strange tire sizes

[Madlife]

I just bought an 92 with not so great tires so I am planning on looking into new wheels, but I noticed the sizes were strange.

205/45/16 up front and 215/55/16 in the back.

I know when you go wide you sometimes go for a lower profile, but these are slightly wider and higher profile. The car drives okay, and seems to have balanced understeer/oversteer. The tires did grease up quickly though at an AutoX. But for all i know its hurting the handling capabilities of an MR2.. Its also my first RWD car.

I was looking at doing 16s for cost reason {maybe 17s}, but wanted to run 225 up front and 245 in the rear. what rim width and offset would I need to run that without rubbing {I can get rid of the lip in the back if i need to.

[RePete]

Originally Posted by Madlife

...what rim width and offset would I need to run that without rubbing {I can get rid of the lip in the back if i need to.

7" wide up front and 8" in the rear w/ +35 would be safe for auto-x and look decent with 225/45-16 and 245/45-16. If you want a more flush look you can proportionally drop the offset on both front and rear to as low as +23 in those widths.

[Madlife]

Originally Posted by RePete

7" wide up front and 8" in the rear w/ +35 would be safe for auto-x and look decent with 225/45-16 and 245/45-16. If you want a more flush look you can proportionally drop the offset on both front and rear to as low as +23 in those widths.

Thanks,

now I just need to find 16x8 in wheels... that may be a bit tricky to do

[Raptor13x]

Careful though- 225 up front is about the absolute limit, and it may rub on the strut if you don't have just the right offset.

[Madlife]

Originally Posted by Raptor13x

Careful though- 225 up front is about the absolute limit, and it may rub on the strut if you don't have just the right offset.

Really? in that case, ill probably just stick with 215. I want at least 215 / 235 setup... Its seems to be hard to find wheels in 16x8, so I may end up going with 16x7 front and 7.5 in the rear anyways. or suck it up and go 17s

[Raptor13x]

You can also go 16x8.5 in the back

[Madlife]

Im having troubles finding a decent wheel in 16x8+ thats wont break the bank or isnt too heavy..
I may look into doing 16x7.5 in the front and 17x8 or 8.5 in the back
and sticking with a 215/45/16 up front and 235/40/17 in the rear.

[RePete]

Another thing you can try is looking for a used set of Kosei K1s, they usually come in 16x7.5" and 16x8.5", perfect for 215/45 and 245/45. There's always someone selling these wheels, they are relatively cheap, strong and lightweight - among the lightest of the cast wheels (made in Japan too!). I think even Raptor13x had a set for sale at one point, maybe still does. They don't appear to be the style you want but they are nice looking regardless.

[Raptor13x]

^ Yep. Great wheels- inexpensive, lightweight, and very attractive. I loved them on my mkii. I just sold mine last weekend.

[Madlife]

Thanks,, I really like 5 spoke wheels like these


But those 6 spokes are a lot like what I have, the right size, light weight, and inexpensive is key.... Im on my first mr2, and I love her, but I have a hard time spending $2k on wheels and tires on a car I bought for $3k

[EL PAALO]

Voxx MGR and MAS President are a couple names for that wheel. Very inexpensive if they're still making them .......... possibly under a different name.

[RePete]

I owned the Voxx MGR for a while, good looking wheel but on the soft side - they bend easily. And if you're looking for lightweight then I would avoid the cast 5 spoke mono-block wheel style entirely, they are very heavy. The thin 6 or 7 spokers are key to a lightweight (read: cheap) wheel.

[albertgunit101]

Originally Posted by Raptor13x

Careful though- 225 up front is about the absolute limit, and it may rub on the strut if you don't have just the right offset.

just curious do you think if i put 225 in the front with 17x8 offset is 35 and 17x9 offset of 35 with 245 tires will this rub on anything considering im lowered of 1.5(sportlines) lets include the fender rolling thank you very much

[RePete]

So you're talking 225/35 and 245/40? Sportlines are very low (and a bit soft) springs, but you should be able to just get away with it on stock (with very occasional rubs on high speed dips), no probs w/ rolled fenders.

[Raptor13x]

Originally Posted by albertgunit101

just curious do you think if i put 225 in the front with 17x8 offset is 35 and 17x9 offset of 35 with 245 tires will this rub on anything considering im lowered of 1.5(sportlines) lets include the fender rolling thank you very much

It might fit, but it'll be close.

[albertgunit101]

Originally Posted by Raptor13x

It might fit, but it'll be close.

Originally Posted by RePete

So you're talking 225/35 and 245/40? Sportlines are very low (and a bit soft) springs, but you should be able to just get away with it on stock (with very occasional rubs on high speed dips), no probs w/ rolled fenders.

thanks. so i have to put 225/35 in the front huh. that will be a hard to find tire. lol its just i drive crazy on turns and i read that i will understeer or oversteer if i have very wide tires in the back and not so much in the front that is why im keeping it close to the OEM spec distance of tires. i think you guys mention it here somewhere that its 30mm on tires or something.

i really wanna put 255/40 in the back. and if i do that i am going to make sure to keep the 30mm difference so 225/35 its going to be. i like the handling of my car right now considering i have 17x7 infront and 17x8 in the back 205/40 front and 235/40 rear. but i wanna go wider in the back in the future. im looking at some enkei rfp01. staggered

[RePete]

You can always do what I did, go down to 16s in the front for more tire width, 225/40(45) and 265s out back on 17x9s. The trick is finding wheels that have staggered sizes and the RPF1, though not the prettiest wheel out there, has them in excellent sizes/offsets. (16x8 +38, 17x9 +35 for 245 or +45 for 255/265).

[albertgunit101]

but if i do 16 in the front and 17 in the back am i going to understeer/oversteer on fast curves? the only reason im trying to keep it on a good OEM staggered is coz i dont like slowing down on curves that is one of the reasons why i love my mr2. lol if this set up will have the same great handling as the orginal staggered (like 15x6 front 15x7 rear, or just like 17x7 front and 17x8 rear etc.....) i will do this set up if the handling will be for the better.

im always around pass 40mph on a 90 degree turn its fun as heck. lol

[RePete]

Originally Posted by albertgunit101

but if i do 16 in the front and 17 in the back am i going to understeer/oversteer on fast curves?...

It's not so much about the wheel size but what sort of tire aspect ratio and width one has mounted. A 225/40(45) is going to give you more grip than a 215/40 if all things are equal (more grip = more fun), especially if the 225 is a 16 because it will probably have less unsprung weight. That means your suspension can react faster to the road, 'tossability' is increased and your braking will be more responsive. Why do so many auto-xers switch to 15s or 16s when they hit the track?

I've found one of the best handling setups in an SW20 is a 225/245 front/rear combo, many others do as well - I'm not alone with that thinking. And it's easier to get that combo in a 16 all-around or more specifically, a 16/17 setup. I've got 265s out back only because the SW20 doesn't get out of balance with the extra 20mil - and it looks awesome too.

[albertgunit101]

great. thank you very much for the info.i will start looking for more rims and will do the 16 in the front and 17 in the back thanks.
by the way what rims do you have and what brand of tires are you running?