Widest tire possible for stock SXT 7 spoke rims?

yellowpatrol · Post by **yellowpatrol** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:29 am

I was thinking instead of getting all new rims, since I don't want to lose the sleeper look that I would just get wider tires for the rims. What's the widest one can go?

TN.Frank · Post by **TN.Frank** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:34 am

I decieded to stick with my stock 15x6" rims for two reasons. Smaller rims are generally lighter and I won't have to spend more money on new rims. With a 6" rim you can go 215/50's but it's pushing it to the limit, 205/50's are a better fit and that's what I'll probably end up running.

INVUJerry · Post by **INVUJerry** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:35 am

Well, some of the tires on tirerack.com spec 6" rims for 225/50/15. But I think that the tires will bubble out a whole lot, and to get the most tire patch to the ground, you're going to have to mess with tire pressure a lot.

yellowpatrol · Post by **yellowpatrol** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:43 am

invujerry wrote:Well, some of the tires on tirerack.com spec 6" rims for 225/50/15. But I think that the tires will bubble out a whole lot, and to get the most tire patch to the ground, you're going to have to mess with tire pressure a lot.

Well if I'm doing the math right, even a 205mm tire will be a huge improvement, right? 205/25.4=8.07" vs 6"

Do you think that would be wide enough to get some traction after I get my new motor in? Or if not, how wide do I need to go?

INVUJerry · Post by **INVUJerry** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 11:58 am

Well, what type of tire are you looking at? High traction, bad in wet weather? Or something very streetable?

You could go with Falken Azenis in 205/50/15 but those are fairly short tires.

yellowpatrol · Post by **yellowpatrol** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:01 pm

Just something that will stick to the road and not spin and slip under heavy acceleration.

INVUJerry · Post by **INVUJerry** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:05 pm

tirerack.com has lots of tires in 205/50/15 that go from regular cheap street tire, all the way up to 40 treadwear competition tires.

yellowpatrol · Post by **yellowpatrol** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 12:08 pm

That sounds good. And you don't think those would be too thin? I dunno, I just keep looking at this picture and changing my mind for what I should do-

INVUJerry · Post by **INVUJerry** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 1:00 pm

Thin? Width wise? Eh, not too bad. Honestly if you wanted to run a 225 tire, and not worry to much, get a set of rota slipstreams. For Drag racing though, you're going to want a lot of tire. Something like 24.5x8x14.

TN.Frank · Post by **TN.Frank** » Sun Mar 02, 2008 2:12 pm

I've got 185/60's on my car right now so anything wider will be an improvment. A lot about traction depends on compound. I put some Hankooks on my truck and it was like it was on rails, very soft, sticky compound. Not sure how they'd ware since I only had the truck for another 2K miles after the new tires but like I said, they were real sticky.
Something else to think about, going wider will make more friction so it'll eat a bit of your power. If you can get a tire that's slightly shorter(not so much that it'll really mess with your speedo but enough to bump your gear ratio down a bit) it'll help to compensate for the extra friction. A perfect match for the 185/60's that are on my car now is a 205/55 but I'm going with a 50 to get a slightly lower tire and a bit better gear ratio to make up for the wider tire.

kc2005ptgt · Post by **kc2005ptgt** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:22 pm

run 205/55/15, they are great

yellowpatrol · Post by **yellowpatrol** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:25 pm

kc2002acr wrote:run 205/55/15, they are great

Aren't SRT wheels .5" wider?

INVUJerry · Post by **INVUJerry** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 7:10 pm

Nope. SRT are 17x6, SXT are 15x6, steelies are 14x5.5.

03blackrt · Post by **03blackrt** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:04 pm

yellowpatrol wrote:That sounds good. And you don't think those would be too thin? I dunno, I just keep looking at this picture and changing my mind for what I should do-

*drool*

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:17 pm

03blackrt wrote:
yellowpatrol wrote:That sounds good. And you don't think those would be too thin? I dunno, I just keep looking at this picture and changing my mind for what I should do-

*drool*

I may change my tire plans for the track. That looks sick.

Jerome Adams · Post by **Jerome Adams** » Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:41 pm

I had 205/55/15 Kumho ecsta spt on the stock rims and they were nice and then I took them off and wrapped them around some 15x7 flat black rota slipstreams and I like them a lot more. The Slips weigh just under 13lbs...the stock sxt are 17+

OB · Post by OB » Tue Mar 04, 2008 4:16 am

yellowpatrol wrote: Well if I'm doing the math right, even a 205mm tire will be a huge improvement, right? 205/25.4=8.07" vs 6"

Do you think that would be wide enough to get some traction after I get my new motor in? Or if not, how wide do I need to go?

