New to the mod game - Wheel/Tire question
 

Hey guys, been lurking the forums for a bit now, and finally looking to upgrade my car and looking to get new wheels/tires after running stock wheels and tires for 52K miles.

I’ve been noodling over getting Ambits RE02, but after reading around, the size they have would just be a bit too meaty for what I’m looking for, for running stock suspensions. So I’m currently considering XXR 530s 17x8.25 +35, but now I’m unsure of what tire size to get on them. I’m thinking of putting on either Hankook Ventus S1 Noble2 or Continental EmtremeContact DWS 06, both as 245/40R17. I just daily drive my car, but I commute about 100 miles a day for work, so looking for some tires with good life on them, and it seems like both the Hankook and Continental have 50K warranty on them.

Any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated!
Jon

EDIT: I think the verdict is sitting with XXR 530 17x8.25 + 35, and putting some General G-Max AS-05, 225/45 on them. Been reading some good reviews on them, and Tire Rack seems to have a positive look on them, so confidence is instilled.

I'd probably go 225/45 on that width of wheel.

Any reason why? Been seeing people say they’ve mounted 235-245 with no issues. Is it because of the potential of having to do a negative chamber with the 245?

Onetruevu: because some may choose tires according which should work best due various reasons, not by which are widest one can fit.

That’s a good point. I guess I’m just looking for some good street tires that will give me some more grip. I’m not tracking my car or anything.

Any particular reason you want 17's over 18's? I understand you're not interested in track, so if look's is what your after and staying stock suspension, 18's might fill better.

If you were to drop it an inch on the other hand, 17's would do just fine.

Any good high performance all-season tire will give you more grip than the stock tires. If you're not tracking/racing, the 225 size will give you just about as much grip on the street as a 245 size, and cost less too. Grip depends more on the tire brand/compound anyway, not the size.

I haven't tried the Hankooks, but I didn't like my Continental DWS 06. Seems like it was made more for comfort, not performance. It changed the nature of the car too much for my liking (in addition to other issues I won't go into).. the steering felt a bit slower, a bit more numb on center, etc.. But they did handle road bumps a bit better than the Michelins.

Consider the continental extremecontact sport instead of the dws.

The warranty is 30k miles rather than 50k but you should still get good life out of them and better performance. Price difference of +~$3/tire on tirerack for 225 size.

Yeah I’ve definitely thought about getting 18s to fill it. It’s been a constant internal battle on whether I wanted 17s or 18s. It mainly depended on the brand I wanted, but I think XXR does make the 530 in 18s, if memory serves.

Hm that’s a good consideration then, to get 225s. I’ve read that getting a bit wider tires can help protect the rims a bit, that’s why I was looking at 245, but considering that I commute in my whip, probably not as wise to get fatty tires.

I threw Hankook into the mix because I’ve seen it being thrown around a lot. You have any experience with general G-max?

Better performance how? I’m looking at the warranty because I drive a lot :(

Well if you're looking to just protect the rims, I'd recommend the Michelin Pilot A/S 3. I had them in size 215 and 225, and they seem to have a much better rim protector than other tires I've had, especially the Continental DWS 06. The rubber around the edge of the rim is a few MM thicker than other tires I've seen.. it definitely makes a difference if you ever brush up against a curb.

I've gotten a little over 40K miles out of my A/S 3 before I replaced them. It's not the 50K you're looking for, but for the handling & performance, it's a good compromise.

There is no reason to get wider rims and tires for a daily driver. As long as the tire is not stretched on the rim, you shouldn't have to worry about protecting the rim. In fact, a wider rim and tire will actually decrease performance slightly and reduce mpg as well. But if you're going for the look, then you can throw out reason.

17" tires will give you a slightly better ride -- especially if this is a daily driver. But there is nothing wrong with 18's -- and most of us think they look a little better. Personally, I'm going with the TRD 17" forged wheels to give a manufacturer look, strength, and a slightly more flush look.

Current summer setup is 18x8 +35 w 225/40 (& RS-R Sports-i coils). Pic for reference of the look.
https://ichitakaproject.files.wordpr...0485.jpg?w=640

But if you gonna keep it in stock suspension, I'm talking about stock struts, sway, alignment then prob 17's (17x7.5~8.5) w 215/45 or 225/45 is ideal. 18's doesn't look bad, but it will loose lil bit of "fun" factor. Of course that vary w how grippy is the tires is.

Til when you know what you really want from this car, I would recommend avoid spending extra $ buying wider wheels and tires.

That's just my 2 yen.

Yeah exactly, trying to mix in look and function with this build.

Damn thats a nice setup. Yeah I’m looking to keep stock suspension, at least for the foreseeable future. The idea of bags came up in a discussion I had with a buddy recently, but thats definitely further out in the future.

I appreciate the advice. I’m looking for form and function in the build - want something that looks above stock, but also want to make sure it maintains at least decent ride quality since I’m putting good miles in my baby.

Nothing against bags, they have their pros and cons. But they're not cheap for the beginner, so recommend later down the road.

If you want decent ride quality while keeping the look above stock then Koni or other aftermarket adjustable struts & camber bolts w lower springs (& if you have extra $, get LCA) keeping the wheel setup in 17's with 225 will get you plenty of smile of your face while random ppl admire your car.