Tyre Sizes Pros And Cons

[Ultrasonic IS F]

Hi all, been a while since I've been on here and looks like many of you are doing some great (and not so expensive) mods to the excellent IS F! I did an advanced drive course at Calder park a few back and was really impressed by the way the car handled. There was an imported, right hand converted Shelby Cobra in the group of cars and while he probably had me for outright straightline speed, in all other respects (braking, cornering, slalom etc) the F was well in front. It was great to have the chance to see what the F can actually do when pushed.

Now on to my question. I have read how many of you have gone for bigger tyre sizes and I was hoping for some more feedback on that now that you have had them on for some time. The combination of 245/35/19 F and 275/3019 R seems popular. So....

1.

[Ultrasonic IS F]

Sorry, I suffered from premature posting there.....My questions:

1. Assume there is no rubbing at all with this tyre size on the OEM MY11 rims?

2. No impact on speedo reading?

3. Does the car get bogged down a bit more trying to get going with the wider rubber?

4. Is there noticeably higher levels of grip in dry and wet conditions?

5. Are they noticeably noisier? (Considering moving from the RE050s to Pilot Super Sport)

6. Anything else worth noting? Assume they would wear no different to the OEM tryes?

Thanks all.

[Epicurean]

Hi Ultra

Most people involved in motor sport will tell you tyre size is very important.

And size doesn't count, matching the rim does, as well as geometry etc.

I went for bigger tyres because they look better.

I suspect the handling is not as good, less grip in the wet, on and on.

But I don't race the car.

If I was racing I would make different choices.

The bottom line is that you can rarely use the potential of the IS-F on the public road, that is and not kill yourself or someone else.

Yes cynical I know.

Any other thoughts????

[malibu]

The tyre combination you quoted does match the ISF rim size so no worries here.

I have had my Michelins on for a few months now and the car is without a doubt better handling and quicker around a track than with the previous bridgestone 225/255 set-up.

Absolutely no rubbing, no increase in noise, no change to steering feel. Speedo negligible change, undereads fractionally as it did previously. Grip is far better in the dry, honestly in the wet the Michelins are supposed to be superior to the Bridgestones but I have not felt this, car feels the same in the wet as before.

Am hoping Michelins will wear better than OEM's but remains to be seen.

I highly recommend the 245/275 set-up and I would never go back to the 225/255 OEM size.

[marth06]

The tyre combination you quoted does match the ISF rim size so no worries here.

I have had my Michelins on for a few months now and the car is without a doubt better handling and quicker around a track than with the previous bridgestone 225/255 set-up.

Absolutely no rubbing, no increase in noise, no change to steering feel. Speedo negligible change, undereads fractionally as it did previously. Grip is far better in the dry, honestly in the wet the Michelins are supposed to be superior to the Bridgestones but I have not felt this, car feels the same in the wet as before.

Am hoping Michelins will wear better than OEM's but remains to be seen.

I highly recommend the 245/275 set-up and I would never go back to the 225/255 OEM size.

Yep same here. I have Falken 452's 245/275 and have no issues

[Ezo]

I just put a set of Falken 452s on in stock size about a week ago (went through a set in 4 months )... I wish I saw this before hand!

How many kms do people tend to get out of their tyres?

[marth06]

I just put a set of Falken 452s on in stock size about a week ago (went through a set in 4 months )... I wish I saw this before hand!

How many kms do people tend to get out of their tyres?

I got about 40,000km out of Yokohama Advans. Should get 50,000km+ out of the Falken cos there a harder compound (and I drive the car pretty hard) I think their a decent tyre for what they cost $$

[Ezo]

I like the way they handle which is why I got them again (and the price). Do you find them a bit noisy?

[marth06]

I like the way they handle which is why I got them again (and the price). Do you find them a bit noisy?

I didn't notice a difference in noise between the yoko's and the falkens, and the falkens are half the price. Yep agree they handle quite well and they also have decent grip in dry and wet. Good all round tyre for the price.

Had them on my F6 too before the ISF.

[Ezo]

OK sweet thanks for the info. I had a FG XR6T prior to my IS F so there you go.

[Blacky]

The F got some new tyres yesterday, ended up with Michelin PSS OEM sizes front and rear so 225 and 255. The ADVANs run a wider offset so thought I would just stick with the original size.

Also ended up buying local as there was only just over $300.00 between grey import and Australian supplied.

Thanks to Chris and Evans at Tyrepower North Melbourne.

Early days but man the PSS seem to ride a lot better and grip a lot better than the Yokis :-)

[RecursiveLoop]

Keen to know if the Michelins help with the understeer, the stock 225s at the front are not really adequate for track work.

[Blacky]

I think if you are looking for something to cut understeer at the track you should look for a dedicated balance F/R track wheel tyre set.

IMHO you are always going to get understeer with such a difference with grip front and rear.

Others in the US are running 285 F/R I think, this I am sure will fix what you would call understeer with the 225 / 255 combo.

[RecursiveLoop]

I was due for a tyre change last Saturday, but my tyre guy mixed up the sizes and I'm stuck with driving worn tyres for the next 2 weeks until I get time to see him again. I'm getting 245/35/19s in the front and 275/30/19s in the rear.

How bad is it? 0-100km/h in 5.8s in damp conditions, just can't get the power down to the road without traction control cutting all the fun. That's 1.3s slower than the last time I tried it when the tyres were still good.

[Brisman]

What brand did you go for?

You'll definitely lose a lot of time if you have traction issues, wet and worn tyres will do that.

How are you measuring the time?

It will be interesting to do this when dry with the new rubber.