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Old 02-26-2006, 03:53 AM
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Darien
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Default Wider tires?? (Update) PICS

I'm currently running 255/40/17 on my rear wheels. What's the max width I can go on my 17" rims without flaring the fenders? The 255's are kinda slim with all that torque

Last edited by Darien; 03-14-2006 at 08:36 PM.
Old 02-26-2006, 11:34 AM
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AO
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Depends on how wide the wheels is. Ususally, most tire mfg. will post the max width you can put on particular size wheel. Generally a 9" wide tire will handle upto a 285 tire, but there isn't much selection in 285's, 275's will offer the widest selection. You might, if lucky, find a 295 that will fit. That's probably your best bet with those wheels. But be advised that you might have to roll the fender lip to get them to fit.
Old 02-26-2006, 11:46 AM
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the flyin' scotsman
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I've got 275s on the rear and 235s on the front, Michelin PS2s............wouldn't go any wider without lip mod!!!
Old 02-26-2006, 02:46 PM
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Darien
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Originally Posted by Andrew Olson
Depends on how wide the wheels is. Ususally, most tire mfg. will post the max width you can put on particular size wheel. Generally a 9" wide tire will handle upto a 285 tire, but there isn't much selection in 285's, 275's will offer the widest selection. You might, if lucky, find a 295 that will fit. That's probably your best bet with those wheels. But be advised that you might have to roll the fender lip to get them to fit.

The wheels are off a 993 (not sure what year) and they are 9" wide. I was thinking about getting 275's but wasn't sure if they will fit without removing the spacers?
Old 02-26-2006, 03:00 PM
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IcemanG17
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Darien
How much room is there between the 255's and the fender....you should have about an inch on either side....you should be able to fit 275's no problem...maybe 285's.... With the right wheels-spacers-fender rolling you can run 335's.....but thats tight...I think a 295-305-315 would look sweet on a 928!!
Old 02-26-2006, 03:05 PM
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Shane
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275's will fit but they will most likely rub with the spacers in there. I rolled the lips on mine to make room.
Old 02-26-2006, 03:27 PM
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Rick Carter
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Darien,
Are you running spacers with 255 width? I removed about 1/4" off my spacers and run 255. Without spacers I ran 275 with plenty of room. If you run 315 that's only 4 more inches of rubber on the back; the shape of the contact patch changes to wider across and narrower front to back but remains the same size. The tire compound makes the biggest difference. IIRC Jim drives the very brown on the street with 17" but on the track with 15".
Old 02-26-2006, 03:37 PM
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Darien
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Originally Posted by Shane
275's will fit but they will most likely rub with the spacers in there. I rolled the lips on mine to make room.
Shane, Did you use the bat method? Any pics?
Old 02-26-2006, 03:38 PM
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Darien
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Originally Posted by Rick Carter
Darien,
Are you running spacers with 255 width? I removed about 1/4" off my spacers and run 255. Without spacers I ran 275 with plenty of room. If you run 315 that's only 4 more inches of rubber on the back; the shape of the contact patch changes to wider across and narrower front to back but remains the same size. The tire compound makes the biggest difference. IIRC Jim drives the very brown on the street with 17" but on the track with 15".
Yes, still have the spacers installed and no problem with the 255's.
Old 02-26-2006, 03:47 PM
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Shane
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Something like that yeah.

Funny thing is when I had the same set up on Heidi, no rolling and no rubbing, but she had brand new bilstein/eibachs and stock ride height.
Old 03-13-2006, 08:13 PM
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Darien
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Well, I installed some 275/40/17's on the rear today and no rub I'm not sure I like the look with that size tire on the Cup 17's. They overwelm the wheel. Might need to start looking for some 18's

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Old 03-13-2006, 08:21 PM
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Shane
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Pics?
Old 03-13-2006, 10:11 PM
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295x30x18's leave about 1/2" btween the fender and tire on my old gal using 18x10.5"be turbos. inside will just start to touch trailing arm if car is in the air, but moves out as car drops down.... no spacers and minor lip rolling (body shop did it)... the OB's seem a bit tighter than later MY stuff...

front's are fine w/18x9 and 265x35.18. but I did notice one side of the car is closer to the tire than the other. apparently it's normal, and 911s have similar issues w/the rear....

fwiw, I just put bridgstone PS2's on (treadwear 140) and they really hook up compared to the goodrich TA comps (330 treadwear only lasted 1500 mi, but I suspect the new stuff will last longer if I don't mis-behave as much)... I did have to use deep alloy lug nuts (pelican has them), and cut the studs about 0.11" to make it pretty...

Old 03-14-2006, 01:01 PM
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dr bob
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Remember that different brands of tires will probably have different tread widths even at the same cross section. Even within brands: I notice that my Mich PS2's are wider than the Mich Pilot MXX3's on the same rims. PS2's have a nice rim-protecting rib on the sidewall too.

Deciding what will fit is a pretty easy exercise if you have something close already on the car. For instance, the 275 tire is about 3/4" wider than the 255 tire you have on the car now. On the same wheel, the 275 will stick out about 3/8" further on the outside. You can put your floorjack under the suspension arm with a block, and raise the suspension while checking clearance with your fingers. If you can keep two fingers between the metal fender and the rubber through the whole range of travel, you can feel pretty safe. This allows for the 3/8" difference in width, an allowance for new tires vs your slightly worn old tires, and an allowance for lateral deflection of the suspension during cornering. More than a few tires seem to fit OK during static inspection, but rub under dynamic conditions, so be sure you take that into account.
Old 03-14-2006, 03:43 PM
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mark kibort
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also depends on which rim you put them on. i remember putting the 275s on the 9" cup rims. no problem and were much more narrow than when they are on a 9.5 or a 10" rim.

mk


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