I'm currently running P215/55VR-17 Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 all around on my OEM stock sport 17's. The rears are basically completely gone while the fronts still have about 50% tread left. I think this is the result of no tire rotation and bad alignment settings a while back.

Question: now that that the rainy season is here and I don't want to take any chances with safety, should I get all new tires? I'm pretty much set on this unless it's safe to rotate the front tires to the back until they wear out too.

Bigger question: If I get new tires, what sizes would be acceptable? I want to go with smaller sidewall tires. I was thinking something like 225/40 or 215/45. Would this be ok?

Also, what are the best tires for under $100 each that have decent tread wear life, handle alright, and are safe in both dry AND wet? I was thinking Falken FK452s or some Nittos. I do not care about ride quality or sound.

Thanks guys.

 

Anybody? Today it was raining slightly and I wanted to see how well my rear tires could grip so I pushed it on a circular freeway on ramp and my back end completely gave out. I barely pushed it more than usual. I don't want to drive like this too much longer especially with the rainy season coming along in SoCal.

 

So basically you want the ****tiest tire that works in the rain?

Try Walmart?

 

Nope. FK452s are less than a hundred each and I wouldn't call them the ****tiest tire. I'm mainly concerned about what size tire I can run on my OEM 17s. I want to run lower side wall tires, but the factory tire size is 215/55-17.

 

1) Visit http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

2) Visit tirerack.com and review their suggested tires for your car, your size.

 

I know that the dealer recommends 215/55 and that is the OEM size for my wheels.

I don't mind my speedometer being about 5% off. I just wanted to know if it's safe/ok to run smaller sidewall tires (with slightly wider tires to compensate).

 

You can run wider and thinner within reason. I'd try to keep the dia closer than your 5% though.

 

Definitely go wider if you want a shorter sidewall. 215/55's are small enough as it is. I would go with at least a 225...a 235 might even fit. There are online tire calculators you can use to determine what the tire diameter will be.

 

I'm running 235/50-17 Yoko S Drives on a 7.5 wide rim. Same diameter as stock. Not the ultimate in the dry but the performace doesn't drop off in the wet like some other "stickier" tires do. You could probaly fit them on a 7.0 wide rim. Check the specs on tire rack.

 

I have a set of Kumho Ecsta ASX 235/50/17 that I used to run on my OEM 17s... great tread left - I really liked the tire.

PM me if you are interested - I'll figure out a decent price.

 

Same here I have some used (about 50% left front & rear) OEM sized Eagle RSA tires I can sell you cheap. PM me

 

Would I be able to run 215/50 with no problem? What about 235/45? How about 225/45?

 

post #5? did you read it?

 

Yes, I read it. And I did both things you said. Tire rack only suggests one size (OEM size) and I know that I can run different sizes than that, but I'm not sure what. Neither site answers my question in post 12.

 

I'm not sure what you are wanting people to tell you. It's up to you what tire size you put on your car. According to the guys above, 235's will fit so any of the three options will work fine. If you use the link Jeff92se posted, you'll see the difference between stock size and the sizes you are wanting to use. Personally I would go with the 235/45 because it gives you about the same diameter as the 215/50 which is only .5" less than stock. In my opinion the 225/45's are too short and the 215/50's are too narrow.