good all season tires?

beelay · Post by **beelay** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:38 pm

i did a quick search but couldn't look to extensive into this because I have to be up early for work tomorrow but I need new all season tires. I've been on the same tires since I got the car new in late 2002 and I'm up to 45000 miles. Needless to say they're bald. I heard some good things about some type of falken tire that I might get, but generally I would like to stay with the same size (185/60/15 I believe) as the stock tire as to not mess up the speedometer, which I've heard isn't all that accurate anyways. I do live in Rhode Island so i will be seeing some New England snow. I'm willing to spend quite a bit of money, so any good ideas for decent tires?

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:15 am

Everyone seems to praise to Falken ziex 512's as great wet/dry tires. but i dont know if theyre also good in snow/ freezing temps. Someone will surely chime in with a sure answer.

Nick Drake · Post by **Nick Drake** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:23 am

I've got the Falken Ziex's and they've been great so far, the guy at the place was telling me how good they were in snow too, that's why I bought them. So far I've yet to lose traction. Also, you can do 205's actually, that just means that the tires wider, and wider = more traction. It wouldn't mess up the speedometer.

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:31 am

I cant wait to get my zx in 205! man im stoked

Knoxville_R/T · Post by **Knoxville_R/T** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:11 pm

the 2 best IMO are the falken zeix 512's and the bfg traction t/a's.

The Falken Zeix 512's are a better warm/wet weather all season tire. While the BFG Traction T/A is a better at being a winter all season.

Pretty much if you want all season traction and still want to carve some corners then go with a Zeix 512. If you just want a high wear all season tire then go with the BFG Traction T/A's.

Even simpler terms:
Falken Zeix 512's:
Pros
1. dry/wet weather traction
2. stiff sidway for an allseason
3. Good wear at around a 360 tread wear rating

Cons
1. Not as good in the snow( no more then 3")

BFG Traction T/A's:
Pros
1. Great winter traction for an allseason tire(3"-6" snow)
2. Awesome treadwear rating.

Cons
1. Not as performance oriented as the 512
2. softer sidwall

I ran the 512's on the old R/T and loved them. As a matter of fact, I will most likely get a new set of them for the srt(all be it in 235 or 245).

moparknighthawk · Post by **moparknighthawk** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:46 pm

I am on my second set of BF Goodrich's and I love them. The last set lasted me 63,000 miles. I have the BF Goodrich Traction TA VR4's in 205/55/15. I love the look and the traction and ride is awesome! They are a good price too. Just remember to rotate them regularly and you'll get 60K out of them easy.

Wisher2 · Post by **Wisher2** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 1:25 pm

I have the BFG g-force sports and they are awesome but I also live Cali so I am not looking at any harsh winter any time soon

beelay · Post by **beelay** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:15 pm

all good information. Thanks guys.

I don't know the stock wheel size or where to get it from the car (I looked in the manual and couldn't find it and the sticker that it refers to is gone off of my driver side door). Obviously I know that it's 15 inches in diameter but I don't know the width (maybe 7.5 inches?) Does anyone know the stock wheel size for 2003 sxt? Also, how wide of a tire can I go with the stock wheel? I already did some calculations and found that to stay close to the 603 mm total diameter (wheel and tire), some close tire sizes would be the 205/55/15 at 606.5 mm, 195/55/15 at 595.5 mm, 195/60/15 at 615 mm, and 215/50/15 is 596 mm.

I do know that a wider tire does effect acceleration, but how much does this really effect it?

One last thing, I do go snowboarding up in vermont/new hampshire/ maine, so I would be in some decent snow but not to the extent that i'm in a blizzard. If the weather is that bad i'll usually go up with my friend that has an f-150.

Thanks again for the help

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:23 pm

the stock wheels are like 6-6.5" max, and i think someone said that a 215 can be fitted, but there was a catch. Id say go as wide as safely possible; 205-55-15 seems to be perfect for stock wheels. Not too much, but not skinny doughnuts like stock either. The Falkens seem to fit the bill for u too, just make sure u stay out of thick snow, as others said. I also dont live in snow climate, so those are 100% the tires for me!

beelay · Post by **beelay** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:32 pm

the stock tire is 185 mm wide, which equals 7.28 inches wide. I can't see how stock wheels are only 6-6.5 inches wide if the tire is larger, but then again I don't know much about wheel fitment.

Some other converstions are 195 mm = 7.68 in, 205 mm = 8.07 in, and 215 = 8.46 in

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:35 pm

tires are almost always wider than the wheels they are mounted on. It didnt make sense to me either when everyone said that a 205 could fit in place of my 185's without any issues. I have no clue how it works, but it does!

beelay · Post by **beelay** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 3:46 pm

just to make sure i'm not an idiot..

tire sizes are as follows?: 185/60/15 refers to max width of tire in millimeters/height of tire as a percent of its width in millimeters/diameter of the wheel in inches

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:21 pm

I believe 185/60 would give u the sidewall height in inches, or something like that. very wierd how aspect ratios work.

Knoxville_R/T · Post by **Knoxville_R/T** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:22 pm

all neon wheels are 6" wide

I would go no larger then a 205/50/15. Yes a 215 will fit, but I would not trust it. The sidewalls would have to stretch too much, risking a blowout. You can run a 205/50/15 or a 205/55/15.

pretty much the difference is whether or not you want as much wheel gap.

Wisher2 · Post by **Wisher2** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:19 pm

My R/T wheels are 6.5" but the 15's are 6"

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:36 pm

so we have : se/sxt= 6" rt/acr= 6.5" srt=7"

which would maintain the closest to stock overall height? 205/50 or 205/55? someone care to do the math for me? im lazy haha

Nick Drake · Post by **Nick Drake** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:53 pm

orangeblastsxt wrote:so we have : se/sxt= 6" rt/acr= 6.5" srt=7"

which would maintain the closest to stock overall height? 205/50 or 205/55? someone care to do the math for me? im lazy haha

I just bought my tires recently and could've sworn the stock size was 185/60R/15. If that's what you meant.

