Preferred Tread Width for replacement 18's?
 

I'm joyfully ridding myself of the hideous Turanza ER33's on my '05 Sedan w/Sport Pkg. I've had the car for 10 days and, frankly, that's 10 days too long for these pieces of crap.

But since there are so few tire options at the stock size (235/45 R18) I'm considering my alternatives. Don't want to go too wide and lose that "stiff sidewall" feel. But I'd also like to stay as true to the overall stock wheel/tire size as possible. According to the Miata tool, it looks like 255/40 R18 would come pretty close, but I'm concerned that the 255's will be too wide. Any input on this?

Also, other than the affect on the speedometer, what are the pros/cons to going to a bigger or smaller overall size? If I'm planning on "lowering" eventually, should I go a bit smaller - or does it really matter? Help? :confused:

-T

When it's time to replace the goodyears on my G, i'm going with 245/45-18 Bridgeston SO-3s.

To be truthful, the Goodyear NCT-5 that is also OE equipment are pretty good...I'm leaving them on the car and I'm damn fussy about tires. Might be able to find a takeoff set cheap on the forum or ebay. (if that's a concern)

Browse around on tirerack.com, why don't ya?

255/40/18 would be near the original diameter. But, most of the tire manufacturers recommend at least an 8.5" rim width to mount a tire of this size on (well, I found 1 tire that had a recommended minimum rim width of 8"). Personally, I wouldn't put a tire of that width onto the sedan 18" wheel which is only 7.5" wide. I was considering the 245/45/18 size. The Continental SportContact2 is on my list right now. Price is ok (compared to others), and it's actually 1 pound lighter in this wider size than the stock 235/45/18 ER33s.