I'm due for new tires on my 93 Z28. Of course the recommended sizes are 245/50/r16 or 235/55/r16, but I'm actually wondering if you guys think p255/50/r16 in the back and p225/50/r16 in the front would still give me a smooth ride? I'm trying to stay with the wheels I have. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

The front will be almost 1.2 inches shorter than the rears. It would probably look really bad, and there is really no benefit.

 

Would it still ride OK? I'm trying to get the look of something like this: http://www.fquick.com/garages/viewga...ewimg&id=58708 , only with the wheels I have.

I owned a third gen before this and I had a similar setup to the car mentioned in the link above... I don't know what it is with me and having my camaros tires big in the back and skinny in the front lol

 

Why do you want such a tiny tire in the front? Are you looking for the "skinnies" look?

If you want to reduce your handling, braking and cornering capabilities with a skinny front tire, at least get a 225/55-16 to maintain something close to the stock tire diameter. The smaller diameter tire puts the front end closer to the ground, and opens up the already "way too big" gap between the fender and the tire.

 

I'm not trying to shrink the diameter of the tire. I'm trying to thin it down a bit. I'm keeping the aspect ratio the same so there will be the same amount of rubber between the tread and the wheel itself. And yeah I'm going for the skinny look. My older camaro had this and I'm thinking it'll look good on this too. I'm just asking quite simply, will a 225/50/r16 tire and 255/50/r16 tire mount on a wheel that has a 245/50/r16 tire on it now. and of course I'm open to hearing suggestions

 

You don't understand the tire sizing system. The "aspect ratio" is the ratio of the sidewall width to the section width of the tire. To calculate the sidewall height, you multiply the section width by the apsect ratio.

A 225/50 sidewall is smaller than a 255/50 sidewall.

225mm/25.4 = 8.86" = section width

50% of 8.86 = 4.43" = sidewall height

2 sidewalls + the wheel diameter = the overall tire diameter:

(2 x 4.43) + 16 = 24.86"

255mm/25.4 = 10.04"

50% of 10.04 = 5.03" = sidewall height

(2 x 5.02) + 16 = 26.04"

The stock tire diameters are 26.18" for the 235/55-16, and 25.65" for the 245/50-16.

 

Yes, it'll fit. However, follow Injuneer's suggestion about at least bumping up to a higher profile front, to make up for the lost diameter. You'd probably wanna punch it into a tire size calculator to get your overall diameters the same, to be safe.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Edit: Just tossed it in there, and yes, you'd want to go to a 225/55/16 to keep your overall diameter as close as possible. This puts the front and rear within 1/10th of an inch overall. (as a S&G moment, you could drop to a 205/60/16 and still be good, and would definately give you skinny up front, at a larger cost of handling)

 

A 205/60-16 is too narrow for an 8" wide wheel.

This is the only way to run "skinnies"

http://www.injuneer.com/images/photos/DCP03466.jpg

 

Oh I understand now. It's actually a percentage and not an actual measurement. That is what I was not sure about, thanks for clearing that up. Alright, so what would you guys recommend? 225/55/r16 in the front and 255/50/r16 in the back?

 

That will work.

What size tires were on your car from the factory? That will determine how much speedometer error you will have with the 255/50's in the back.

The other problem with the 255/50-16 size is the very limited availablity of tires in that size.

 

It says the original tires on it were 235/55/r16 and the door panel also recommends 245/50/zr16 so are we sure this will still work? I just don't want to order tires and have them not mount or it not ride right.

Currently I have 245/50/zr16 all around and it rides OK.

p225/55/r16 in the front
p255/50/r16 in the back work?

 

You will not have any problem at all with the 255/50-16s in the back. They match the diameter of the stock tires, and the small amount of added width will hardly be noticeable.

 

how about the front? is p225 too small for the front? It's 10 mm smaller than recommended

 

Sure... less tread, less section width will probably reduce traction, cornering, braking effectiveness, etc. But when I explained that up front, you said you wanted "skinnies".

Why do you think the upgrade option for the V8 cars was the 245/50-16 tires on all 4 corners..... more rubber, better results. Why did they put 275/40-17's on the SS and WS6 coupes at the factory? I love my 275/40-17's in the front, and 315/35-17's in the back.

10mm loss of width isn't going to make a dramatic difference, but sacrificing functionality for appearance seems counter productive. But the 225/55 will fit on your 8" wide wheels.

 

yeah I do want skinnies, I just don't want any shaking or any less smooth of a ride. I'll give it a shot. If it doesn't perform like it's supposed to I'll sell them to my buddy also looking for tires for his camaro.