Best Tire for Steering Feel

[Khyron686]

So the widest tire/wheel you can fit is best for total grip (autox), and the narrowest is the best for fuel econ/rolling resistance but what's the best choice for our cars to keep/improve the razor sharp steering feel?

I remember that one quote from a GT86 engineer that said never go wider than 215 on the front (but as much on the back as you need for power).

Do you 225 or 235 guys notice softer/mushier steering? Can you fix it with higher pressure? Or is it down to pressure+sidewall strength?

[JoeBoxer]

235/40 all season hurt my turn in a lot, 225/40 summer tire got the sharpness back but a narrower wheel also.

[ZDan]

Tire make/model is going to have more of an influence on feel than tire size. Pilot Super Sports in stock size or in 245/40-17 are going to feel a lot more responsive than Primacy HP in either size.

Excess tire weight tends to damp out feel, too, so keep that in mind. When I went from 255/40-17 StarSpec fronts (28 lb.) on the RX-7 to 245/40-17 Pilot Super Sports (23 lb), feel improved *dramatically*.

Light-weight but stiff construction will give the most responsive feel.

[wparsons]

Wheel offset will play a part too, if you've drastically moved the centerline of the contact patch in or out you'll feel it at the wheel.

[industrial]

Stiff sidewalls and lightweight. Too bad one generally decreases the other. I'm personally going to give advan ad08 in 215/40/17 a shot when my stock tires are smoked. Should be super stiff, give a gearing advantage and also be fairly lightweight. I'm not sure if anyone else has actually ran this size. I know robispec runs undersized tires for the track with seemingly great success.

[Khyron686]

Originally Posted by wparsons

Wheel offset will play a part too, if you've drastically moved the centerline of the contact patch in or out you'll feel it at the wheel.

Which is better/worse for response/feel?

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by Khyron686

Which is better/worse for response/feel?

Wheels with offsets close to stock should give better feel than low-offset wheels.

Lower-offset wheels (or use of spacers with stock wheels) increase scrub radius and increase the amount of spurious input from bumps and road imperfections This can mask to some degree the subtle "feelie" inputs regarding grip at the road/tire interface.

In my experience, higher offsets closer to stock give better feel and responsiveness vs. low offsets.

[ZDan]

Originally Posted by industrial

Stiff sidewalls and lightweight. Too bad one generally decreases the other.

But not always...
From the reviews, Continental tires are very lightweight and have flimsy sidewalls, so feel suffers. StarSpecs are stiffer but very heavy in the larger sizes, and feel suffers with them as well (at least in my case with 255/40-17 fronts on FD RX-7, they gave kind of a "wooden shoes" feel).

With no other info to go on, I consider weight along with "cornering stability" and "steering response" in Tire Rack surveys to help in the tire choice process.

I'm personally going to give advan ad08 in 215/40/17 a shot when my stock tires are smoked. Should be super stiff, give a gearing advantage and also be fairly lightweight. I'm not sure if anyone else has actually ran this size. I know robispec runs undersized tires for the track with seemingly great success.

I *loved* the effect of undersized tires on my 240Z. 225/50-14s Hoosiers were more than 2" smaller diameter than stock. You get: better gearing, more responsive braking, lower c.g., lower unsprung and rotational mass. Yay! Only downside is decreased ground clearance (not a problem at the track).

With an FR-S/BRZ, if 15" wheels clear the brakes, I would consider 225/45-15s for track tires

[Huehuecoyotl]

Assuming by steering feel you mean both response and feedback, then I always go for the stiffest carcass, and yes, that usually means beefy sidewall, but as the posts above show so many things like track, diameter, all have a huge effect on feel, both straightline and thru curves.

It doesnt however always translate to DD ride quality, tho. That becomes a compromise of many things.

This carcass stiffness can not usually be had without some plys(ie price or weight goes up!) and has a big influence on feedback and response as does the actual tread design, some squirm more than others, both from depth and by design and choice of compound and durometer.

Some folks like the 'feel' of the lighter Conti type tire with very soft (and thin) sidewall, as has been my experience with contis. others like a weighted steering. So best can be very subjective.

I think the semi-aggressive street stuff feels best to me, the more race oriented stuff often too much to qualify for best steering feel, if overall and DD is your goal sometimes a middle of the road tire offers the best steering 'feel' which isnt always the most responsive or offers the most feeback.

ofcourse, once I pick the tire class I wanna run, I go pick the suspension accordingly and brakes.

My steering feel was as much affected by tire choice as it was by alignment, and suspension setup. You can dial in understeer using the alignment specs, and this changes how the car feels as it steers too. Not an expert in these areas, but I enjoy constantly learning what does what to my cars handling and feel.

[CSG Mike]

Best steering feel? Street tire? RE-11 (Haven't tried the RE-11A yet). Also, get the Turn In Concepts solid steering rack bushings.