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chakra71
06-14-2003, 07:31 PM
OK I need tires... like yesterday. My tires are a bit beyond the tread wear marker and it's downright frightening to drive in the rain. My camber kit is on it's way to me and will get installed next week at which point I plan on getting tires and alignment all at once.

I have never bought tires before, my father always handled it... so i know nothing about sizing, tread ratings, speed ratings (seems simple enough) and load ratings. Does anyone have a good resource for a tire newb? Or (if you're board enough on a Saturday night) want to type a little explanation of the above and whatever else i don't even know to ask?

I still have stock wheels, i would like to have a good 'compromise' tire... something that will stick well, but I have to have wet traction also (it's rained every day for 3 months here). I don't have a fortune to spend either... so I imagine i'll have to go with some kind of all-season tire.

I searched and saw some people running 215-55-15 and someone else running 225-50-15. What is the best size for the stock wheels? (opinions welcome)

TIA

EnJaNir
06-14-2003, 07:36 PM
To check different Tire Sizes check out this site

http://www.powerdog.com/tiresize.cgi

Input the stock tire size, then other sizes, and you can compare the difference with each size

For decent information about different tires, wet/dry traction, life, etc ive found that tireracks site does a good job discussing these items for the tire brands that they carry

hope that helps some

Steve02Si
06-14-2003, 08:54 PM
The stock size is fine for the stock wheel. Go with a better gripping tire and you'll be surprised with the results. If you're shooting for all out performance, the Yokohama ES100s are great. It you want an all season performance tire, there are plenty to choose from. If you decide to go bigger, the 205/55 15 is slightly shorter than stock and 1cm wider, you'll have a bit more contact patch, but your speedo will read high and you'll have more wheel gap. a 215/55 15 is about the same height as stock, but I'd consider it too wide for the stock rim. it'll look funny and because the tire is being pulled at the edges to fit the narrower rim, you wont gain full advantage of the extra width.

02TafWhtSi
06-15-2003, 06:34 PM
I have 205/55/15 and they fit perfect. A touch more aggressive but still very close to OEM size. The tires are Yokohama Avid V4 and they are considered a "High Performance All Season" tire. Very good rain traction as well as dry grip. They handle slushy winter junk pretty good but if its snowing heavily things can get hairy. A very good upgrade for the stock tires but look elsewhere for a hardcore racing tire.

chakra71
06-15-2003, 07:37 PM
Thanks for the info... know of any other places online that sell tires at a good price? I'm sure the shipping charges will just about offset the price benefits of buying such a large item online, but i'm trying to get a good price reference.

chunky
06-16-2003, 05:57 AM
i buy from the tirerack.com

awesome customer service, and shipping is usually about 40-50 bucks for a set of 4 tires.

For stock wheels, I've always felt that 205 is the best size for a 6" wide rim. In our case, that would translate into a 205/55/15.

The 195/60/15 is a good choice if your budget is a bit tight, but i'd go for the 205.

For a good wet/dry tire, it's hard to beat the value of the yokohama avs es100. I have them in 225/50/15 for my 15x7" aftermarket wheels. VERY good in the rain, and really good dry performance as well.

The bridgestone pole position s-03's are another good choice, although they are a bit more expensive. the bridgestone potenza re-730's are also an excellent wet/dry tire. The Kumho ecsta 712 is a good budget tire that isn't quite on the same level as the others i've listed but is still much better than stock.