Just wondering what would be the best compromise, I want to put the same size tires on all four corners w/ my 18" sport (staggerred) wheels. The 235s are 1/3rd of an inch narrower on the rear and 1/3 of an inch wider on the fronts so that seems a bit better overall than going w/ the 245s which are about 3/4tha of an inch wider. Thoughts?

 

245s, no question.

 

Aren't the front wheels actually narrower than the rears? The 245's on the front wheels would probably not look right as far as the sidewalls flexing. And it will probably affect the handling a little. number steering?

 

no, they'll fit on the front. they're are several peeps here running the 245s all around on the X. generally speaking, the width range of a 245/45 is 7.5" to 9".

 

The reason I was considering the 235s (besides a better fit on the front rims) is the decent deal on these tires & they seem to get prettty good reviews for an all season tire, They came as original equipment on 400hp GTOs so they should hold up on a G.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...%2FPerformance

 

I just put 235/50 on the front and 255/45 on the back yesterday. They look great!

Honestly though the "best" size you could get would be 225/50 in the front and 255/45 in the back.

The "bulge" would be identical, and they're the same height (27").

That would look better than stock where the front tires are higher and bulge more on the stock rims.

I'll post pics tonight.

 

FYI, those tires are SNOW tires (KDWS) D stands for Dry, W wet, S snow.

And they suck compared to summer tires. The BFG KDW2 are better (but noisy).


The reason the GTO came with those tires is that they imported them all from Australia and didn't have a summer tire option (very limited options for that car).


There are plenty of better tire options. Those are freakin cheap though!

 

go to onlinetires.com or tirerack.com and get you some 245/45s... they'll handle better and you'll have some good options. 'holding up' is not what it's about. you could hold up on some 225/55s but that's not what it's about.

 

subscribed.. i'll be waiting for pics... what tires did you get?

 

The guy at the local tire shop strongly urged me to continue w/ the staggered
setup (it's also a Discount tire), and pretty much said the driving experience will turn to crap if I go w/ 4 of the same size on all fours. I'm now leaning toward 225/45/18 front and teh stock 245/45/18 rears, this allows me to get a few more choices such as Falken 912s. I wish the Kuhmo Ecstas were available in 245s, it's tough to find the exact sizes I'm looking for in a particular tire line
I think the smaller diameter front should still look fine and better than having a taller tire up front compared to the rear.

 

I would also agree with the staggered to some extent, but my personal opinion is not to go less than a 235 or so up front. if your going to buy tires, you might as well get something that will help your ride and handling.

A 225/45 front - 245/45 rear won't work as the fronts will be 3/4" - 1" smaller. If your going 225/45 up front, then you'll need a 245/40 rear

Try pricing out some 225/45/18 and a 255/40/18s.

 

Will the fronts being 3/4-1" smaller diameter cause any problems? the speedo is hooked to the tranny output right? Looks-wise it should look OK or am I missing something here?

 

Sumitomo HTR Z III. $670 shipped from tirerack. So far, I like them. They look great, have good traction and handling.

They have a little hum to them, but that could just be because they're brand new. Because they're taller than stock (by 1% or .3"), they flex slightly more and ride slightly smoother. But, that could be because they're new too.


1st pic is a "before" shot with stock tires. The next three are the new tires. I took more pics, but the shadows keep you from seeing the tires well.

 

The VDC (traction control) monitors revolutions per mile on the front and rear tires for wheel spin and they need to be close to matching. if they're off much, it won't be happy and think the wheels are spinning.

 

Thanks for the pics! Nice! I like the new look... I'll probably look into getting those tires