For the past 2 summers I have run 275/35ZR18 BFG g-Force Sports mounted on 18x9 Ford Racing FR500s. I love the tires and am in the market for a new set. What I'm thinking about is going to a narrower tire in the front so that there's not as much drag on the steering wheels. What I'm worried about is the difference in sidewalls (visually). Has anyone else gone with staggered tire sizes on the same size wheels and if so what was the outcome?
i have 17x9 and i have 245-45-17 in the front and 275-40-17 in the back, the rear side wall is just a little bit taller, maybe 1 inch
Just keep the overall tire diameter as close as possible otherwise it could cause problems with the ABS/TC system. Sidewall heights would be the same really. You will have less bulge on the front however. Good tire size calc. http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html
There should only be a 3-4 mm (apx 1/6") difference on sidewall height in thoes tires, the fronts being taller.
I know that the sizes I'm looking at (245/40R18 and 275/35R18) are almost identical in diameter (.1" difference) so all should be well technically. I'm wanting to do this primarily for performance reasons, however, I'm also anal about how it looks and I don't want the rears to look like they're buldging @ the sidewalls whereas the front look like they're gonna roll off the bead.
Obviousley you will have a different look fron to rear with different tread widths on the same size wheel. I had 245/45 up front and 285/40 in back on my stock wheels and much prefer the look of 285/40 all the way around. If I had staggered wheels I would do staggered tires but not if the wheels are the same size. Just my .02 Really you just gotta decide if YOU like it or not. Hopefully someone has pics they can show you, I have some but cant get this damn photobucket to work
I was told that the first number was the size in mm from lip to lip and the second number was the percentage of the first number for sidewall height and the last number being wheel size (obviousley). So 245/45 would be 111mm sidewall and 275/40 would be 110mm. Am I wrong with the numbers meening?
Okay, I went with 245/40ZR18s in the front and 275/35ZR18s in the rear. The results weren't that much different, although visually it almost makes the spokes look like they're more flush to the face of the wheel on the fronts. I definately like driving on them a lot better (had 275 up front before...steering in the front was a drag) and the handling feels crisper, although I am coming off of a set of Blizzaks. It's a subtle difference, but in person me likes it...
