Help me understand steering feel on a wider tire (STX/DD)
 

Hi all,

I'm hoping to gain some clarification here and help make a decision regarding tire/wheel width. Basically, I am hooked on autocross, and my car is headed in the STX direction. My worry is this - I know 17x9 245 width is the ticket in this class, but if I'm only running 8-10 events a year, is it worth running those wider tires on the street?

Where I live, it isn't viable to switch wheels before every event, so I need just one set to do it all. My concern, more than absolute outright competitiveness, is maximizing steering feel. I know much of that is tire/sidewall dependent, but what general rules are there regarding tire width? I'd rather the car be as fun as possible for daily use vs being maximally competitive in class. Does that lead me to 17x8 225 width?

Does any of this make sense, or am I just totally off base? Any help is appreciated.

Edit: want to talk about scrub radius too. What offset should I be looking for?

Cheers,
Christopher

What is the barrier for you to switch wheels/tires before the event? If you can overcome that barrier it sounds like the ideal option for you (run a 225/45 17x8 for street and 245/40 17x9 for auto x).

Have you considered SSC class which uses a 225/45 tire size and more daily driver friendly suspension setup? You could easily drive (assuming weather permitting) that setup everyday and not change tires before events.

Hey, thanks for the response! I actually drove an SSC car and wasn't too happy with it, although it may have been that individual car. It does sound like a closer fit for what I'm looking for.

Basically, I live in an area where it'd be tough to store extra tires and swap them, though I guess I could look for a garage/storage to make that happen.

What size do you run these days?

In my opinion, no, not worth it. I’ve had overtired cars and they’re just not as fun. Especially if you enjoy power oversteer on corner exit.

Buy the 17x9s, get the good tires, still fun on the street imho, decent suspension tuning keeps it as lively as you like it.
:burnrubber:

17x8 with 225/45/17 is the way to go for a street car, but 17x9 with 245 is still plenty good (especially with coilovers).

- Andrew

Also, when it comes to wheel/tire storage indoors, may I recommend taking up an interest in plants?

Meet Fernando Alonso.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...d72080b2_b.jpg

- Andrew

Why Fernando, not Kimi?

https://youtu.be/sj5T6XZk-rw?t=175

Because it's a fern...

Edit, could pick up a Kimi Ficunon.

I posted this in another thread a while back, but it's relevant here too:

Going bigger/wider isn't necessarily better in terms of feel in my opinion. My experience with 17x9 with 245/40 is:

Pros:
- heavier/more steering feel
- more confidence with high-speed turns/sweepers
- looks really nice when wheels & tires are more flush with the body

Cons:
- acceleration feels a bit more sluggish
- less agile with quick/tight transitions
- more body roll if you're not making any suspension changes

I missed the more agile feel, so I ditched the 9" + 245 combo and went to a 8" + 225 as a compromise between stock. But even now, I'm contemplating on downsizing again to 7.5" or 7" + 215...

Personally, I haven't found wider tires to detract from handling or steering feel. If 17x9 with 245 is the ticket for STX, I'd just go that route. I drive on those sizes every day, they don't hurt the fun-to-driveness at all for me.

i daily indy500 255/45/17s with on issue. been doing it for almost 3? years. you can still autocross on them but they wont be as fast as yokos or REs. a bonus is that they make the steering feel heavier which is really nice

How do the indy 500s feel as far as steering response, grip, communication before they break loose? im leaning towards those in 245/40r17 or the hankook ventus v12 evo2s

Links to tests vs. other tires in their respective categories:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=235

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests...y.jsp?ttid=190

they are pretty ok until they get hot then they are done for the day

When I said I was looking for planted feel... :)

Thanks for the help everyone. Like Natalie Imbruglia, I am torn. I'm just trying to weigh the few events I would do per year vs the trade-offs in the real world. But if grip in the real world is still greater... hmm