You're on the right track, but keep in mind it is the wheel that is 6" in width, not the stock tire. A 185mm tire is 7.28" wide. The 205mm tire is wider by about 0.75".

I run a 205 and it fit well, but definatly bulges over the wheel a bit. I like the way it looks personally, gives the tire/wheel a muscular look, almost like a drag slick. I have also heard that a 215 is the maximum that can be used with a 6" wheel. However, below you'll find proof that contradicts this.

On a side note, as previously discussed, some tires are actually wider than their rated size. Falken Azenis are a perfect example of this. Their 215 is actually a 225. The reason for this is simple: competition. Many rulebooks require a maximum tire width be used, and the tire companies involved in the racing scene know this. Much like cars are known to be underrated in power from the factory to meet certain regulations.

A quick visit to an active autox or roadracing forum will show which brands rate their tires incorrectly and what their true sizes really are. I happen to be good friends with an autox vet and that's where I pick up these tidbits. He says that he ran the Azenis in the 215 (225) on his stock 6" miata wheels with no problem at all. I suppose in our case, a tire that wide may very well fit on the wheel, but the issue may be clearance related. I assume that's why most members on here suggest nothing wider than a 215 unless aftermarket wheels with a lower offset are used.

yellowpatrol · Post by **yellowpatrol** » Tue Mar 04, 2008 7:37 am

OB wrote:
yellowpatrol wrote: Well if I'm doing the math right, even a 205mm tire will be a huge improvement, right? 205/25.4=8.07" vs 6"

Do you think that would be wide enough to get some traction after I get my new motor in? Or if not, how wide do I need to go?
You're on the right track, but keep in mind it is the wheel that is 6" in width, not the stock tire. A 185mm tire is 7.28" wide. The 205mm tire is wider by about 0.75".

I run a 205 and it fit well, but definatly bulges over the wheel a bit. I like the way it looks personally, gives the tire/wheel a muscular look, almost like a drag slick. I have also heard that a 215 is the maximum that can be used with a 6" wheel. However, below you'll find proof that contradicts this.

On a side note, as previously discussed, some tires are actually wider than their rated size. Falken Azenis are a perfect example of this. Their 215 is actually a 225. The reason for this is simple: competition. Many rulebooks require a maximum tire width be used, and the tire companies involved in the racing scene know this. Much like cars are known to be underrated in power from the factory to meet certain regulations.

A quick visit to an active autox or roadracing forum will show which brands rate their tires incorrectly and what their true sizes really are. I happen to be good friends with an autox vet and that's where I pick up these tidbits. He says that he ran the Azenis in the 215 (225) on his stock 6" miata wheels with no problem at all. I suppose in our case, a tire that wide may very well fit on the wheel, but the issue may be clearance related. I assume that's why most members on here suggest nothing wider than a 215 unless aftermarket wheels with a lower offset are used.

Mmmm knowledge.

TheNumberOneD · Post by **TheNumberOneD** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 12:44 pm

get traction control...

all this tire talk is making my head hurt!

why haven't you people heard of boost by gear!?
It's made by NDE, look it up on yahoo... lol
The nick-name for this unit is "driver mod", go figure because people are making 2.0 60' on stock tires and 1.6 60' on radials
was on the first stock turbo SRT to get 11's, and i plan on getting 10.9 with nitrous and bolt-ons... (every bolt on)

oh, and a set of t-bars helps some too. I got mine from FTP-Racing, they make a decent set.

get the 225-50-15 MT et Street radials.

SRT-forums is your friend. And complaining about traction in a FWD car , is an old, outdated complaint, that was made up by F&F fans.

SYRYS04 · Post by **SYRYS04** » Wed May 07, 2008 6:45 am

I don't know why, but I think for some reason people are getting the SXT wheel in which he has confused with the SRT wheel..

The widest I heard of a tire on a SXT is a 195/60/15. or it may have been a 50 and not a 60, can't remember.

but anything bigger than a 195 will or should bulge.

I may be wrong, but that's what I know.

MoxHair · Post by **MoxHair** » Wed May 07, 2008 7:41 am

way to bump a thread thats almost 2 months old.

OB · Post by OB » Wed May 07, 2008 11:31 pm

SYRYS04 wrote:I don't know why, but I think for some reason people are getting the SXT wheel in which he has confused with the SRT wheel..

The widest I heard of a tire on a SXT is a 195/60/15. or it may have been a 50 and not a 60, can't remember.

but anything bigger than a 195 will or should bulge.

I may be wrong, but that's what I know.

The SRT wheel is the same width as the base neon wheels. They are all 6" wide.