Tires?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 10-30-2014, 10:35 PM
  #1  
Registered User
Thread Starter
 
DgmSubyRoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 128
Car Info: 2013 WRX HATCH
Tires?

Hi Guys,

So I am planning to put on some 18x9 +38 wheels (likely Works) paired with some KW V1s. Curious to what you guys are running for tires? Keep in mind I am looking for best performance, while this is a DD, I drive my car aggresively and will likely track it and/or auto-x.

255 vs 265s? is 265 too much rubber/do you lose a sense of steering with that much rubber, etc... just some random thoughts.
Pilot super sports, star specs, etc.. what do you guys run?


If you guys have a 2011+ hatch that would be he best comparison.

Thanks
DgmSubyRoo is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 12:04 AM
  #2  
Roo
Forester Specialist
iTrader: (3)
 
Roo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Sonoma County
Posts: 3,985
Car Info: '98/'04 Foresters (S & XT)
Good luck...

The vast majority of i-club falls into one of two camps:

1. The 'Stance' camp, who believes they can somehow fit 10" wide 20" rubber band tires on, regardless of if they scrape going in and out of the driveway. They're also typically the ones who won't drive more than ten miles in any direction for any reason...

and

2. The 'Performance' camp, who believes that you can run 17's and 18's and run a 235 or possibly a 245 wide on the track. They're more likely to use their cars to track them or drive aggressively.

Unless you have the money (and I'm talking $1,000's and $1,000's of dollars) to heavily modify your suspension system so you're not rubbing, your tires are going to wear out quickly...as well as more expensive suspension components.

Just my .02

I'll re-think my position if there's a group of ten or more individual old-timers who chime in doing track days on 265's or wider.
Roo is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 12:17 AM
  #3  
Registered User
iTrader: (1)
 
DatAWSTi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Suisun
Posts: 336
Car Info: 04 STi AW
^ that guy went a little overboard on a simple question. Lol. I'll say I have 245s on 17x9 and there's very slight stretch plus I'm lowered not "slammed" I never rub. Was thinking of bumping my tire size up but then it looks like I'd rub. Also depends on the tire brand though as some are smaller or larger than what another companies would be.
DatAWSTi is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 12:39 AM
  #4  
Chicks dig me. April Fool's!
iTrader: (31)
 
darkonion's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 10,989
Car Info: 1997 Impreza, 2014 BRZ
Originally Posted by DgmSubyRoo
Hi Guys,

So I am planning to put on some 18x9 +38 wheels (likely Works) paired with some KW V1s. Curious to what you guys are running for tires? Keep in mind I am looking for best performance, while this is a DD, I drive my car aggresively and will likely track it and/or auto-x.

255 vs 265s? is 265 too much rubber/do you lose a sense of steering with that much rubber, etc... just some random thoughts.
Pilot super sports, star specs, etc.. what do you guys run?


If you guys have a 2011+ hatch that would be he best comparison.

Thanks
I run 215/45/17 Prius tires. Grip is trash, but the fuel economy is nice.
darkonion is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 12:52 AM
  #5  
Registered User
iTrader: (4)
 
PikkaGTR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SJ
Posts: 2,644
Car Info: 94 Integra beater: one Slow 3 Series RIP EvoX
18x9 with 245s wil fit nicely, good fitment and isnt to much tire.
they probably cost less than 265s and you wont likely get any more "performance" ove the 245s
PikkaGTR is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 01:01 AM
  #6  
Chicks dig me. April Fool's!
iTrader: (31)
 
darkonion's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Fremont, CA
Posts: 10,989
Car Info: 1997 Impreza, 2014 BRZ
Originally Posted by Roo
The vast majority of i-club falls into one of two camps:

1. The 'Stance' camp, who believes they can somehow fit 10" wide 20" rubber band tires on, regardless of if they scrape going in and out of the driveway. They're also typically the ones who won't drive more than ten miles in any direction for any reason...

and

2. The 'Performance' camp, who believes that you can run 17's and 18's and run a 235 or possibly a 245 wide on the track. They're more likely to use their cars to track them or drive aggressively.

Unless you have the money (and I'm talking $1,000's and $1,000's of dollars) to heavily modify your suspension system so you're not rubbing, your tires are going to wear out quickly...as well as more expensive suspension components.

Just my .02

I'll re-think my position if there's a group of ten or more individual old-timers who chime in doing track days on 265's or wider.
I think 265's could be advantageous, but... it is diminishing returns. Got to be able to justify the price difference.

To the OP: I wouldn't recommend going to one of the bigger sizes because of the diminishing returns. Going from 215 to 225 or to 245 is huge... but going to 245 to 255 is probably very marginal. You would just be going from a lot of grip to a little more than a lot of grip. Still a lot of grip one way or another.

In addition... I wouldn't let your interest in auto-x or track days influence you decision on tire sizes. When you plan to commit to a lot of events, then you should look into wider rubber. You can do both track days and auto-x on good ol' stock size tires and you'd be just fine.

