New tire time

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

It's finally come time to bite the bullet and replace the tires on my '01. Looking around online, it is obvious that the 285/35 18 size is fairly rare. If I go up to a a 295/35 there is much more in the way of choices. My first question is will they physically fit without rubbing? I'm pretty sure I've seen comments that other owners have done this with no problems. The second question is whether the 35 aspect ration is correct. It looks like the overall tire diameter change is negligable (26.1 vs 25.9) so the revs per mile work out to be pretty close. Will that aspect look correct? Do I need to go to a 30?

[sanj 12]

295/35 was used on the Sport 350, you should have no trouble whatsoever. Stick with the 35 aspect ratio.

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

I didn't know that, excellent! Were the fronts the same size? Are there any upgrade sizes for the front?

Edited March 25, 2008 by talon

[neal 4]

Yep, I've just changed to Brigestone Potenza RE050A 235/40/R17 fronts and 295/35/R18 rears (same size as the S350) and they're miles better than my 2 year old well worn Goodyear F1 GS-D3s. There's a small diameter increase in the rear rolling circumference so your speedo will read less by about 1%. But the speedo reads over by around 5% anyway. You can adjust the VDO speedo if you really want - I've done this so it's bang on with my GPS camera detector.

Edited March 25, 2008 by neal

[M3S2k 0]

I will be biting the bullet on my car this summer as well. I am planning on going up to the 295/35 rear size as well. Everyone stays with the regular 235/40 sizing in the front?

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

Out of curiosity, how do you adjust the speedo? I'm not owrried about it as I really don't use it much.

[neal 4]

Out of curiosity, how do you adjust the speedo? I'm not owrried about it as I really don't use it much.

I found the original VDO instructions on the web a few years ago and have them on paper here if you want me to scan them. Or just google 'vdo speedometer pulse', e.g.:

http://www.gomog.com/allmorgan/VDOCALIBRATION.html

Use the PULSE mode - decreasing the number makes the speedo read higher, increasing reads lower.

Edited March 25, 2008 by neal

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

ta!

[act2007 0]

I just replaced my tires and I went with the BF Goodrich Ge-Force KDW's...295 35 18 in the rear and it is excellent. Very good tread wear (300) and the grip/ride comfort is very nice. Besides, they're quite affordable too.

Alan

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

I looked at those and loved the tread pattern. I plan on doing a couple track days though and want something max performance without going to a DOT race tire. I plan on getting another set of wheels and will probably put the BFG's on them for daily use though.

[joeyoesprit 0]

I purchased the Falken FK452 Tires (stock sizes). So far no problem and they have a 280-300 tread wear. I do not track my car so I just wanted a reasonable tire for street use. For under $600US (for all 4 tires total) I think it is a good deal.

JoeyO

2001 V8

Edited March 25, 2008 by joeyoesprit

[karluk29 1 1 Vehicles]

just a quicky, check on this site and it will give you all you need to know about the size increase

i went from 285/30/19 to 285/35/19 and they looked really stupid tbh, so in the end settled for a different

tyre make and had 275/30/19 and there the same width as the 285/30/19 because there more of a square

cut tyre.<<<<if you understood that lol

here is the site i swear by when changing rims/tyres

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

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

I am looking at a shiny new set of Goodyear F1 Gs-D3's stacked in the living room (much to my girlfriends chagrin). I went with the 295/35 on the rear. They have a 280 tread ratiing and excellent wet and dry handling. I'm having them mounted today, so will repot back as I get some miles on them.

[kyliesmith.com 3 2 Vehicles]

Nice Russ, be interesting to see how they perform

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

It's truly a pity she won't let me keep them in the house, I do love the smell.

[Bibs 10,102 4 Vehicles]

Move 'em to the bedroom!

Personally, I'm not a fan of the GS-D3 and prefer Toyo Proxes. My front tyres are still 7mm but somehow (!) the rears are down to 3mm so I'm getting new Toyo boots for the back very soon and they're on order.

[aerobat 90 3 Vehicles]

I am looking at a shiny new set of Goodyear F1 Gs-D3's stacked in the living room (much to my girlfriends chagrin). I went with the 295/35 on the rear. They have a 280 tread ratiing and excellent wet and dry handling. I'm having them mounted today, so will repot back as I get some miles on them.

These are exactly the tires and size I had mounted on my S4, on OZ Nova's. I have only superlatives to say about them. Most excellent wet and dry handling - superb stopping power in the rain, although I had uprated brakes as well. Excellent cornering and grip, and tread wear has had no surprises either.

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

Move 'em to the bedroom!

I get the distinct impression that would have a cause her to develop a lot of 'headaches', if you know what I mean

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

The tires are on the car now. I've only done 5 miles, but the difference is night and day. I'm glad I went with the 295

[kyliesmith.com 3 2 Vehicles]

Great stuff Talon, what does the profile look like once mounted vs the 285, does it bulge out a bit? The only reason I say this is that the aftermarket 285 P Rossos on my rears sit perfectly, so just interested how they look to compare. I want to go back to 295s how it was originally speced from the factory, despite the larger tires harder to get heat into for track days.

[Günter 27 1 Vehicles]

one problem that i have in Europe [or especially Germany] is the strict regulation in tire size. 'We' need winter tires now, as it is not longer legal to use a car the whole year without special tires. The problem is that you can get several sport/summer tires for front and back (in the 235/40 +285/35 combination) , but not in winter specification! Dunlop makes one for the rear wheels, but no one offers E signed or DOT confirmed one for the front .

And i know ,from my time as the V8 was the one and only licensed car in my ownership, it is better for a car o be riven steady and regular

[talon 0 1 Vehicles]

Kylie, the 285's had a bulge, but the 295's are perfectly sqare from the wheel. I'll try to get some pics next time I have the car out. I spent all afternoon blasting around breaking them in

Edited March 28, 2008 by talon

[doporto 0]

What

[neal 4]

What

[Günter 27 1 Vehicles]

does "PCB" mean the bolt face ? If so, this is not Lotus only. Jaguar, Peugeot and others have it -but not with those 10" wide wheels . But it should be possible to use some smaller ones with spacers.. ?!