I've been searching all over for some answers on this, but can't seem to find what I'm looking for. I just got Coupe 18's that have some pretty worn Yoko ES100's on them, 225/45 in the front, 245/45 in the back. They're tolerable for now, but within a month or so they should be replaced. I pulled the AWD fuse, but I don't like how the car behaves now, so I want to go back to AWD, but I have some questions about the tire sizes I should get. The way I see it, I've got 3 options (the 4th isn't really an option).

235/45 all around. Pros: Stock diameter. Cons: Very limited selection.
245/45 all around. Pros: Big selection. Cons: Front tires stick out kinda far, 3% larger than stock.
225/45 front, 255/40 rear. Pros: Good selection, simulated staggered. Cons: 3% smaller than stock, 255/40 is a tight fit on an 18x8.
235/45 front, 265/40 rear. Pros: Matches stock diameter. Cons: Expensive, poor selection, 265 won't fit on an 8" wheel.

My initial plans were to get the 245's all around, but I put my 245's on the front and the tire is definitely outside the wheel well. I can picture streams of water flying up the side of my car in the rain. I would get the 235's but I'm not impressed at all with the selection. These will be summer only tires, and unless I spend 200+ on each tire, there ain't much out there.

But then I thought about, and researched going with the "staggered" setup, 225/45-255/40. The tires are very close in diameter to each other, right around 26.0", so I shouldn't have any problems with the AWD. They're 3% smaller than stock, but that counters my 3% larger setup I run in the winter. Both sizes are available in my top 2 tire choices, Nitto Invo and Bridgestone RE760 Sport. The problem is some sites like Tirerack say I need at least an 8.5" wheel for a 255/40. But other sites, and several posts here, say you can put a 255/40 on an 18x8.

So, here are my questions. Is anyone running Coupe 18's on their Sedan and have 245/45's all around? How's the front wheel well fitment? Not for height, but width. Is anyone running a 225/45-255/40 setup on their Sedan with the Coupers? How's the sidewall on the rears? And any pics of either setup would be nice.

And please, no replies about just unplugging the AWD for the summer. I don't want to do that.

EDIT: The car is not dropped, but I might do a mild drop in the future, Coupe springs all around or Coupe/Z.

 

Why isn't 225F/245R an option?

 

^^^ That's kinda what I was thinking too... Those diameters are within 3%.

Run 225s all around, but get a tire with a rim protector so it doesn't look too stretched.

 

I have 225/45 in front and 245/40 in the rear and it's perfect imo.

 

I have montegi 18s and they are 225F/245R and it's a nice. I don't think I'll get something else when I'm up for new rubber. Other than putting some money into them.

 

Because I have AWD and I can't run tires with a different diameter without unplugging the AWD, which I don't want to do.

They're within 3% of stock, but one is -2.6% and the other is +2.8%. I have AWD and don't want to pull the fuse for the entire summer. And running 225's just looks bad. They're too small. I'll tolerate them on the front, but never on the rear.

The 245/40's are about 2.6% smaller than stock, and more than 1% different than the 225's, which is too much difference for AWD.

I don't want to disable my AWD, so please, no more replies about how great the 225 - 245 setup is. I agree it looks good, but it's not an option. I'd like feedback on the options I listed.

 

According to this tire calculator ( http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html ) the difference is only 1% from 225/45 to 245/40 so I don't know where you got the 2% from. The difference when compared to stock is irrelevant because the AWD system doesn't care what size the tires are as long as they are all similar in size.

 

1. aren't coupe wheels staggered as well? i thought they all were staggered minus the stock 17 coupes.

Well i'm running 235/45 and 265/40 and i love them. Car feels VERY planted with the 265 in the back. I haven't had time for pictures yet. AWD light is off and that made me happy.

when its time for tires i'm going to run the same or do 245/45 all around. the 235 in front on my 8 inch wheel with a +30 doesn't stick out at all. I cant see a 245 be anymore. My 265 in the rear with the 8.5 +33 now that thing sticks out a bit but only on the side wall, i dont see any extra dirt where the mudflap would be. Looking at it, yea it MIGHT stick out but odds are water is not going to be flying at you. if anything get mudflaps since they stick out a little more,

 

Ugh, I made a mistake. I have a spreadsheet I created that has a whole bunch of different sizes of tire and wheel combinations and that's where I was getting my numbers. But I just discovered a mistake on it that was computing the wrong percentage.

However, they're still off by 1% from each other, and that's still a little too much for comfort. My "staggered" option is less than .25% different.

 

Coupe wheels are not staggered, just the tires. Coupe 18's are all 18x8 +30. They are not 18x8 +30 front and 18x8.5 +33 rear. What tires are you running? Because the selection in 235/45-18 is kinda weak.

 

i agree 235/45 are a very weak selection unless you want to drop some cash.

i'm on eagle RSA in the front with pilot sports in the rear. i bought it with pilot sports all around but 235/40 in the front and my AWD light was annoying. i picked up a pair for RSA for like $100 with 50% thread left to match my rears with about 50%. next year i'll be getting something like a toyo T1R.

i priced out some tires now, running staggered and running same size is normally the same in the end. you spend a little more on the 265 and a little less on a 235.

if yours are 18x8 i would completely rule out 265. it will fit tho but might not drive right. I would look into getting 245 all around or 235 pending on how much more money they are and etc.

 

what kinda drop do you have? I have ran 225/45 Fr and 245/45 R setup before, I'm currently on 245-45 all around. I have the Ray's 350z Track wheels, they are staggered. The front does not stick out at all to me on 245-45, it's perfect IMO. As soon as my rear tires go out I'm putting on 265-40-18 in the rear to complete my stagger again.

 

I don't have it dropped, and for now I don't plan on it. What is the offset on your wheels? If the Coupes were +38 I'd be buying 245/45's all around and wouldn't have started this thread. But they're only +30, and the 245's in front are outside the wheel well.

I can't put a 265/40 on an 8" width wheel.

 

A worn set of tires can be off 1%....1% is nothing.

If you want it to be perfect then honestly 225/45 all around would look best imo.

 

I think the 225/45 all around looks too small, especially in the rear. I'll tolerate it in the front because it fits flush against the side of the car. I'm leaning towards the 225/45 front, 255/40 rear setup. Like I said, 225's all around are too small in the rear, 235/45's have a very limited selection of tires, 245/45's all around are too big in the front. The 225/45 front, 245/40 rear doesn't interest me either because the rear starts off 2.25% smaller than stock and will only get worse as it wears.

Is anyone running a 255/40-18 on Coupe wheels?