I'm thinking about going with some telstars with 165r15's up front. I do know my cornering and braking will become worse, and I'm ok with that, but I've got a few questions.

1. Where is the best/cheapest place to buy tires and what brands are people running? Any online places?
2. Do you use yours on a daily driver and if so how many miles a day?
3. Roughly how many miles can I expect to get out of them?

 

Hey, whats up?
I got a brand new (well ok I got maybe 50 miles on it) Dunlop sp in 165/15 I will sell ya for 25 bucks, only got one though so you would have to get another. Wheel warehouse downtown has em for around 50 to 60 bucks I think.
You can always go cheapie tire at any national tire place like tires plus or firestone.
I had to go with a 185/15 to raise my front end up a bit to get some clearance for my LTs.
The tires should wear like any other, you should get 40 to 50k out of a set.
You could run them on a daily driver but I would shy away from that only cause of rain and stuff. Mine is not a daily driver that is why I run skinnies and Drag radials all the time.

 

Cool. I'll probably see you out a sonic on Friday if you show up. Exactly how many inches tall is the 165r15 tires? I might take ya up on that tire if I can find a matching one cheap enough. If you have aim my screen name is "a97blackformula".

 

I got 26x7.5x15 M/T Sportman Front's, DOT legal, 200 mph rated for $83 a tire from Summit.

As for miles, I'm still on my first set because I bought Telstars earlier this summer.

 

If you go for the SPortman Fronts mileage isn't really a consideration. I put on a new set every year. I drive on the street and track with them. The nice thing about the Mickeys is I can get the 28" tall tire which really helps at the starting line.

 

What's the overall diameter of the 185/15's? I have 165/15's and I think the car sits kinda low in the front.

 

1. Pep Boys sells a Futura Metric radial 165 R15, (VW Bug Tire), for $25.00 a piece. I got two mounted and balanced for a total of about $75.00.
2. Mine are track only. You could drive them on the street as long as you don't care about handling in the corners. Also at freeway speeds you're going to notice that much more of the "road" is felt in your steering wheel.
3. I don't see any reason why you wouldn't get normal mileage out of them, remembering that this is a cheap tire.

 

I just bought a set of 15/4 telstars from Summit and went with cheapie Pep Boys Futura Metric 165/15 tires, $25 each. I only use mine at the track and driving there so they don't get much wear. They don't handle too great on the street thats for sure

 

Derrick, I gained a little more than an inch in diameter switching to the 185s.
The 165 dunlops where a little bit less than 25 inches and the 185s are a little bit more than 26. I am measuring with a measuring tape and I am sure my accuracy is not all that great, I do know that with the 165s I was scraping everything and with the 185s I have yet to scrape anything.

 

What kind of time gains or mph gains do you get from running skinnies? I want some cuz they look bad ***, and if they give enough of a gain, ill get some. Thanks.

Benji

 

Usually around 1-2/10's & 1-2 mph

 

I'll second that. Went from a 13.12 to a 12.94.

 

I think those gains may be a tad optimistic...

I canactually quanity a longer rollout with a 28" tall tire and so I may have pickes up .03-.05 max. The unsprung weight loss and less rolling resistance when factored into a 3600 pound vehicle doesn't add up to diddly squat.

 

Sometimes I wonder if my brain works right.
My new front tires are still 165/15s its just that I went from a 50 series to a 70 series tire. The width of the tread stayed the same but the sidewall is larger, making overall diameter greater.