Speed_8

okay before I get yelled at for not searching lol, I did, but honestly regarding shaving my fenders and so forth I have no idea how to do, plus i have the 18inch mazdaspeed rims on my 8, Im purchasing 245/40/18s whats the highest I can go without modifying my fenders and so I would not rub my fenders on every bump or turn.. again sorry but I could not find what I was looking for.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

245/40/18 fits perfectly fine with those wheels and you should not rub or need any fender modification.

Are you asking how much larger of a tire can you run?
I'm a bit confused.

Speed_8

yes, I was wondering if I can go larger say 265 without any mods

c0ldf1ame

iTrader: (5)

whats the width of your rims, offset?

Speed_8

from what I was able to find they are 18x8 and i think the offset is +50

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

Why are you looking for wider tires? Looks or performance?

If it's performance, don't go wider than 245s, which are already marginal on 8" rims. 265s need 9" or more of rim width to actually perform well, and squeezing them on 8" rims will likely result in lower performance than the 245s, due to the added weight and sidewall flex.

But if you like the look of wide tires & sidewalls canted out over the edge, 265s will do the trick.

Speed_8

got to love this community, the smart thing to do would be just go with the 245's but the 265 are tempting lol but I think i will do the right thing.. I value what you guys say so what do you think of the re760?, its going to cost me 1183 cdn with the install, im in the military so im stuck buying with them as they give me a 36month interest free plan, any other opinions ? i had the proxes 4 but were done in one summer and i want a tire that will handle the wet weather as it rains alot here in kingston.

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

I've not used the 760 so I can't help you there. My main advice is look for a tire with a stiff sidewall, since even the 245s will not be properly supported by the 8" rim. I put 245/40 Toyo T1-Rs (which have soft sidewalls) on 8" rims once and was mildly dissapointed, subjectively speaking. Moved them onto 8.5" rims and they were fine then.

So, again, look for something with stiff sidewalls to help overcome the slight mis-match between 245s and 8" rims.

987HYS

iTrader: (1)

245's are perfect. I wouldn't go any wider than that.

Speed_8

Awesome thanks guys , now to decide between firestone indy 500 or the re760. tirerack favors the re760 but users favor the firestones. Again thanks for the help

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

Fixed that.

Speed_8

Well would half an inch really make a give difference ? I milked it up the firestones and bridgstones say the 245s would for the rom with no issue

Speed_8

Omg auto correct really screwed me on that previous post I cant edit from my cell lol

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

I'm being a bit of a perfectionist, I admit. An 8" rim is certainly in the acceptable range for a 245, but it isn't perfect as 987HYS says above. Yes, I'm splitting hairs, but I'm trying to make a point.

Tires are strange things from a behavioral standpoint. They are non-linear in their response, which is a fancy way of saying that small changes in setup variables (such as rim width) can have a significant affect on performance.

Street tires in particular are sensitive to this. Start to stray too far from the optimum width (and, if I am not mistaken, most tire manufactures state that the optimum width for a 245/40 is 8.5") and the performance drops off, and turn-in crispness suffers as well.

Note that "R-compounds" - the tires favored by most autocrossers & track addicts, have very stiff sidewalls and therefore you will commonly hear about solo guys stuffing very wide tires on 8" rims, particularly the stock class guys who can't change the rim width. This approach doesn't work as well on street tires, because of their softer sidewalls.

So, while a 245 on an 8" rim is acceptable, and will probably work well for a tire with a stiff sidewall, it isn't optimum. That's all I'm saying.

Go for the 245 with no worries. I do like Bridgestones as they tend to have stiffer sidewalls.

terch1

iTrader: (2)

Personally I don't believe in stretching tires to fit rims. I run 245/ 40 18s on my 9" rims. I always stuck to 225's on my stockies.

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

^I agree, but not all of us have the luxury of buying new rims. I do believe that choosing the right tire will result in a well behaved 245 on an 8" rim, even if you're not extracting 100% of the tires performance potential. RE11s would work great, I'm sure, but they are not cheap and do not last very long.

Speed_8

well i went for the 245/40/18 even called brigdestone about it aswell, they said if it fits withing the diamter range which is 8 to 9.5 you should have no problems, but he said 8.5 is ideal. also mentioned that not much will be noticed unless im on a track, but everyday driving is fine. I shold get my potenzas re760 next week, really excited, now i know what my wife feels like when she goes to walmart lol.

Thanks for everyones input.

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

In the tirerack surveys, note the number of miles the survey covered - very few for the firestones. I wouldn't expect the high rating to hold up over time. The Re760's have the singular advantage over similar class tires that they are assymetrical - meaning you can rotate them L/R as well F/R. This should help keep the tire noise from increasing with mileage which is common with the unidirectional type tires.

Speed_8

that was one of my decision factors. Over 2 million miles of review compared to thousands on the firestones, but i am glad with my decision and can't wait to put them on.

GeorgeH

iTrader: (2)

Good choice, enjoy them.