Last edited by darkonion; 10-31-2014 at 01:13 AM.
darkonion is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 01:31 AM
  #7  
Registered User
 
a10495's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: San Jose
Posts: 169
Car Info: 2014 WRX DGM
all this talk about tires and wheels! what size should i run on my stock 2014 wheels? really thinking about trading them up for some 18's!
a10495 is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 09:01 AM
  #8  
VIP Member
iTrader: (1)
 
tecnica tech's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Livermore/ The Bay
Posts: 2,001
Car Info: 99 legacy gt
paging FlukeWRX aka JelloChex
tecnica tech is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 09:08 AM
  #9  
Nobody likes the tuna here
iTrader: (51)
 
Heedz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Somewhere San Mateo County, Inside A 911 Ambulance
Posts: 19,779
Car Info: 03 SRP WRX Street Class Prepped, 17 Chevy Duramax
13 hatch?

Fill it out with 255 or 265s.

Tire choice? Do you want tread life? If not go get some rs3s. Probably the best gripping tire out there for the price. If you want more wet traction go get re11s but they do cost more. Depends on your diving experience and how much you push the car because some pilot super sports or continental DW may suffice too.
Heedz is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 11:29 AM
  #10  
Registered User
iTrader: (3)
 
subysteez's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Davis
Posts: 2,116
Car Info: 06 WRB Wagon #wackfitmentsteex
Originally Posted by Roo
The vast majority of i-club falls into one of two camps:

1. The 'Stance' camp, who believes they can somehow fit 10" wide 20" rubber band tires on, regardless of if they scrape going in and out of the driveway. They're also typically the ones who won't drive more than ten miles in any direction for any reason...

.




Stance WILL bring about the end of times.
subysteez is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 11:52 AM
  #11  
Registered User
iTrader: (5)
 
Lowend's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 4,300
Car Info: http://kiva.org/invitedby/brett4254
The compound of your tires is FAR more important than size if you are serious about going fast.
Keep in mind the bigger the tire, the more weight. If there is one place on the car you want to minimize weight its in the wheels/tires. Wheel/Tire weight is unsprung, and rotational mass. This basically means it can ruin your handling, braking and acceleration in one fell swoop

If you are serious about performance street tires, here are the standards
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/types/extremeperf.jsp

Of those IMHO best right now are the Hankook Ventus RS3 and the BFG Rival
Lowend is offline  
Old 10-31-2014, 04:47 PM
  #12  
aka FlukeWRX
iTrader: (6)
 
JelloChex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: East Bay
Posts: 3,657
Car Info: '03 WRX WRB Sedan
Originally Posted by DgmSubyRoo
Hi Guys,

So I am planning to put on some 18x9 +38 wheels (likely Works) paired with some KW V1s. Curious to what you guys are running for tires? Keep in mind I am looking for best performance, while this is a DD, I drive my car aggresively and will likely track it and/or auto-x.

255 vs 265s? is 265 too much rubber/do you lose a sense of steering with that much rubber, etc... just some random thoughts.
Pilot super sports, star specs, etc.. what do you guys run?


If you guys have a 2011+ hatch that would be he best comparison.

Thanks

What's the budget you are working with? Do you already have the wheels or is the budget factoring in both wheels and tires or is strictly a tire budget?

Have you done track / auto-x before? Where are you spending the most dedicated time (DD, Track (HPDE), Auto-x)?
JelloChex is offline  
Old 11-01-2014, 10:36 AM
  #13  
Registered User
 
joe944's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Union City
Posts: 50
Car Info: 16' R, 14' WRX, 04' MSM
I'm running Dunlop Direzza Z2's, the star spec successor. My buddy bought them for his 13' but his wife didn't like the sound as they can be a little loud with the stock exhaust, so we just traded wheels for my 14's stock wheels.

They are a fantastic tire though, huge improvement over stock, cheap and also do quite well in the rain.
joe944 is offline  
Old 11-01-2014, 11:30 AM
  #14  
Nobody likes the tuna here
iTrader: (51)
 
Heedz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Somewhere San Mateo County, Inside A 911 Ambulance
Posts: 19,779
Car Info: 03 SRP WRX Street Class Prepped, 17 Chevy Duramax
Originally Posted by joe944
I'm running Dunlop Direzza Z2's, the star spec successor. My buddy bought them for his 13' but his wife didn't like the sound as they can be a little loud with the stock exhaust, so we just traded wheels for my 14's stock wheels. They are a fantastic tire though, huge improvement over stock, cheap and also do quite well in the rain.
Everyone that comes through our shop has switched from z2s to rs3 or nitro nt01s instead. They do not like the z2s compared to the z1 star specs what so ever.
Heedz is offline  
Old 11-01-2014, 06:59 PM
  #15  
Registered User
 
joe944's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Union City
Posts: 50
Car Info: 16' R, 14' WRX, 04' MSM
Originally Posted by Heedz
Everyone that comes through our shop has switched from z2s to rs3 or nitro nt01s instead. They do not like the z2s compared to the z1 star specs what so ever.
Interesting. When I need tires I'll probably get wheels and go slightly bigger so I'll definitely check them out.
joe944 is offline  


Quick Reply: Tires?



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:18 AM.