resident smurf

iTrader: (3)

I just took off my 255/40R17 Falken azenis RT-615 and went back to 225/45R17 Bridgestone RE-01R's on my Subaru. After about 10k miles and 2 years, the falkens were heat cycled out and less grippy than the smaller 225s that I just put on but, they were definitely a lot more aggressive looking than my 225s are now, both on the rim and from the back. It looks like it has prius bicycle-width tires on the back now compared to before.

Oh well at least now I have tires that match the width of my rims... probably better for handling and fuel economy now... the car definitely feels lighter on its feet now that it has a slightly smaller diameter (a couple RPMs) and less unsprung weight... wider tires do drag the car down a little.

aside, I wanted to find out exactly how bad the tires are out of the mold- the first onramp I took with the tires immediately transitioned to oversteer with a little throttle lift but a little countersteer off the throttle brought it back in line. they were definitely down on grip for the first 50 miles but now they are much better than the 255 Azenis were just before I took them off- I would describe the Azenis as feeling like you were "skating" since the compound was old and tired... but the steering response was still good due to low tread depth and the massive footprint that the tread pattern allows for a street tire.

Conclusions: All in all, get properly sized tires for your wheels... don't try to stuff 275s on a 7.5" wheel. ultimately you may have more grip but you will lose lots of transitional response and your car will accelerate (and perhaps stop and ride) worse. The RE-01R and Azenis RT-615 are comparable tires that have comparable noise characteristics when new. we'll see if the RE-01R's cycle out like the Falkens did, but I imagine they will as its only natural that the compound hardens with age and use. One thing that the RE-01R is better for is Bay Area roads... the sidewalls are less stiff and take impacts better. quieter on the freeway, too. though this may have been influenced partially by the fact that the Falkens were a 255/40, but they're the same overall diameter (actually .1" to .2" taller when new).

Evil Empire

iTrader: (1)

did you have alot of tire bulge on the car? that could be a big reason it feels beter on the 225's

samurai

iTrader: (1)

actually, I had a question along the same lines except with the stock RE070s on my '05 sti. I was wondering if there are positive (or negative) benefits or any effect at all when going one step wider (225 to 255 for ex.) than the stock tire, assuming tires are at proper pressure, etc..

NW OBS

iTrader: (2)

Wouldn't "one step" be 235's from 225's?

walt

The 255/40s will perform better than the 225/45s, but only if they are on proper rim sizes. All of the tire manufacturers I have seen say that the 255s require at least 8.5" rims. What did you use?

samurai

iTrader: (1)

well, im about to the point where I need to replace the tires for the Sti, so I'll probably stick to the stock size for now. This is especially since the tires, according to Bridgestone's site, are offered only in one size. (the RE070)

The reasoning came from my dad using oversized tires for his rims (ie a "step" wider than stock) like on his 240z and having reasonable success with them.. The wall height of the tire would be the same (so it would be 45series). He has used wider tires without any troubles for his other cars as well, but wasn't so sure bout mine. He's been bugging me to get wider tires for the sti, but I wanted to stick to the stock ones until i get new rims. He knows a good deal about cars and his methods always work as well so I really couldn't call BS and turn my nose up to those ideas..

cowg

iTrader: (1)

The initial problem you had on your tires is from the mold release compound on the tires. I worked in a motorcycle shop for some years and we would always warn customers of new bikes or with new tires to drive the first 75 miles like they were on ice. We had a dirt lot next to the shop and if they were on some sort of light or dual purpose bikes we'd have them go out in the dirt and scrub them in. It's just that the normal street car tire shop seems to be ignorant of this fact.

NewWRXer

I'm running a set of Nexen N3000 on stock STI 04 BBS rims. They are 255/40/17. They are 25" diameter by 10.2" wide. I could not be more happy with these tires. I have them on my 03 WRX.

I had brand new 225/50/16 N3000's on stock 03 WRX 16" rims. These tires had such great grip compaired to stock tires that I decided to get N3000's for my 17" BBS rims.

But compaired to the wide 255/40/17's they sucked! The these tires grip to no end. I can take freeway on ramps at speeds much greater then before. Speeds that would have my old tires squealing don't even phase these.

Understeer is gone. I am sold. Wider is better. "Size does matter"