Low boost with 225 tires
 

I've searched and cannot find this subject but if there already is a thread please leave the link.

I've already purchased a turbo kit and am just getting everything in order and putting a few more miles on the car before installing. The main thing I have left is wheels/tires. I was originally thinking of going 18x8s with 245 Pilot Super Sports but am I now worried I might be "over-tiring" the car for my intended goals. I'm only planning on running 8 psi with a conservative tune. I'm not chasing any kind of whp numbers, I just want to turbo the car purely for my enjoyment.

Is anyone still running 215s or 225s with low boost on a max performance summer tire like the Pilot Super Sports? Did you have traction issues? Did you still feel like you had control of the car when you needed it?

I looked at 235s but there were not a lot of options and they looked to be more expensive than comparable 245s and I would still need to get wider wheels anyway.

EDIT: Appreciate all the info. I'm only shooting for 250-260 whp so I don't think I need to worry about drag radials :P . Definitely looking to stay with max performance for wear/rain/cost. Probably gonna go with 225/45/17 PSS on the stock wheels and if that is not enough I'll go up to 245s.

245s would definitely be a better option but take tire compound into affect as well. I know people who run 245 tires on a N/A car and I believe 245 would be even better for a boosted car as well.

Pshaw. I've run 215s on a car with 300 lb/ft of torque. You'll be alright.

10psi on 93 and 215/45/18's Kumho all seasons makes the road like ice once the turbo spools. Don't expect much traction in lower gears. Control of the car? If you call fishtailing all over the road "under control", then yes, you have all the control you need. :)

I have 245/45 drag radials on the stock wheels... But that would be too much tire for your power goals. Get a 225/45 - 17 drag radial and youll be fine

I make 470+ whp and I only halfway through second with my tire setup

uh, mav. I dont think hes going to try and make 470whp with 8 psi and a conservative tune lmao.

245 is good. Remember any significant power added over stock this car wasnt designed to handle. It is light, agile and now has the same crank hp as a V8 S5 (for those at 290-300). You will need some performance tires at the least.

I can't comment on power, because I am stock. But, I can give my $0.02 on the tires.

I have 245/35/18 MPSS on 18x8. I had 245/40/17 on 17x7.5.

Tread width 245/40/17 MPSS = 8.5
Tread width 245/35/18 MPSS = 9.2
A considerable difference.

The 17's looked square. The 18's bulge slightly.

I also have the 245/35/18 on a 18x9. Looks perfect. slightly stretched.

I don't believe that you are overtiring your car. I can still spin my tires.

225 should be fine on an extreme performance summer tire but if you are going with a max performance tire, I'd look at getting a 245 instead. Either way, I'd rather overtire than undertire.

@Tectoniic

I am F.I. and dyno'd 223/207 @ 7400/3800 RPM and probably run closer to 235/215 day to day. I run 225/40/18 BFG Gforce Comp Sport 2s. These run very wide for a 225. I selected this way to keep the tires light and the costs low. I have plenty of grip for the street and my power levels. As many mentioned, tire compound will make a greater difference than width. PSS' will be even stickier than my BGFs, so these also would be fine at 225 if you manage similar torque numbers at the wheels to me (which you should @ 8 psi).

I ran 245 on my wrx that was putting down a true 320whp 320tq at the wheels with no issues even in rain it was just fine unless you were trying to spin them. I had a diff controller in it as well as a sti swap so it was running most of the power to the rear wheels.

I am running ~9 to 9.5 lbs max boost with my S/C setup. Being one of the few people that actually like the stock wheels, I am running Michelin PSS 215's on them. It is very easy to break traction going thru the gears, and when these tires are up for replacement I will be looking to go wider. However, my setup will never put undue wear on the axles and clutch and I use the power mostly to accelerate when already moving, not drag racing so I am quite happy where I am now. For high speed handling wider square setup with a sticky tire compound will grip better, but I think it might also reduce steering response a bit.

For a twin scroll turbo or a positive displacement S/c where the torque comes in early, wider tires are probably pretty much a necessity.

tl;dr: Expect a lot of this:

https://www.facebook.com/16443665360...0095805707450/

Guess they were 225/40's, sorry. Get them confused with the stock size.

I know, I told him my tire setup and what I ran on it.... And based on my tire setup I recommended a size and type of tire. Compound matters a lot more than tire size.