Looking for advice on wheel/tire setup

[Majestic86]

Hey all, first time poster here :>

I am in in need of advice regarding wheel/tire setup for a casual, daily driving purpose (with occasional spirited driving. It’s an 86 afterall )

some details: I live in the west coast, I see a decent amount of rain yearly, and I run winter tires in the winter. I mostly commute within cities and highways.

In this upcoming spring/summer, I am looking to switch up my wheel/tires. After some research, I have arrived at 3 options:

1. Indy 500, 255/45/18, on 18x9.5 Enkei wheels.

this is what I ran last summer. Pros: meaty tires, feels grippy, no need to buy new tires and install, and I get to use up my old tires instead of disposing them.
Cons: Road noise, reduced agility, heavier wheels and tires, reduced acceleration/braking. Also, I feel a little bad when I scratch them up from daily driving, as they are nicer wheels 🥲

overall, this is my most value for buck as I do not need to buy anything new, offers good performance, but the spec is not really catered to the purpose of my car, which is important to me as I plan on keeping the car for a long time.

2. 235/45/17 summer tires on 17x8.5 wheels.

I recently purchased some new Superspeed wheels, they are brand new, still sitting in boxes in storage. I am looking to put some affordable summer tires on these (Might consider indy500s once more, good value for what they are). Pros: Overall better wheel/tire size for 86, better acceleration/braking, better agility, Affordable wheels so not too worried about them being banged up. Cons: I need to buy a new set of tires, balance, and mounting.

This is the most expensive option, but it offers the best performance. Offers less aggressive spec overall, better for daily driving imo.

3. 215/45/17 stock primacy tires on 17x8.5 wheels.

For this option, I do not need to purchase new tires and I get to rock my new wheels
Pros: Again, do not need to purchase new tires as I still have my stock tires, more comfortable tire spec for daily driving. TPMS included
Cons: Crappy (?) performance tires. Might get sketchy if I decide to get spirited one day. Although to be fair, I haven’t pushed these tires so I dont know just how bad or good they really are. just speculating from what others have said on the internet. need some input from those who have done it!

What do you guys think? I do have spending limits in mind, although I am willing to shell out if its a worthy buy.

Appreciate it!


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[glhs386]

255/45/18 is almost two and a half inches taller than the stock tire, or nearly 10%, which is frankly kinda absurd. Maybe that's a typo. The stock 215 Primacies are too narrow for a 8.5" wheel unless you're going for *that* look, plus as you mentioned they're garbage to boot. Your best performance options would be to pony up for 245/40/17s on the Superspeeds (my preference) or 255/35/18s on the Enkeis.

[bucketfoot]

I'd put either a 225/45/17 or 245/40/17 on the Superspeeds. You don't say what the offset is on these. That could matter with the 245s.

Option #1 really isn't an option due to the size issue stated above.

[Majestic86]

Originally Posted by bucketfoot

I'd put either a 225/45/17 or 245/40/17 on the Superspeeds. You don't say what the offset is on these. That could matter with the 245s.

Option #1 really isn't an option due to the size issue stated above.

The offset is +38. I am leaning towards 45 profile for taller sidewall. 225/45/17 sounds like a perfect size to me, probably going to go with that.


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[Majestic86]

Originally Posted by glhs386

255/45/18 is almost two and a half inches taller than the stock tire, or nearly 10%, which is frankly kinda absurd. Maybe that's a typo. The stock 215 Primacies are too narrow for a 8.5" wheel unless you're going for *that* look, plus as you mentioned they're garbage to boot. Your best performance options would be to pony up for 245/40/17s on the Superspeeds (my preference) or 255/35/18s on the Enkeis.

Stock tires is a pretty scuffed option tbh… youre right.. Gonna save the stock tires for when I sell the car I guess.


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[glhs386]

Originally Posted by Majestic86

I am leaning towards 45 profile for taller sidewall. 225/45/17 sounds like a perfect size to me, probably going to go with that.

The difference in sidewall height between a 225/45 and 245/40 is only about three millimeters.