Quick Tire Questions.

[SASHO91]

Im gonna switch over to 225-55-16's. are there any drawbacks? IIRC they are a little shorter, but wider though.
Ive have 2 yoko YK420(TEMP-A, TRAC.-AA, treadwear-420) and S306(TEMP-A, trac-A, tread wear, 300)
i was going to put the 306's in the back, and then the 420's in the front. the 420's have alittle more tread on them, and since the 306's have a lower T.W i think the back would be better. but then again, i am asking for help on this...
what do yall think? am I going to be pleased with the results?

 

[NJSHO]

no drawbacks.

 

[SASHO91]

the only thing is that i think my speedo will be off, and i wont have the top end that i had before..
is that right?

 

[fricker66]

The speedo isn't going to be off hardly enough to notice. I'd say it's safe to claim that the majority of us still running 16" wheels all run the 225/55 size tire on the slicers. You shouldn't see any problems with this tire size change.

 

[SableSal]

^^^ This is true. There should be a 3% difference in the stock tire diameter. Hardly anything you or your car will notice.

Good Luck!


Sal

 

[gsr20det]

This may sound strange, but don't put the worn out tires on the back. Having less treadwear on the rear will make them hydroplane much quicker than the fronts, and when the rear steps out it will not be catchable. I know what you are thinking, than if you put them in the front you'll loose the front end in a hydroplane situation and that would be worse - but not really. You will feel when the front starts to hydroplane, and the car will "push" or understeer. Let off the gas and you will be able to "catch" it.

When the rear hydroplanes, it will just swing around and you won't be able to catch it. I have a friend who runs a "Skid car" school and swears by this, and Car and Driver did a test a few years ago and found this to be true as well. I also just bought an SE-R off a friend who - contrary to what I had told him - had new tires put on the front of his car just in time for the last bout of heavy rain we had here in Los Angeles. He spun on the freeway and totalled the car. He told me the back end came around so fast that he didn't know what happened, he was just spinning in traffic and hit the wall tail first.

I understand that the fronts wear a lot quicker than the rears, and that's why you *MUST* rotate the tires every other oil change (6000-7500 miles) to keep the fronts and rears wearing evenly.

 

[shonole]

This may sound strange, but don't put the worn out tires on the back. Having less treadwear on the rear will make them hydroplane much quicker than the fronts, and when the rear steps out it will not be catchable. I know what you are thinking, than if you put them in the front you'll loose the front end in a hydroplane situation and that would be worse - but not really. You will feel when the front starts to hydroplane, and the car will "push" or understeer. Let off the gas and you will be able to "catch" it.

When the rear hydroplanes, it will just swing around and you won't be able to catch it. I have a friend who runs a "Skid car" school and swears by this, and Car and Driver did a test a few years ago and found this to be true as well. I also just bought an SE-R off a friend who - contrary to what I had told him - had new tires put on the front of his car just in time for the last bout of heavy rain we had here in Los Angeles. He spun on the freeway and totalled the car. He told me the back end came around so fast that he didn't know what happened, he was just spinning in traffic and hit the wall tail first.

I understand that the fronts wear a lot quicker than the rears, and that's why you *MUST* rotate the tires every other oil change (6000-7500 miles) to keep the fronts and rears wearing evenly.

I agree, what you said is true, the only thing I would add is, IF they rear end comes around on you, you would need to give the car a little gas, don't stomp it, but a steady increase, and steer into the skid, since our cars our front wheel drive. The logic on letting off the gas applies to rear wheel drive, as it helps to keep the rear end from swinging around faster

 

[gsr20det]

True, when a FWD car does step out give it a little more gas. From what I have heard when the rear comes out due to hydroplaning, it's nearly impossible to catch.

I race a FWD car, and have raced in the rain (on semi-slick race tires - Shaved Toyo RA1s). When the car just lost grip in the rear due to too much cornering, I could catch it. I went to make a pass offline on a straight, and ended up in a long puddle (more like an indention on the track that was full of runoff, maybe 1/8 inch deep), and spun uncontrollably. The tail just shot out and there was nothing I could do but take the ride into the weeds.

You are correct, *if* you feel the tail come out on a FWD car, a little more gas to keep the front in front of the rears and steer into the skid (counter-steer). Typically I drive my race car with the tail slightly out - sometimes on purpose, sometimes not