225/50s too small?

[Guest TurboSedan]

i really really want to get rid of these 225/60s my car has right now. they are still really good, the rear tires are almost new and the fronts are still very good too. i don't like how they look at all; wayyyy too much sidewall. they look too damn big. i am going to get my Intrax springs installed soon so the front of the car will probably go down close to 1/2" from what it is now. from what i have seen the Intrax provides a very noticeable drop compared to my 1.5" Eibach springs. the rear will just be adjusted down so it's level (coilovers).

 

i would like to just put my 225/60s on my SSE since that car needs tires really bad and i will likely be selling the car to my brother soon (225/60s are the stock size for that car).

 

so my Cutlass will get the new tires. i had always thought that 225/55s would be nice but i'm worried that isn't enough of a decrease in sidewall. would 225/50s look funny? 225/50s are cheaper from what i can tell. i really don't think wheel gap will be an issue and i am not worried about speedometer problems at all since i can fix that through the chip.

 

either way i am definately keeping my current 16" wheels.

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

If you get wider tires 235 or 245/50/16 won't that correct the speed issue?

 

check out one of those online calculators..

[GutlessSupreme]

I'd say go for at least 235/55s, or 235/50s. If you have the money I'd go all the way to 245.. they made my FE1 Cutlass handle 10x (still body rolls a lot in fast cornering, but those meats definetly hold it flatter most of the time).

[Dannymik]

I had 225/50 on my Cutlass and had no problems(just too much wheel gap which you are planning on correcting)...I'd go with 235 or 245 as well, whatever one fits your budget.

 

 

Here's an online calc

 

http://www.1010tires.com/Tiresizecalculator.asp?action=submit

[DaveFromColorado]

225/60-16 will have 757 rev's per mile and the 245/55-16's will have 758 rev's per mile so close, it won't mess up your speedo/odometer. However, if you put 225/50-16's on there, your speedo will be off by 6.7% or about 4 mph at 60 because those will run at about 811 revs per mile. 225/50-16 is a stock tire size for TONS of Ford cars, that's why they are so inexpensive.

 

--Dave.

[TeeJay3800]

If I am seeing them correctly, aren't those the wider wheels that came on B4U GP's? And didn't they come with 245 width wheels from the factory? I agree with the posts above, if you have the money, put the 245/50's on that those wheels were meant for. If you want even less sidewall, go with 245/45's or even 245/40's. That would look sweet!

[DaveFromColorado]

225/60-16 = 757 rev's per mile (0% difference)

245/55-16 = 758 rev's per mile (0.001% difference)

245/50-16 = 786 rev's per mile (3.7% difference)

245/45-16 = 817 rev's per mile (7.6% difference)

245/40-16 = 850 rev's per mile (10.9% difference)

 

the 245/55-16 is the only size that's close to the stock size... any questions?

 

--Dave.

[TeeJay3800]

Well he said he can fix any speedometer error with the chip. Since he's looking for less sidewall, a 245/40 might do the trick (gotta be an expensive tire though!).

[DaveFromColorado]

well if he wants to go with a smaller tire, that's perfectly cool - I just thought I'd post the differences on there so he'd have an informed decision as to which tire to get.

 

--Dave.

[Guest TurboSedan]

well, like i said speedometer problems will not be an issue.

 

i'm definately not going wider than 225 with these 25mm offset 8" wide wheels. i don't want the tires sticking out any further at all. they look good on TGPs because they have fender flares, but not on this Cutlass.

[pwmin]

i had 225 50 junk tires on my car with the factors 16x7's and they looked good with my car lowered. the 245 45 tires on my crosslaces are about the same sidewall, a little less. right now i have 215 55's on my stock wheels for winter. anway, the 215's and 225's are the right width for the 7"'ers and the 245's were perfect for the 8"'ers. i wouldnt put 225's on your crosslaces. they wont wear very well. the sidewall shouldnt stick out any farther than the wheels really. i dont think they will look bad, but i have never seen any on a cutlass. i had some good pics of different wheels with different tires i tried out but i cant find them right now (edit: i found some - see bottom). i'm trying to get a powertuner to fix my speedo; it sucks being almost 8% off. just out of curiousity (no offense), but why did you go for the crosslaces if youre not going to put 245's on them? imo, there are much better looking wheels that 225's would fit perfectly on.

