17 inch wheels but which tyres sizes for front and rear ???

[Grey Ghost]

Gents,

I am off to collect my first TVR next week and decided I wanted to be in the Chimaera section where a medallion is not compulsory So a 1998 450 it is then

Anyway I digress...I am going to put some new tyres on it as soon as I have it home so here is the question.

The car has a set of 17" Estorils on it currently shod with 215/40/17 on the front and 235/40/17 on the rear. The rears have about 5mm of tread left and I was considering getting two new tyres in the 235/40/17 size and putting these on the rear of the car and moving the current rear wheels and tyres to the front, that way having all 4 wheels shod with the same size of rubber. That was until I noticed the slightly different sizes and thought that the slightly wider rubber on the front might rub.

So is this plan going to work if I get two new tyres in 235/40/17 size or should I replace all 4, if so what are the recommended sizes for front and rear.

If it is of any consequence the car is running on Spax yellow springs and looks slightly lower than other 450's and 500's I looked at.

Over to the wealth of knowledge that is PH then

[Grey Ghost]

JR said:

Welcome to the world of sports cars where you cannot even out the wear in the way in which you described. The rears are not only wider but taller and (as you suspected) will rub. If you're looking to spread the cost just buy a couple for the front and Flaken 452s seem to be flavour of the month - £78 each, fitted at Blackcircles inc. PH discount. Happy motoring.

The good news for me is that the cost of 4 new tyres (the regarded Falken 452's) are much cheaper than putting 2 on the Cayman 'S' I used to own

Looks like I'll get Event tyres to pop round with 4 new 452's in the current split sizes and go with them.

[Grey Ghost]

Del 203 said:

Grey Ghost said:

The car has a set of 17" Estorils

Look more like Ford RS Soft Spokes to me



Bloody Chimp owners

Don't blame me I'm new here, Pincher told me they were Estorils

They are certainly 17" in size. However, I don't like the current finish on them so they are being booked into Lepsons in a few weeks to be refinished in standard flat silver.

Do you boys usually carry on with the Chimaera v Griffith banter ?

[Grey Ghost]

Garlick said:

Serious Q.

What's with the wheel size upgrade? Does it offer a handling improvement or is it purely cosmetic?

As I say, I'm being serious as I always thought bigger wheels ruined the ride/ handling on smaller cars?

No idea to be honest. It is a private sale I am buying and the wheels are on the car already. The suspension feels a little firmer than others I have tried but not seriously so, in fact it is softer than my prevous Cayman S with the sport chrono setting on. The car has some Spax yellow springs fitted to it which is probably where the firmness comes from but the car handles well and I just want to make sure I get the right sized tyres fitted to it before I begin to learn how it handles.

[Grey Ghost]

Del 203 said:

Grey Ghost said:

Del 203 said:

Grey Ghost said:

The car has a set of 17" Estorils

Look more like Ford RS Soft Spokes to me



Bloody Chimp owners

Don't blame me I'm new here, Pincher told me they were Estorils

They are certainly 17" in size. However, I don't like the current finish on them so they are being booked into Lepsons in a few weeks to be refinished in standard flat silver.

Do you boys usually carry on with the Chimaera v Griffith banter ?

You listened to Chris ??

They will be RS a few people have used them to keep the Griff wheel look & go 17"


& You bought the wrong car


p.s. I hope you didn't take any notice of that check list Chris gave you

He said it was from a Griff owner so I had it biologically tested and then destroyed

pincher said:

Yex - can you remember if the centre-cap is round or oval? I thought the round one was diamond cut?

Cap is round with an allen key (I think) to release it.

[Grey Ghost]

Del 203 said:

Garlick said:

It's so liberating to only have to please oneself

+1 and he's in charge.........apparently

[Grey Ghost]

JR said:

Upgrade is a dubious choice of word, esp if they are 7" rims and you're fitting 235s onto them.

On the plus side 17" do allow very large discs and IIRC the fitment of 888s.

JR, could you expand on this. I'm new to TVR's and am looking for any input before I put new rubber on the car. The 235's are on the rears only, the fronts have 215's fitted.

Cheers

[Grey Ghost]

Egbert Nobacon said:

Blimey Yex - a TVR eh - that's a turnaround and to think up till recently you thought that Chimaera was an STD

Bring it round asap !

LOL, I'll pop round in 3 or 4 weeks when the work I want done on it has been completed.

[Grey Ghost]

Jonathan, Del many thanks for the info so far.

I'll wait until I get the car home here next week and then get the rim sizes off of the wheels themselves. Once I have these I'll post back and get an opinion on the right tyre sizes to fit front and rear. Hopefully they are slightly larger at the back and I can get 235/245 on them and 205/215 on the front. If I am lucky and they are the right width for front and rear they will be sent off to be refinished as per Swanny's set

Failing that it's off to a wheel shop with recommended sizes and offsets from you guys and a wallet bashing session shall ensue

Please keep the feedback coming as it is all useful.