Post by **racer12306** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:54 pm

the 185 is the section width
the 60 is the percentage of the width that is the sidewall height.

to figure tire height: (185/25.4)*.6*2+15 = 23.74"

i currently have yokohama avid trz's in the stock 185/60/15 size. i put them on in the middle of december so i got to use them in the snow. i currently have ~17000 miles on them with barely any noticable wear, ~1/32 i believe. they grip really good in the wet, dry and snow. the best part about them is that they were $53/ea from tire rack. so i got a brand new set of tires for ~$310 shipped, mounted and balenced.

i got to test them in snow in february (i think maybe january) when about a foot and a half of snow fell. they plowed the roads but left a thick coat of snow on the roads when they were done that was pretty slick. i went out to meet jerry to give him my sub box. if i put a lot of gas to it it would spin, but what tires wouldnt. if i drove normal there was no spinning, even up a small hill.

overall great tires.

stock size is 185/60/15 but 205/55/15 can be used as they are nearly the exact same height.

edit: forgot to mention the wet traction. last nite it rained really hard here. these tires gripped through some really deep water.

cnfx-wicked · Post by **cnfx-wicked** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 7:35 pm

I run a cooper cobra 195/60 R15 with no probs....I have almost 30,000 on them now and they're still over 1/2 tread

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:06 pm

Nick Drake wrote:
orangeblastsxt wrote:so we have : se/sxt= 6" rt/acr= 6.5" srt=7"

which would maintain the closest to stock overall height? 205/50 or 205/55? someone care to do the math for me? im lazy haha
I just bought my tires recently and could've sworn the stock size was 185/60R/15. If that's what you meant.

i never said that wasnt the stock size im confused by what u mean..

I noted the widths of said tires, then below asked a question about tires for when i get around to upgrading.

03blackrt · Post by **03blackrt** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:15 pm

Tire sizing info from tirerack.com...........

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/ ... ?techid=46

And a could'a sworn that all neon wheels (including srt) are 6" wide.

edit:

yup.... I check the repair manual and it says all neon wheels (including SRT) are 6" wide. The SRT ACR has 7" wide wheels.

beelay · Post by **beelay** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:05 pm

alright now i'm getting confused. ob, 205/55/15 is closer to stock height because the total diameter (using the converstion of 1mm=0.0393700787in, [(205mm*0.55*2)+(15in/0.0393700787)]) ...comes out to be 606.5mm,which is also equal to 23.88in. doing the same thing for stock 185/60/15 gives a total diameter of 603mm, which is also equal to 23.74in.

doing the same thing for 215/40/17 gives 603.8mm, which is equal to 23.77in. This is most likely the size wheel and tire i will get down the road when i can afford another set of wheels, but that is besides the point.

Now, besides the type of tire (because I still don't know which I want), the only question I have is how much the increased tire width affects acceleration. Anyone notice a considerable difference? The wider the tire the more contact to the road surface, which increases friction, decreasing acceleration and causeing more drag while increasing handling.

If I am wrong with any of this, someone correct me

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:11 pm

yes, what u said above is pretty much the way i figure things as well, but im lazier so i dont do math unless i have to haha.

as far as wide tire characteristics, using common sense and some knowledge gained from reading up on the subject, it seems to me that a wider tire would only noticable effect accelleration if it were heavier than the one it was replacing. same deal with wheels of course. a super wide tire would surely create a bit more friction, but a 185 to a 205 would be hard to notice. just my 2 cents.

beelay · Post by **beelay** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 9:16 pm

i figured as much. i just remember reading back in the day about someone getting a wider tire and saying something about acceleration. thanks

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:02 pm

I know that a lot of people have said that they feel the diff when they install a heavier wheel (for example a 17 from a 15). Unless the wheel is a top brand, expensive racing wheel, its usually all show and weighs a ton (NOT my kind of wheel at all). Then again, those people dont care about performance very much, so it balances out and the perf guys buy the light wheels that areant always huge, while the others go for the bling. I dont know why im ranting about wheels haha sorry..

anyways, wider=better IMO!

beelay · Post by **beelay** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:25 pm

well i'm almost positive i'm gettihg 205/55/15 size tires, i just don't know what type yet but i'll post how it went and take a picture. thanks for clearing everything up

OB · Post by OB » Mon Jun 26, 2006 11:33 pm

same here bro, im doin the Falken 512s in that exact size. good luck finding the right tires! theres a lot to choose from.

TomZ · Post by **TomZ** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 4:01 pm

I'm using 512's in 205/50/15 on 7.5" rims (off a mid-eighties Feiro GT). Great tires. Go to the Discount Tire website, really good prices. Periodically they have free shipping. IIRC, my set of 4 was under $200. I use Goodyear GP-Hs (Sam's Club exclusive model) A/S on 14" steelies for the winter.

INVUJerry · Post by **INVUJerry** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 9:52 pm

I got the falken 205/50/15 mounted on my set of crab rims (off a mid 80's daytona). They are sweet, I went with them vs 55 series because they were cheaper, and slightly shorter, which will be better for accelleration. When winter comes I'm gonna get a set of blizzaks and mount them onto my stock 7-spokers.

BTW: anything is better than the stock goodyear's.

Knoxville_R/T · Post by **Knoxville_R/T** » Thu Jun 29, 2006 10:39 pm

Just go with a 205/50/15 and call it a day.

I would suggest the Traction T/A's unless you have snow tires, and then I would go with the falken zeix 512's.