 

i guess to really answer your question, i think 225 50's would look out for the sidewall. they do on mine. i have st springs and modified hms coilovers.

 

here's some pictures, but i cant find any when i had 225 50's lowered. cant find any w my 215 55's either, damnit. i just looked at these pictures and they suck, oh well

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/paulwmin/album?.dir=86f9&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

[Guest TurboSedan]

i had 225 50 junk tires on my car with the factors 16x7's and they looked good with my car lowered. the 245 45 tires on my crosslaces are about the same sidewall, a little less. right now i have 215 55's on my stock wheels for winter. anway, the 215's and 225's are the right width for the 7"'ers and the 245's were perfect for the 8"'ers. i wouldnt put 225's on your crosslaces. they wont wear very well. the sidewall shouldnt stick out any farther than the wheels really. i dont think they will look bad, but i have never seen any on a cutlass. i had some good pics of different wheels with different tires i tried out but i cant find them right now (edit: i found some - see bottom). i'm trying to get a powertuner to fix my speedo; it sucks being almost 8% off. just out of curiousity (no offense), but why did you go for the crosslaces if youre not going to put 245's on them? imo, there are much better looking wheels that 225's would fit perfectly on.

 

i guess to really answer your question, i think 225 50's would look out for the sidewall. they do on mine. i have st springs and modified hms coilovers.

 

here's some pictures, but i cant find any when i had 225 50's lowered. cant find any w my 215 55's either, damnit. i just looked at these pictures and they suck, oh well

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/paulwmin/album?.dir=86f9&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

 

wow, i can't believe the ST springs got the front of your car so low! i have Eibach springs on my car now but i do have some Intrax springs in my closet waiting to go on. my car should be sitting another 1/2" lower soon. anyways, i was planning on getting 245s when i bought my crosslace wheels, but the wheels & tires are perfectly flush with the body right now. i guess i am too worried about 245s sticking out, because i really don't want that. 225 was a stock width tire with the 16x8 crosslace wheels on GTPs as far as i know, so don't think i would have any problems with them not wearing very well.

 

my speedometer is about 24% slow right now, so i need to fix it anyway. hell smaller tires would make it even more accurate i'm going to have to get an EPROM programmer & GPS so i can fix that (need one anyway).

[GutlessSupreme]

Josh, trust me.. you won't regret getting 245s on there. At the very least get the 235s. It will still have a great look to it, and will handle so much better.

[Dannymik]

Josh, trust me.. you won't regret getting 245s on there. At the very least get the 235s. It will still have a great look to it, and will handle so much better.

 

I agree, the 245's might sound too radical, but 235's have a very nice stance to them. I understand you dont want that ghetto look when the tires stick far out, but 225 vs 235 wouldn't put the looks of your Cutlass into that category.

[pwmin]

there arent many 235 50's or 235 45's that i know of. 225 50's are hard to find unless you want a summer performance or semi-summer perf tire. if that's what you want, then great. i dont think 245's will look bad. what you could do is go to a local tire shop and see if they have and 245 45 junkers in the back and have them put them on just to see how they look. i thought the stock crosslace size for tires was 245 50's. thats also what discounttiredirect says.

[GnatGoSplat]

IMO, 225/50 is too small. That's only a 24.8" tall tire. I would be concerned about too much side gap which can't be fixed with lowering. With that small of a tire, it might look like a lowrider - big body and dinky tire with lots of room to either side. I personally prefer the look of higher-end European and Japanese cars where there's very little gap to the sides of the tire.

[Guest TurboSedan]

I would be concerned about too much side gap which can't be fixed with lowering

 

good point Shawn, i did not even think of that! i think i'm going to do what pwmin mentioned and try to get some junk tires so i can get a better idea of what a 245/45 or a 225/55 would actually look like before i shell out any money.

[GutlessSupreme]

I can grab some pics of my car if you want to see how 245/50s look.. they're wide motherfuckers, especially without the fender flares and bumpers, but I like the look. Most probably don't, but that's where 235s will come in 8) 225s seem too skinny to me, probably just a mindset that the TGPs got 245s stock so it seems like the other turbos should too (though the STEs came with 215s on those godawful rims :shock: )

[Guest TurboSedan]

after seeing Josh's Grand Prix sedan with crosslace wheels i'm pretty certain i'll be going with 245/50s. thanks for the suggestions everyone