optimal tire size for stock wheels

[brillo]

I'm considering replacing the stock tires but I want to keep the stock wheels for now so I'm trying to determine what the optimal size would be to give the car a bit more grip without affecting the steering feel or handling due to a sidewall overhang. I've tried to search on the topic but I can't seem to search tire size and most of the topics I see are wheel related.

225/45/17 seems like the best choice, and there are alot of tires in that size. How much, if any, feel and steering precision will I loose? is it all going to be tire dependent?

My FRS is a toy car, not a daily driver, so while I don't want racing slicks I'm fine with an aggressive street tire so long as it can handle wet roads. I do the occational HPDE but mostly just enjoy the car on the road.

What are peoples experiences with 225/45/17's? Should I stick with the stock 215/45/17 and just get a sticker tire? I would rate my priorities as steering feel, handling, NHV and cost in that order.

[f0rge]

Any proper summer tire will be a huge leap in terms of grip over the crappy tires this car came with. Unless you're having trouble finding tires in the stock size I would just stick with stock to avoid a speedo difference. But the variance is only 1.44% so either size should work just fine.

[ayau]

Stick with 215 but with stickier tires. The oem wheels are 7" wide and even 215 is a bit wide. Thinner tires will provide a stiffer sidewall, which will improve turn in response.

[brillo]

225/45 is a more common size and is a bit wider but I'm not against using a 215/45 if going wider on the stock wheels comes with some downsides. I'm not trying to over tire the car but the stock ones to me are kinda skidish and unpredicable at speeds over 40mph.

[Liquidsnake]

Im actually on a mission to burn through these bad tires, so i can equip it with a stickier tire.

[Black Tire]

I would go with the 225/45/17, but I have not tried this myself yet. I think that it will be more dependent on which tire you choose than on whether you go with a 215 or a 225.

[DAMotorsports]

I have been running 235/40/17 on my Hondas race car.the rim (do to the rules) has to be 7" wide. I have a set of 235's on Oder should be here by the end of the week. Ill post some pics

[whataboutbob]

I've been running 225/45R17 Michelin Pilot Sports (1st gen) on my factory wheels. They work great for daily driving. They suck compared to my 245/40R17 Z2s on 17x9 RPF1s for AutoX.

[Gearhd79]

I really would like to see just how stretched a 235 40 is on a 7" rim but im leaning toward a Dunlop in 215 due to it actually being a wider tire than stock 215. I guess the stock tire is smaller than it is sized for... I measured the tread width and found it to be around 185mm

[smmmurf]

Originally Posted by Gearhd79

I really would like to see just how stretched a 235 40 is on a 7" rim but im leaning toward a Dunlop in 215 due to it actually being a wider tire than stock 215. I guess the stock tire is smaller than it is sized for... I measured the tread width and found it to be around 185mm

That's pretty awesome.

Confirms what I found. I stacked up the Michelin 215's against some Nitto 205's and they were about an inch narrower for two of them.

[UncleFester]

215/40/17 gets my vote.

[MVJ1975]

I just run stickier tires in 215/45R17. If you're not tracking it or running auto-x 215 or 225 is plenty for street use.

[Gearhd79]

i actually went with the 225 45 17 dunlops and they arre plenty wide for street use on the oem rims. I will be autocrossing with them this summer

[wparsons]

I have 225/45 Z2's on their way, but for 8" rims. The Z2's, RS3's, rivals, etc in a 215/45 will be WAY grippier than the stock tires, and will keep the weight down. If you want the lightest option, the kumho ecsta xs is a fair amount lighter than similar tires.