[NyC DrifteR]

me too..

[Gami004pilot]

I guess I'll be getting some Falkens soon because I need new tires!!!!
I'll be changing my spring from the Tanabes GF-210s to the new RCE's with top mounts so I just came up with some questions and concerns.

-Since the car is going to be lowered and on stock BBS's wheels, what should be the tire size I should go with?
-Since so many here are going a little wider for extra grip, wouldn't going wider have an effect on the speedometer, gas economy and performance because of weight and width?
-Also wouldn't going wider cause flexing when turning hard?
-Will there be rubbing issues if the car is lowered?
-Why not stay with the stock tire size for the RT-615 (pros and cons)???
-Are these tires louder then the stockers when driving on them?
-How long do they last comapred to the stockers?
Thanks in advance....

[futureSTI]

I dont understand why going wider on stock rims can help that much, it only makes sense that wider on a stock rim would just make the tire flex more. I dont see how any tire can be better then the stock one which is the tire that the car was tested with and it was setup for our suspensions spring loads. I maybe wrong but thats just what makes sense to me.

[Blaiser]

Originally Posted by futureSTI

I dont understand why going wider on stock rims can help that much, it only makes sense that wider on a stock rim would just make the tire flex more. I dont see how any tire can be better then the stock one which is the tire that the car was tested with and it was setup for our suspensions spring loads. I maybe wrong but thats just what makes sense to me.

dont you remember the pontiac comercials...?

"wider is better"

[MGizzle]

Well going wider on a stock rim doesn't mean you are going to flex more. You have a wider contact patch, which will give more lateral force and maybe more flex.

In the end all you care about is better handling and not busting stuff up. Wider tires will give you better performance (keeping everything else equal). The reason subaru uses 225's I think is because of weight, cost and clearences.

I think the stock Bridgestones are sick and might be better than wider Azenis, but honestly the difference in lap times is probably nothing and the difference in the price is A LOT!!!! I just want to have fun with my car on the track and cheaper tires will allow me more of this.

[Interior Flaire]

Originally Posted by MGizzle

I payed $470 shipped for a set of 245/45-17's Azenis ($99 a tire I think). The cheapest I could find for the RE070's is $180 a piece (without shipping). In my opinion this is why a lot of people go away from the OEM tires plus they are wider. Also, when you go through 2 sets a summer you probably want to stay away from the Bridgestones.

I love the RE070s but its just not cool burning them up on the track when you could've put all that money into something else on your car.

Now, about the tire stiffness tester. You could cut the sidewalls and see how many layers of steel (or whatever) each tire has. Or, you could take a few dumbell weights and put them on top of the tire in increments of 10-20lbs and measure how much it sags. You could actually dork it up even more and plot it in excel (dang I felt weird saying that) and compare slopes.

Where?

[Gami004pilot]

Originally Posted by Gami004pilot

I guess I'll be getting some Falkens soon because I need new tires!!!!
I'll be changing my spring from the Tanabes GF-210s to the new RCE's with top mounts so I just came up with some questions and concerns.

-Since the car is going to be lowered and on stock BBS's wheels, what should be the tire size I should go with?
-Since so many here are going a little wider for extra grip, wouldn't going wider have an effect on the speedometer, gas economy and performance because of weight and width?
-Also wouldn't going wider cause flexing when turning hard?
-Will there be rubbing issues if the car is lowered?
-Why not stay with the stock tire size for the RT-615 (pros and cons)???
-Are these tires louder then the stockers when driving on them?
-How long do they last comapred to the stockers?
Thanks in advance....

ANYONE???

[LOLSTi]

Originally Posted by Gami004pilot

-Since the car is going to be lowered and on stock BBS's wheels, what should be the tire size I should go with?
-Since so many here are going a little wider for extra grip, wouldn't going wider have an effect on the speedometer, gas economy and performance because of weight and width?
-Also wouldn't going wider cause flexing when turning hard?
-Will there be rubbing issues if the car is lowered?
-Why not stay with the stock tire size for the RT-615 (pros and cons)???
-Are these tires louder then the stockers when driving on them?
-How long do they last comapred to the stockers?
Thanks in advance....

