235's on 7 inch rim, who has experience

[bob123131]

I have always told people to only go 225's on a 7inch wide rim due to bubbling and sidewall hang etc. Recently i have come across alot of people who run them with no issues at least in their opinion. So who has really done it and how was it?

 

[knighteclipse1]

I wouldn't recommend it, but I am running 245 tires on stock 16 in rims. Aside from the occasional comments like: "Hey man, you know you have flat tires" I really like how they ride and handle. I have found no excessive wear problems either. I do notice the feeling of the sidewalls not holding up during extreme cornering (and I do mean extreme) But otherwise, I see nothing wrong with it.

 

[knighteclipse1]

Found this thread written by Wret, he's the resident expert on such matters. I hope this helps some...http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97471

 

[JayRolla]

245's on a stock 16inch rim will cause the car to handle like a boat. Swaying on the highway. People have done 235's with the same problem. With my experience do not do it.

 

[RayPeters]

245's on a stock 16inch rim will cause the car to handle like a boat. Swaying on the highway. People have done 235's with the same problem. With my experience do not do it.

I agree with everyone above. If the section width (the part of the tread that hits the road) exceeds the rim width by more than 25% or so handling issues start to develop. The sidewall of the tire is designed to operate near vertical, and if the rim is too narrow for the tire, the sidewall can't support the rim and it allows the tread to shift left and right when cornering.

I've personally had very good luck with Kuhmo 225/55/16 Ecsta SPT's on my 1g, they don't rub and the car handles very well for street tires. For autocross/maximum performance, I like the new Falken RT615 in the 205/??/16 size. It is a little smaller, but the grip from these tires is impressive. A good alignment is needed to get the most from these tires as the front suspension has a tendency to go to positive camber under hard cornering. I've used these as daily drivers and they work well, a little noisy and harsh compared to the kuhmos but mileage on an AWD car was still over 20K.

Hope this helps.

 

[bob123131]

well acording to that thread if i understood it right with the right offset 235's are perfectly reasonable for a 7 inch wide rim. At least thats how i understood it from reading it quick ### tell me if im wrong.

 

[TSIMonsteR]

I see nothing wrong with 235s, although, I would probably just go 225. The grip increase won't be noticeable, if at all (225 to 235) and the 225s are cheaper and proven to work well.

 

[knighteclipse1]

245's on a stock 16inch rim will cause the car to handle like a boat. Swaying on the highway. People have done 235's with the same problem. With my experience do not do it.

Like I said at the beginning... I wouldn't recommended it. But I have had absolutely no trouble with mine and it handles much better then a "boat". Since I speak from experience, maybe that should be taken into consideration. Only in extreme (and I do mean extreme) hard cornering does it even show any small sign of a problem. I do agree though, if I had it to do all over again I wouldn't do it, but not because I have had trouble with it. 235's wouldn't be a problem I should think if the 245's have given me no problem's. The wear rates seem to be good, as the tires are holding up well. Still, I do understand many peoples concerns on this matter and will take it under advisement.