235 or 245???
 

Ok so I am looking for a new set of tires. I am going to be going all seasons since the weather here in Washington is a little "shady" at times. I am lowered on Autoexe springs.....30mm lower then stock. I have a few questions about what will fit.

The wheel is 17x8 ET45

235/45/17 , 245/45/17 or 245/40/17 ????

I have done the calculations on 1010tires and understand the difference in size. But what will truely work? I want the fattest tire possible and am willing to roll the fenders...just not this week:arms:

i just put 235/40/18's on 18x7.5 and they fit perfectly. i would go 245's minimum. maybe 245/35/17?

what tires and offset are you running mrlilguy?

proper fitment should be 245/45/17 on a 17x8 wheel...offset is not ideal@ 45, as recommendation is 48 - 52, but hey, I'm entertaining 43 offset myself for the right deal...

I thought you wanted to sell your car..now you want new rims and tires? lol.

Remember that fitment is determined by the type of tire you're using, not just the tire spec's. A 245/45/17 RT615 is going to be wider then some 245/45/17 all-season (for example).

I'd personally go for the 235/45/17. I think that's the best overall selection. 245's are a bit wide for a 8 inch rim. (you'd really want a 8.5 wide rim), Your sidewall isn't getting as much support, which will hurt your lateral stability and cause the sidewall to flex under heavy turning reducing grip, and longevity of the tire.

This can be fixed by going with a tire with a very stiff sidewall (like the Falken RT615 used in the example), but that still won't be as good as if you had a more properly sized rim to tire width.

I actually run 225/45/17 on 17x8's, because the tire choices I wanted, weren't available in 235/45/17. Old autocrosser buddy of mine used to say...

"Always choose the tire first, then find the wheel to fit the tire."

anyone running dunlop direzzas in 235 or 245?

go with the 245, might be an issue in the rear unless you roll the lip, front will be no problem

I am dismounting my used 245/40/18 falkens soon. Have your buddy mount them on and see how much clearance you have. I have had no problems on 18x8 +48. I rolled my rear fender lip though.

I know someone was running my same setup with the softer mazdaspeed springs and rubbed, but did not rub with cobb springs. I think lymerock had a bit of rubbing on his weds with his 245s +50? Not sure how it'll be on the coilovers.

a friend of mines has the 235 on his stockers

correct, with 245's on my 18x8 +50's on stock springs, when I had the bilsteins or stock shocks on and hit a dip/compression spot in the road, the rear fender lips would eat up the outer shoulder on my tires. I was running a hair less camber in rear than stock, so that may have made things worse, but a simple roll of the rear fenders (there is an easy .5" of lip) will give plenty of room.

also if you goto a stiffer spring/coilover and reduce the ability to compress the rear, it shouldnt rub. When I got my koni's and put the rears on full stiff it stopped bottoming out, much like a stiffer spring would do.

i'll be running 18x8.5 +50 on ms coils. i'll be rolling the fenders - but i don't know if dunlop direzza star spec 245's will fit since they are notoriously wider than the average 245 tire.

mazdaman13, does he have any troubles with rubbing at all?