Both are pretty wide -- and about 26" diameter -- about 1.5-2" taller than the 205/55/15 or 225/5/15 a lot of us use. Could be good options for folks with flares & the right wheels...
* P275/50R15 Nitto NT555R 101V
* Hankook Ventus H101 Radial Tire - 265/50R15
The Nitto is stickier but maybe too wide. The Hankook doesn't have as good traction ratings but a little less wide.
Even with my restrictive exhaust, I could use more traction; I'm sure some others could too.
Rob,
The Nitto NT555R is a drag radial. The sidewall is going to be too soft for cornering. Probably pretty sketchy in the rain, to boot.
I'd like to find a 23-24" tall 15" tire that is wide enough to fit an 8" rim. (Sport radial) Any ideas on that one? The only things I've seen so far have been racing tires.
Jim
A 225/50-15 would fit the bill.
Kumho Ecsta AST
A 225 might be wide enough... Is 50 the lowest profile they make in a 15"?
Jim
A 225 fits great on a 8" rim. Miata racers do it all the time. ;)
You can get a G-Force Rival in 225/45-15. It's only 22.9" tall.
That sounds interesting, I think I have a 255 or 265 on there now (I will look) but they are too tall. I've decided to run a California Rake as that will increase my header clearance and let me get more suspension travel without raising the front end of the car. Got time to find something though as the tires I have will do for awhile. With an 8.8 width a 225 should be wide enough, but since when was enough ever enough?
Jim
255/45-17 on the front
I realized g-force Rival comes in both 225/45/15 & 205/50/15. Rather than selling my current wheels & going to 17", I'm thinking that's my answer.
TireRack is not showing it, but BFG brought back the Rival in more sizes because they are now a sponsor of ChumpCar.
http://forum.chumpcar.com/index.php?/topic/14339-bfgoodrich-rivals/&page=1
I did a little more research - looks like three ultra performance summer tires that come in both 225/45/15 & 205/50/15 (my rear/front respectively). Looks like:
BF Goodrich g-Force Rival S
Kuhmo ECTSA V720
Toyo Proxes R1R
Anyone know if one is better than the other in the wet? Reviews rate all three high for dry traction. I don't drive in the rain often but can get caught in it from time to time so wet traction would be the differentiator for me.
The BFG Rival S is for autocross. The compound is softer & will not last very long compared to the Rival. Can't speak to the others.
Rival S, along with the other two are listed as extreme performance summer vs. streetable track tire. I think I'm going to give them a try as the only other option is to sell my wheels & move to 17". New wheels like the ones I have would cost the same as 3 sets of tires so I'm thinking it's worth a shot?
It's a great, sticky tire that was primarily designed for drive 'em to the track day/ autox & back home without swapping tires.
The Rival will last 10K-13K miles (unless racing). The Rival S will not go near that distance.
The Rival & the Rival S both have a tread wear rating of 200. There is no real standard for this number.
I'd run 'em, but I still have some life left in my R-compounds. ;)
QuoteRival S
The g-Force Rival S is BFGoodrich's Extreme Performance Summer tire developed for sports car, muscle machine and pro-touring car driving enthusiasts who want their tires tuned to lower their run times in solo, autocross, track attack and hill climb events.
Rival
The g-Force Rival is BFGoodrich's Extreme Performance Summer tire developed for sports car, muscle machine and pro-touring car driving enthusiasts who want their tires to turn heads on the street and lower lap times at the track.
Depending on how many miles you drive in a season those could last anywhere from 1 to 5+ years.
Jim
...and the type of driving. ;)
I put the Toyo Proxes R888 on the blown P1800.
225/50/R15 on an 8" wheel.
Mounted on the car they have a pretty square shouldered 9.250" cross section and 23.125" height.
Dry traction and cornering are excellent. As long as it's warm out. On a cold day, (0' C) they don't bite at all!
Tread wear is rated @ 100 but has held up well so far (2500 km)
Wet traction is better than I expected. It is not a tire that I would use in the rain regularly. But at normal road speeds it's perfectly acceptable.
And it's got a DOT rating.
Cheers
Fred
Ok, based on Carl's info + similar from philstireservice.com, I ordered the Toyo Proxes R1R. The g-force Rival S is, indeed more of a track tire and the plain Rival (no S) isn't available in the sizes I need. Will update with impressions once they're on the car.
