[KarlSTI]

I like my Falken RT615's ......even if I didn't autox I like the way they feel on the road and I see no reason to go below 245 on the street. They worked fine for spirited driving in the rain in the mountains too....Soft sidewalls..just pump those suckers up!!

I wore the stock tires out at 12k miles and have 9k on the RT615's and they're just starting to hit the wear bars. Without autox I'd get more miles out of them for sure.....

[Kirv]

Originally Posted by Gami004pilot

Whats up RT-615 owners.
I just brought some Falkens for my STi and wanted to say thank you for the help.
I really like the tread design but hate the side wall compared to the stockers.
I have the 245/45/17 and they look like truck tires compared to the stockers.
They have nice grip, the same as the stockers and are a little louder in road noise in my opinion.

Does anyone know if the tires are lighter then the stockers?

I'm really having some issues with getting the car to drive straight as possible and wanted to ask if anyone has noticed how these tires wonder off to any direction. I feel like the car is off alignment.


please give comments

^^
me too 245/45/17. Here are my observations:
Sidewall a bit too soft for the 245/45 on the stock bbs, i feel the tire roll under the rim under crisp turn-in (wish they made 235/45).
They fill up the wheel well nicely, looks nice and mean.
Better ultimate grip than 225's.
They tramline all over the place, little bumps and grooves pull the tires in all directions.
Ride is softened up a bit (i'm on jdm pink springs).

For what I'm looking for in handling/ride quality, i'll probably buy them again. But, I'd go with a 235/45/17 first, if they made that size.

[Mykl]

After yesterday's autocross I think I've come to the conclusion that I like the RT615's better than the RS2's. I drive better on them.

[Gami004pilot]

Does anyone know the weight of the 245/45/17?
Do they weigh more then stock?

So what should've been the ideal size to buy? I love the look of the stockers compared to the RT-615's. The Falkens look like truck tires.
I do feel the tire bend alittle in really hard cornering but you really have to be corning hard core to feel it.
I'm just wondering if I made the right choice when choosing my first replacement tire.
What I was looking for when shopping for a tire was something near stock performance or of course better perfromance, longer tread life, and maybe a quiter ride.
What tire and size would fit those requirements?

[thrlskr]

Originally Posted by TurbeauxREX

Tire manufacturers make recommendations for a given tire size mated to a range of wheel widths, typically with one width being the ideal size to use. Depending on the year of STi you have your wheel is either 7.5 or 8" wide. And as a few folks have already stated, tires vary in width despite whats stamped on the side of it. The Potenza S03 is known to be a wide tire in a given size. The RE070 is a wide 225 and when looked at straight on it is damn near square, placing all of the tread on the ground. Don't get too caught up in the 245/255 Vs 225 thing. Lay a ruler on the graound of the tire mounted on the wheel, on the car at normal wieght and then measure how much rubber is actually laying flat on the ground. That is your contact patch.

When shopping for a tire, go to tirerack.com and you can view the SPECS for a given tire to see the wheel/tire sizing recommendations. A 245 or 255 tire on a 7.5 - 8" is not the preferred set up. Can it be done? Sure. You can also put 20" spinners on your STi, if you want. Someone will sell them to you if you got the money and inclination.

My point is this thread is giving advice to people, many obviously with little experience and/or knowledge (no offense) that just isn't accurate. The "Wider is Better" comment is fun to say, but, unless that wider tire is applied to the correct size wheel, under the right (wrong) circumstances, you're asking for trouble. Ever seen a photo of how a wheel moves in and out of a tire under heavy cornering loads? Pretty impressive. Now, apply that movement to a tire that's balooned out around a too-narrow wheel and easy to see that the potential is there for the wheel to dismount itself. You should be able to figure out the potential for disaster from that point.

As for this yearning to have wider rubber on your STi to be competetive in auto-x or track days, you would really be suprised just what your car is capable of if driven to its potential, not yours. So many people make the mistake of spending gobs of cash modifying a car that they haven't even mastered in its stock form. I've done it. Spend some of that mod-money on driving lessons, on a road course, from a true instructor. It will open your eyes. Once you've reached the limits of your STi, then spend money to make it faster (in-line, cornering, whatever). I'm willing to bet a lot of the folks giving advice never learned the limits of the stock STi to begin with.

Lastly, for all of you going through multiple sets of tires per summer doing track days, do you know that you can buy take-off race tires in just about every compound avaliable for a fraction of what you spend on new street/track tires? Many manufacturers and sizes are available. The guy advertises in Autoweek and has for decades. Look him up and buy real race rubber for the track. They are built to withstand the heat and loading.

Peace,

Curtis

Good post Curtis. If anyone is interested my review is in the review section.

[dailydriversti]

Apparently I'm an idiot . From the looks of it the 245/45 are just a little bit taller than stock. I could have sworn when going to 245s one should go with a 40 series though.

[Kirv]

Yes, 245/45 are taller than stock so you're not an idiot.

I'd really like to see a 235/45/17 or the 245/40/17 as you suggest. I'd try either as my next RT615.

[dailydriversti]

Well, problem is, i don't think they make them in that size.

Also, i was going off the miata.net tire calculator, and apparently they are not that much taller. (But, yes, actual sizes may differ)

[Datadatum]

Too bad they don't sell 245/40R17.

As for my 2cents, I liked everything about the handling better with the RE070s. However, I do like the progressive give of the Azenis.

[KarlSTI]

Yeah, my vote is for 245/40's in 615's!

Did I mention I like the 615's a lot? They're a little tall when new but as they wear they look perfect IMHO. Fat looks better in this case and they're not nearly as noisy as the stock RE070's which really got noisy the balder they got. I also thought the stockers were noisy around corners and felt a little "slippery" around the track (fine for the street) although the feedback was so good that decent laptimes were possible. The 615's are quieter and feel stickier to me although I think that when they do let loose the warning signal is much shorter....

Does that make any sense?

[Mykl]

I love the 245/45's. I think they look better because they actually fill up the wheel well, but I enjoy the slight gearing push they give.

[Stee]

I'm also running the 245/45/17 RT615s.

Pros: Traction is excellent, breakaway is smooth, ultra low price of admission.
Cons: Tire weight(28.1-28.5lbs), needs ample counter weights to correct balance

These tires are perfect for anyone who wants an aggressive street tire during the week, and an excellent autocross tire on the weekend. They are also the perfect tire for anyone who wants to stick with a 17" wheel and duplicate the transient response of the RE070, which is VERY hard to do with any other 17" non-R compound tire on a similar sized wheel. This is the primary reason why you see some autocrossers running 18" in the front, 17" in the rear.

I also want to add that the STI can quickly outgrow it's 225 stock tires(as good as they are) just by adding a simple sway bar setup and altering boost levels. I will agree that the stock tires can, and do, go a long way for those who have yet to reach that level.