Summer tires on Evo 17x8+38 Enkies

[eclipsh]

1. My car is a:
a) 1g DSM

2. My wheel size is:
Diameter: 17
Width: 8
Offset: +38

3. My current or future suspension height will be lowered
a) One inch or less - Eibach pro-kit

4. If suspension is lowered,
a) Rear camber will be adjusted to less than 1° negative.

5. Rear fender flange rolling:
a) My front fenders are rolled. (I will also be adding fender flares at some point.)

6. My driving style is:
d) Street and Autocross.

7. I have searched for and read the FAQ's, Tech Articles, and threads on wheel and tire fitment:
a) Yes, but I just need someone with experience to validate my choices.
b) No, I just want someone to tell me what to do.
c) All of the Above


When I bought my wheels they came with Kumho Ecsta ASX 245/45/17 rubber. They clear the front struts by about 1/8" until I start cornering hard and then they rub a patch about 1/4" wide on the strut.

I have a set of snow tires for winter on the stock swirlies so I have flexibility in tire choices on the Evo rims. I don't know if I want to go narrower, aka 235/45/17 or just deal with some very mild rubbing.

Tires I'm looking at right now are:

Avon Tech M500

Kumho Ecsta SPT

Kumho Ecsta ASX = ultra high performance all season meaning I can run it for more of the year than the two summer tires with better longevity but less traction.

 

[jtmcinder]

Is the rubbing at the corner of the tire (i.e., where the tread meets the sidewall) or is it on the sidewall? If the former, then 245/40/17, since they're shorter (which also gives you better gearing).

And I would suggest the SPTs over the ASXs.

- Jtoby

 

[eclipsh]

You may be right about the 245/40-17 SPTs. I was worried they would be wider and exacerbate the rubbing problem.

Based on this it doesn't look like they would be any wider.

But looking at the tire specs, they would be .2" wider than the 245/45-17 tires that had 1/8" of clearance. Looks like I need to go stare at the rub spot on my strut and see if a shorter and wider tire will fit.

 

[DSMSpyder99]

go with a 245/40 i had the SPT great bang for buck. A 245/40 is smaller than a 225/45 as well.

 

[wret]

You may be right about the 245/40-17 SPTs. I was worried they would be wider and exacerbate the rubbing problem.

Based on this it doesn't look like they would be any wider.

But looking at the tire specs, they would be .2" wider than the 245/45-17 tires that had 1/8" of clearance. Looks like I need to go stare at the rub spot on my strut and see if a shorter and wider tire will fit.

245 is the width. A 245/45-17 and a 245/40-17 have the same tread width, although it might vary a bit between brands. If the corner of the tread is the part that is rubbing, a shorter tire will help and also a narrower tire will help. Offset change, in the right direction, will also help.

 

[eclipsh]

245 is the width. A 245/45-17 and a 245/40-17 have the same tread width, although it might vary a bit between brands. If the corner of the tread is the part that is rubbing, a shorter tire will help and also a narrower tire will help. Offset change, in the right direction, will also help.

Sorry, I thought the 245 was the tire width from bead lock up over the top back down to bead lock and it was either 40% or 45% sidewall. According to this I was only half right. The 245 is from sidewall to sidewall across the tread like you are telling me

So, that'd mean the 40's would have 12.25mm shorter sidewalls than the 45's right? (or by the site I linked earlier, .4 in) That should clear just fine but I'll measure before ordering

My wheels already stick out 1" in front so no offset changes for me.


It sounds like I'll be getting the 245/40-17 SPTs. Thanks for the help and corrections guys!

 

[jtmcinder]

245 is the width. A 245/45-17 and a 245/40-17 have the same tread width, although it might vary a bit between brands.

Dude! That is so wrong. The 245 is sidewall's width, not the tread's width. Not only does the treadwidth vary across makers for a given rating (such as 245), but the treadwidth can vary within a make and model as a function of profile.

This is why I always ask where the rubbing is happening when someone says they have a problem. If the rubbing is on the sidewall, changing the brand or profile won't help. But if the rubbing is at the corner (i.e., where the tread meets the sidewall), then changing the brand or profile will often eliminate the rubbing.

- Jtoby

 

[wret]

Dude! That is so wrong. The 245 is sidewall's width, not the tread's width. Not only does the treadwidth vary across makers for a given rating (such as 245), but the treadwidth can vary within a make and model as a function of profile.

Yeah. I'm living in my own little 2g tire world.

I agree. That's what it's supposed to mean ("Section width" actually, or the total width of the sidewall). I have found that section width varies more than tread width among tires of the same brand and section width value.

In the 2g world, section width doesn't matter because that part of the tire doesn't hit anything. I tend to think of "the first number" only as it relates to tread width. Jtoby is right here: two tires of the same brand with the same "first number" do not necessarily have the same tread width. I just checked my Falkentire.com link for the 245/40-17 and 245/45-17 sizes and they do in fact have the same tread-width but other 245's vary somewhat.

It's a really messed up sizing system with a mixture of metric and English measurements that only loosely relate to the dimensions of the final product.