Before I wimped out and reverted to the standard wheels I came up with my own wheel spec that I hadn't seen advertised, but I found out they were about to run a batch, so it might be worth enquiring.