Slightly Stretched Tires Concern
 

Hello!

I'll admit: I'm still new to this whole car modification game and I have absolutely no idea what the heck I am doing. My current situation is this:

I am about to purchase some 17x9 35 Rpf1s. However, I currently have the stock tire size. I don't want to purchase new tires since I have only put maybe 5, 10k miles on these tires. I want to use these tires up until I indeed do need new tires, but if I do that I'll be riding on a stretched wheel until then.

My question is this: If I stay with the stock size until these tires are used up and ready to replace, will the handling of the car be a huge issue? As far as how I drive it, it is a daily driver, but I live in the mountains currently and love to go fast up and down these mountain roads.

You'll be fine. Keep an eye on the tire pressures. Extremely stretched tires can unbead if theres a low pressure (think in terms of why offroaders use bead-lock wheels). You'll have a slightly stiffer sidewall feel compared to a narrower wheel with same tire; that's about it. Drift cars beat the hell out of their tires and a lot of them run some sort of stretch for the stiff sidewall reasoning.

Also, no, your car won't magically explode into a big ball of fire and you die a tragic death. So, INB4 all the crazy people who think like that.

OEM tires from a 7" wheel to a 9" wheel is more than just a "little" stretched. And yes, tire wear and performance will be noticeably affected, but it will not explode

lol no

.... Ball of fire.... crazy death... reference to goats..... "hella flush".... you will be fine....

:popcorn: there I about summed up the thread in advance

What @c4lvinnn is about right. Just want to say that 215 on 9" is not a slight stretch, its a big stretch, probably as big as there can be. They are already stretched quite a bit at 8" wheels, imagine what an extra inch will do to that. Go ahead and do it, just keep an eye on tire pressure frequently and beware of temperature drops (pressure is lower with colder air).

No what?

Everything you said

I'd expect high shoulder wear. Have to increase pressure to keep tread flat.

Tread and sidewalls are naturally held together by steel belts. You're not actually stretching any material, just moving the tire bead mounting point.

Ok please explain. This is hellaflush type stretch here which others have already +1'ed. And yes, if you have to babysit the tire like that, then its performance has been compromised. Will it work? Yes. Would I trust this setup for the long haul? Nope.

No yourself lol

Let me offer a couple options/play devil's advocate

1: keep the stock tires on the stock wheels and keep them on the car until the tires are worn down. After these are done buy tires that properly fit the wheels you bought and then go on your way without worrying about stretching the tires or monitoring your tire PSI all the time.

2: Buy new wider tires for your new wheels now and keep your stock wheels/tires as a back up set.

Notice how both of these suggestions solve the stretched tire problem :cheers:

I 100% agree. Its like having the choice between a horse and a goat for a race and choosing the goat. It puts your performance at a disadvantage for no necessary reason

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13824

17x9 215 tire...

Don't see any issues...

I'm just calling out your ignorance on the subject.

Baby sit your tires? Do you never check tire pressures on a normal tire? Its not going to explode and unbead at 30psi vs 32

Also how is it "decreasing" performance when same tires are on stock wheels? He may not gain anything from it but it also doesnt decrease

Easy there tiger. My ignorance on the subject? I never said unbead or explode so check your reading comprehension and ignorance.

Pull hard on that vape pen and realize that you don't have the experience needed to make such accusations. Prove my actual responses wrong, or find the exit, stage left

Prove them right, then?

i been running stretched tires on all my cars. currently have a 215/35/18 on a 9.5 and no issues, just check your pressures once a week or every few days, but i doubt you have issues

blasphemy!

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OP this is totally a fine thing to do: Wear your stock tires out on wider wheels. Then down the road (sorry had to sneak a pun) buy wider tires.

When I purchased new 8"W wheels recently, there was a chart from the manufacturer that said min width 215, max 235.

I have 215's on the wheels now. Stretch another inch? I'd wait until you need new tires or get 8".

http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q...ps410179c3.jpg

17x9 +35 stock tires
http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1bcaa404.jpg

http://i1209.photobucket.com/albums/...DSC_0010-1.jpg

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...=15007&page=31 page 31 post 431...


EDIT. MORE
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40053

Thanks for all the feedback. I don't want to take an unnecessary risk, so I am leaning more towards getting new tires for the wheels instead of stretching them.

Now my concern is tire pricing (again, I am car-illiterate at the moment; this is all very new to me). I am looking at 245/40/17s, but prices vary. I see $50 tires and I see $170 tires. I only have about 300 to 400 extra bucks to spend on tires at the moment...

What is a budget tire that I can get for a daily driver who likes to have a little bit of fun on mountain roads?

IMHO, I would hold off on buying the tires until you have a bit more spend. Tirerack doesn't have too many 245/40/17 options under $100 per tire. Keep an eye out for sales or wait until tax return season. If you're willing to step up to ~160 per tire it brings a few more recognized/reviewed tires into the mix like the potenzas or extremecontacts.

Tirerack's list of 245/40/17 tires
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...earDiameter=17

What Tectoniic said, I'd wait a bit until you have enough money to afford decent tires too. They're one of the absolute most important safety items on your car, and have one of the largest influences on your vehicle's stopping power.

Are you buying the RPF1s new? You could also save a fair bit of money by finding a used set in like new condition. They're one of the most common wheels out there, and deals a nice used ones are pretty easy to come across.

Here's a decent option for one they have on closeout: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....wtpackage=true

In their review of tires in that category it scored the lowest, but it would still be a decent tire from a reputable manufacturer. It also has a good amount of consumer reviews (200+ with 4/5 stars average). That's not a bad deal at all for a $75/ea tire.

Personally, I'd still opt to save a bit more and get something like Yokohama S.Drives or BFgoodrich gForce Sport Comp-2s, but those Firestones would be just fine. I spoke with one of their reps at a track weekend recently, and he did a pretty good job of selling them as a solid daily driving tire.

There are a ton, but not in the color I want. I want white ones. The set I'm looking at right now is around $1150.

Sumitomo htrz iii

Probably the best bang for the buck tire in your budget.

Ah, gotchya. Yeah, that's a pretty standard price for RPF1s and white ones can be tough to come by.

If you don't mind waiting a little bit I'd watch the wheels for sale thread on NASIOC too, it's one of the most active buy/sell/trade wheel threads out there and plenty of other Subaru models are 5x100. Otherwise, I'd just wait until you can afford the RPF1s you want and proper tires at the same time. Wheels, tires, suspension, and brakes are the main things you should never get cheap or cut corners on.

OP - if you on a budget check out simpletire.com they have budget friendly tires, BUT you may get what you pay for.

https://simpletire.com/zenna-235-45z...51307453-tires

1951307453 part number

i recently got 2 new of above, different size tho, to match that were on a set of used wheels. didnt want to invest in replacing all 4 when 2 were still good condition. im satisfied but dont track and rarely drive aggressively enough for compound & tread pattern to matter.

AND another thought about stretching, you may scratch up your nice new wheels if ya not careful, either turning to hard riding rim, or scratching on curbs when hitting apex lil to short

the stock 215 tires on a 9" RPF1 wheel will have a good amount of stretch, but nothing life threatening and will save you some money on tires for the time being. but if you're on stock suspension, stretched tires will look stupid and you will have no benefit at all from it either.