You should be able to get the regular Rival in 205/50-15 & 225/45-15. They just started making them again for ChumpCar racing.
R-compounds are not supposed to be used at near freezing temps. I'm sure you knew that, Fred. ;)
Might be so Carl, but I couldn't find them so already ordered the R1R's. They have to be way better than what I had.
I just bought BF Good Rich 235/50r15 radial TA'S for the rear they are 26 inch dia 9.5 wide and they look awsome
Gonna need stickier tires than that, Billy. :)
Billy - typo? I see 235/60/15 T/A radicals, but doesn't appear they come in a 235/50/15.
No your right rob 235/60r15. you think so carl? I thought these were sticky enough, I haven't run them yet, I will be painting my car this week end then it's putting her all back together.
Yours are UTOG (treadware, traction, & temp range) 400, Rob's are 200, mine are 100. Lower the number the stickier & the quicker they wear out.
Of course, with that 5.3L, I'm sure you will wear them out plenty fast. ;)
I've had UTQG 400 tires on mine since I built it. For daily driving, they're fine. But even with my mild 302, I could spin the tires in the 1st two gears when I wanted to - 3rd gear too once they got a little older and started to harden. Your 5.3L will make it even a bit easier.
By the way, I ended up changing my order to the BFG Rivals. They are on their way; should be here Thursday. If you need to buy tires, check philstireservice.com. Very helpful and responsive + they had the best prices. They are racers with a tire shop.
Got my wheel with the slightly bent lip fixed - was interesting to watch... they simply heated the back of the wheel lip with a torch & then worked it with a lead headed hammer. I was surprised how little force was required. Took 2 re-heat/hammer cycles but when he was done, you can't tell it was ever bent.
Also got the new tires mounted & balanced. Wow!! Way more traction on these BFG g-Force Rivals than there was with the Falken ZE-912's. Granted my tires were old, but there's no comparison!
Ok, How about the Mickey Thompson ET street radial, R2 compound, 3753R, will take a 7.5-9.5" wheel width x 15"wheel . 26.1: dia. and 10.5" tread. How about cornering use ? They are - $40. ea./Jegs, now. Thanks, Art.
Did you misread that ad, Art. This link says savings of $39.09 in red. Don't really like the way they make that stand out more than the actual cost.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Mickey-Thompson/672/3753R/10002/-1
That tire is a street drag radial. Besides weighing 31lbs, it is specifically designed to be heated & hook up in a straight line. Usually that requires giving up some lateral grip. No way I would mount a tire that big on a 7.5" wheel.
Personally, I have no experience with it, but I would be surprised if it could keep up with a tire designed for cornering.
Subliminal Message : Don't be so cheap-Art, get tires for drags and tires for corner burning. I suppose a 31lb tire, NOT the best way to get ballast/lol. art.
steer clear of BF goodritch TA radials they are not a proformance tire outher than size.use a 200 tread wear by falklin 615K or a 100 treadwear by nito NTO1. tires should allways cost more than your deductable.lots-o-sizes in 14 inch. saving money on tires and brake pads is a fools erend .my queston is the search for fender flairs on chrome bumper mgbgt the rear flairs are not bad in a 70,s group 8 style look. as to the front havent seen a flair I like. allways open too new IDEAS.
There are better choices than the Falken RT615K. The Nitto NT01? Not sure I would want to be caught in the rain with that one. I really like the Toyo RA1 for a 100 treadwear tire.
For the 200 TW. I would use the Bridgestone RE-71R, or Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec.
The Miata guys have gained new options recently, new 245/40R15s from Maxxis, BFG, and Hankook. All 3 need wheels 8-10" wide, with the best autocross results on 10s. Hoosier makes 2 different 275/35R15 slicks for them, these have been pinched onto 8s, but work best on 15x11s
I love this in the Maxxis description..."The new pattern was designed to maximize dry performance while minimzing white knuckle moments under wet."
I had plenty of those moments with my ultra performance summer tires driving through tje rain to BV8 earlier this summer!
Rob, was similar to the "Sphincter Pinch" exercise ? Accompanying song "Tighter & Tighter" Hope to get a grin!