So here's where i'm at...

Stock rear tires on my 04, 6mt are 245/45
Stock front tires, same car are 225/45 - no news here i'm sure.

Here's what I want to do:
I'm looking at BF Goodrich g-force T/A KDW-2 tires to re-shoe my baby
and I want to get a little more tire on the stock rims.

Soo..

the KDW-2, 225/45's for the front are 25.9" dia. and section width is 8.9" and
turnd 802 revs per mile.

the KDW-2, 245/40's I want to use on the front will go on a 8-9.5" rim and is
25.7" dia., section width of 9.6 and turns 809 revs/mile.

on the rear (stock replacement) 245/45 KDW-2 dia. 26.8, section 9.5" and 777 revs/mile.

the KDW-2 I want to run on the rear is a 255/45, dia. 27" with a section 10.1 fits a 8-9.5 rim and turns 777 revs/mile.

These are all published specs.

Any feedback?
Near as I can tell this may give me a little more of a camber issue but should fit the stockers and get me a little more meat on the ground.

As 90% of my driving is the 18 up the Sanberdu mountians I could really use the extra tire on the road.

And....VDC OFF!...lol

 

Bump!!

not a single comment?...no one on this board has tried this?...

jeesh!

 

I cannot answer your question with direct experience yet (waiting for my rubber to wear out), however SCC did a lot of research on this very subject. The first question you must ask yourself is what end state you are attempting to get? Stock style under steer? Glutinous tail smoking over steer? Or perhaps perfectly neutral? Follow the link below and some of your questions will be answered.

Just remember that the functional difference expressed as a percentage in total outside circumference between front and rear tire must remain similar or the traction control will think the rear is slipping. When I asked the senior techs at two Infinity dealers, they were not sure what the allowable variation was (there has to be an allowable variation to deal with uneven tire wear).

I plan on going to 235/40’s in the front to even the steering out and add some adjustable Hotchkins sway bars. We’ll see what happens. Good luck.

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.com/te...50z/index.html

 

Front and rear sways are soon to be ordered..my goal is to just get a tighter handling car with a little more grip to deal with roads I drive daily..I'm not really in the market for a new set of rims as I like the 18's that came on the car so my only option there is to try to get a little stickier/wider tire on the car...'specially the front as the G is so prone to understeer. I'm pretty sure new sway on the rear will take care of most of the understeer but I want to increase the grip even more.

 

Cast vs. Forged, wheel weights and match balancing.

I agree on the wheels issue. The 18’s that come on our car are very good quality, and forged. In order to get a superior wheel, you will spend a minimum of $500 per.

I did not fully understand this until we started selling aftermarket wheels in my suspension shop. The majority of wheels sold in the aftermarket are prone to warping, flattening, fracture and imbalance when used with a low profile tire. Where a forged wheel might need 1.5-2.0 ounces to balance, a cast wheel will often require 4 to 10 ounces after a mere 10k miles and a curb hit or two. CAST WHEELS ARE A WASTE OF MONEY.

One thing that sucks on Nissan wheels is their need to use inside tape-on weights. Yes, this method works and looks better. But it is inferior to the DYNAMIC method of balancing whereby the weights are hammered onto the inner and outer rim lip. In addition, these hammered weights stay. Tape weights (utilizing the ALLOY 2 mode on Coats computer balancers) don’t.

Another option for balancing difficult wheels is “match mount” balancing, which is a pain in the *** and expensive. If you ever have serious problems getting rid of the 50mph vibration (BMW owners take note), especially in suspensions with a split lower a-arm, this balancing method is best. Look for a shop with a Road Force Balancer and specify a match balance. This method requires rotating the tire on the rim after measuring imbalance. The tire itself (which are never perfectly uniform in density) is then used as a counterweight to any imbalances in the wheel itself. Residual imbalance (if there is any) is addressed thru weights. Expect to pay $25-40 per wheel for this service.

 

Well it's time to order new tires...12,212 miles and the pilots are history...
I guess i'm on my own on the tire selection...I was really hoping to get a little advice on this..

 

I just passed the 200 mi mark on a set of tires in size 235/40/18 up front. Yes, those are slightly smaller diameter than stock, but no problems from the traction control have arisen. I will post more latter if the TC system starts to complain.

 

These tires track well and grip very nicely. I still suspect I will have to use some bars to go further neutral in steering behavior. All things in good time. As for the tires themselves, look damn sexy and very well priced. Treadwear rating is an adequate 300, which should give 10 to 16k miles with no rotation. At $157 a tire, that’s pretty damn good. Any higher treadwear ratting would give more noise and less grip. That’s fine out back, but not on the fronts.



If you want to insure the balance is spot on, clean the inside of your wheels before you take it to the shop. Two reason’s: first, dust and dirt does weigh a couple of grams and can throw off the balance. Second, a clean DRY surface is imperative for sticky weights to stick for longer than a week. Your tiremonkey will appreciate the effort.