1) 225/45/17
2) Width doesn't affect spedo. Economy will go down by .05 mpg. Performance will be increased.
3) To a degree, but if you're going to be competing, you want all the grip you can get.
4) Not with 225s.
5) Pros: (Better) Fit and (Lower)Price. Cons: Less grip than 245/255/275s.
6) Possibly. The STi isn't that quiet inside to begin with. This shouldn't be a make/break factor, IMO. If it is, don't buy either tire due to the stiff sidewalls and tread pattern.
7) Depends on driving style, completely.

[GSXR]

I picked up my car that I left at my friends house and drove home. It happens to be up in the mountains. I'm going at a pretty good clip and notice that the car is moving around a bit more than normal but still handling well. I reach the gas station at the bottom of the mountain and check tire pressures of the RE-070s and they are below 15 psi. If you look at them, the look like they're a little low but not that low. The RE-070s are stiff. The RT-615s are definitely not as stiff.

I have the RT-215s, RT-615s and Hankook RS-2s for my autox Civic and the RT-215s are by far the stiffest tire. The RS-2s and the RT-615s are close with the RS-2s being slightly stiffer.

If money was no object, I'd be running the Yokohama AD-07s but since it is, I ordered a set of the RS-2s. I went with the RS-2s for two reasons. They handle heat better and had the slightly stiffer sidewalls. But here's the kicker. I could have easily have gone with the RT-615s because of it's wider tread, better wet handling and the beefy tread on the shoulders. I think they're both really good tires and it just came down to the mood I was in, the day I ordered the tires.

This past weekend, I won in my class autoxing my STS Civic. I had the RS-2s up front and the RT-615s on the back. If I had them reversed, I would have ordered the RT-615s.

[Gami004pilot]

Originally Posted by LOLSTi

1) 225/45/17
2) Width doesn't affect spedo. Economy will go down by .05 mpg. Performance will be increased.
3) To a degree, but if you're going to be competing, you want all the grip you can get.
4) Not with 225s.
5) Pros: (Better) Fit and (Lower)Price. Cons: Less grip than 245/255/275s.
6) Possibly. The STi isn't that quiet inside to begin with. This shouldn't be a make/break factor, IMO. If it is, don't buy either tire due to the stiff sidewalls and tread pattern.
7) Depends on driving style, completely.

So basicly stay with the stock size?

[WRB Kid]

I get RE070's for really cheap so all I have to say is RE-070's FTW!!!!

[futureSTI]

Originally Posted by WRB Kid

I get RE070's for really cheap so all I have to say is RE-070's FTW!!!!

me too, re070's FTW!!

[Stee]

People who stay stock end up in second place.

For all intents and purposes, wider IS better.

The truth sometimes hurts.

Go to ANY autocross and take equivalent drivers with equivalent cars and run one car with ~4 inches more rubber on it all around and tell me who pulls faster lap times. You can't beat physics with ignorance.

225 section width is fine for STIs that remain stock or slightly modified. Once you cross a certain threshold of power output and/or suspension setup and/or fear factor, they JUST will not suffice.

I passed that threshold a looooong time ago.

[Gami004pilot]

Originally Posted by Stee

People who stay stock end up in second place.

For all intents and purposes, wider IS better.

The truth sometimes hurts.

Go to ANY autocross and take equivalent drivers with equivalent cars and run one car with ~4 inches more rubber on it all around and tell me who pulls faster lap times. You can't beat physics with ignorance.

225 section width is fine for STIs that remain stock or slightly modified. Once you cross a certain threshold of power output and/or suspension setup and/or fear factor, they JUST will not suffice.

I passed that threshold a looooong time ago.

Thanks for bringing the thread back.
I'm not stock but don't have alot of power. I think that i might get these tires cause I haven't heard of anything better then stock tires other then these (Falkens RT-615) and they just are a little notch under the stockers.
What tire size would you recommend if I have the stock rims and want some better performance?

[PeterC0523]

How do the RT-615s handle in the wet? How's the hydroplane resistance?

Any info on how they are in colder weather/snow compared to the RE070s? I know it wouldn't be safe to run the RT-615s in snow, but in the unfortunate event that it inadvertently happened, how would they handle?