New tires are.... Disapointing...

[MeZapU]

I figured the easiest route for me to take in getting my SVO on the road is to just buy some replacment tores for the original SVO wheels. So I ordered some 225/50/16 Falken GR Beta FK-451's. Figured it would get me by for a year or more until I wanted to upgrade the wheel tire package later. I mounted and balanced two of the tires today and they are disapointingly narrow. Noticibly narrower than the Firestone 225/50/16's I removed. Narrow enough that it looks pretty dumb. Almost like they are 215's or 205's.

I think I'm going to call Discount Tire Direct tomorow and see what my options are. I may get stuck with the two that I mounted but I'm thinking of returning the other two and getting the same make in 245/45/16. I'll just need to see what they have to say.

I'll post some pics tomorrow. To dark right now.

[DAVEZ84SVO]

I have been running the Fusion HRi (or HR1 I cant remember which ones at the monemt) A great tire & they where very clost to the same size as the Goodyear Eagle's that cam on these cars.. IIRC, I think that htey were about $65 a tire from Firestone.. I payed less cause my brother-in-law runs the one here in town..

I have attached a pic so you can see how they look on a car.. It is not the best but you can see how close they resemble the GY's in size..

HTH

Dave

[bendutro]

Width is only part of the equation. Remember that the wider you make the tire, the less steering feedback you'll get. There has been SO much development done with tires that losing a few millimeters of width may not hurt handling at all when you consider how grippy, quiet they may be and how you're using them. Pure street, autocross, weekend drags?

Just curious, what is the traction, treadwear and temperature ratings?

[boostedbruiser]

I recomend Hankook RS2's for anyone looking for a GOOD sticky tire thats pretty cheap IMO.

I have a set of 245/45/16's on my SVO and they are nice. I even like them at the drag strip.
Treadwear on the hankooks are 200 and everything else is A's
I will say this though, they are a great tires UNLEss you have alot of rain. It seems to me like they are a little slick in the rain, but then again i have quite a bit of ooomph. Even set on 15 psi, as soon as the engine gets into boost the tires are slip sliding away.......................Singing...............

Oh i only paid 100.00 each for them.

Another good tires is a Kumho MX cheap but max size for 16" wheels is a 225/50/16.

[MeZapU]

Its not that I dont think that the tires will drive nicely on the street. Its just that I think they look stupid on the wheels/car. Like they are too skinny for the wheel. The sidewall comes straight down and barely bulges out past the lip of the rim. Just call me picky I guess.

Treadwear: 280
Traction: AA
Temperature: A

Te front tires in the pic are the Firestone Firehawks. Same 225/50/16 size but they are 1 1/2" wider than the Falkens of the same size.

I sent the other two unmounted Falkens back to Discount Tire today and will be replacing them with some 245/45/16's once my money is refunded.

[blackpheonix]

I have the 225 50 16s on my stock rims and I think they look fine.The difference may be that they are the Zenis 615s They are a great autocross tire. In fact about a third of the people at the track have the same tire.
You said that the firestones were wider and the same size but then you said that they were 255 50 16s? Not 225 50 16s was this a typo ?

[sar4497]

I thought that's how they were supposed to look. If the tire is too wide for the wheel, it will ruin the feel of the car.

[MeZapU]

Oops, Yes. Typo.

[DAVEZ84SVO]

I must say that the pic that you have of the Falkin's are exactially how my Fusions HRi's look.. The side wall goes strait to the widest part of that tire.. IIRC, every tire MFG measures their tires differently.. The older Goodyears were a fairly wide tire..

I do like the tread pattern on the ones that you have chosen..

Dave

[DAVEZ84SVO]

Here is a Pic of how the rear of my SVO looks with the Fusions on it.. They are 225/50-16's.. I yhink that is looks fine.. I know that some day I might want more rubber on the road, but until I wear these out, they are on there for a while.. They shall be seeing some good wear when I go to some road coarses over this summer..

Dave

[MeZapU]

Here is a Pic of how the rear of my SVO looks with the Fusions on it.. They are 225/50-16's.. I yhink that is looks fine.. I know that some day I might want more rubber on the road, but until I wear these out, they are on there for a while.. They shall be seeing some good wear when I go to some road coarses over this summer..

Dave

Those tires have way more bulge than mine have and look, "right." My tires have almost no bulge at all and look funny to me. My new 245/45/16's should be here Thursday and I'll be sure to take pics to share.

One good thing to note, Discount Tire gave me a $50 cupon because, "They were not able to satisfy me." So all it cost me was shipping the tires back($22) and $9 for the new wider tires.

[DAVEZ84SVO]

I would be intrested in seeing how your new tires look.. I'll be looking for some pic's!!

Dave