das76

Hey folks,

Does anyone here run all season tires? I know, this is probably the most sacrilegious question especially to this group. I've got Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 on my RUF wheels (8.5" front rims) in 225/40R18. The rears look fine (running 265/35R18 on 10" rims), but the stretch on the fronts really doesn't look good and it's been bugging me - pics below

So why all seasons you might ask (or more realistically want to slap me in the face!)? I live in Victoria BC in the Pacific Northwest and unlike Vancouver and Seattle we don't get a ton of rain, let alone snow like much of Canada and parts of the USA. So that means I can drive my car year round (but most likely not much or at all in the rain). November to Feb is cold but still above Zero (4-10deg C / 40-50F). I'm also not a 'pro' driver like many of the folks here who can tell the difference.......yet. Maybe one day i'll get there.

According to TireRack they have the same Section Width and Tread Width as the summer Pilot Sport many of you guys run, so I'm a bit confused why these are stretched so much.

My car came with Rays TE 37's and summer tires (also on 8.5" rims) and look fine - so there is definitely something about these all seasons. I might try putting those tires on to see if the stretch is any better.

But ideally does anyone have any experience with all season tires that will look better?

My back up plan I guess would be to run these all seasons in the winter (and live with the stretch) and summer tires in the summer.

As always, any help is greatly appreciated!




REAR tire. Looks fine - not perfect, but much better than the front.

Metal Guru

Sounds like you're not a "stance" guy
You might prefer a 235 out front. I run them on 8's and I think they are acceptable but that's just my opinion. Go with 285's in the rear to match it all up.

das76

yes thanks for mentioning 235’s. I forgot to add that in. I have a set on hold at my local tire shop - they actually had the same tire but in 235

the front of my current tires rub the inner wheel well plastic a bit so I was hesitant to go to 235 which have a larger diameter. But my car will also get an alignment after the new control bushings go in so that might help

i also don’t want to have to roll the fenders if I can avoid it.

no harm in trying the 235’s and seeing what happens I guess.

Metal Guru

I'd say use a 5 mm spacer but it looks like your tire is already hanging out of the wheelwell. You might have to leave as is or switch to different wheels.

das76

i have a spacer already. So if I did go to 235 I could remove it if the tire was too close to the fender. but that would put a bit more tire on the inboard side and I’m not sure how much room I’ve got in there. Maybe that’s where adjusting the steering stops comes in. I saw a long thread on that too

fun times!!

Bill Verburg

235/40 is taller than 225/40 and an even worse match than 225/40 for the rear assuming 285/30 rear

if it were mine, I'd want 245/35 front on the 8.5s to match 285/30 rear and ditch the spacers in front

only issue is I don't think that those tires are available in 285/30

bweSteve

Michelin PS4S are indeed available in 285/30-18 for rears. I have them on my car. Not sure about All Seasons though

Tire Rack does not show the PS4S in 285/30,... but I got them from my P dealer for even less than what TR shows. Just ask.

Not sure why there is so much stretch on those. I have 225/40-18 on my fronts, on 8.5" rims, and they aren't quite like that.

urquattro20Vt

Man those rims are asking to get curbed... Cool rims tho.

Brandon
'91 Turbo

bweSteve

Now that I look again at the OP's pics posted above ... it seems like the stretch is actually exaggerated by the rim bead itself. Seems there is a large distance between where the tire itself locks into the bead, and the outer most edge of the rim lip.

I looked at mine again, since I am running the exact same size front tire,... and my RH36 rims from Alurad are much tighter on that distance, and thus does not have as much of that stretched look like OP's.

Are those RUF rims?

das76

@bweSteve yes RUF rims

bweSteve

What is the offset on your RUF front rims? ... It's interesting to hear that your current 225's rub a bit on the inside (probably on full turn of steering)

my front rims are: 8.5x18 ET46 and they do not rub.

It may be the offset that is causing your 225's to rub on full-turn,.... which then tells me that you should probably not try the 235's.

If you are set on keeping your RUF's,... you may be stuck with your current setup & stretched look.

bweSteve

... or use a thin spacer to push them out slightly.

did you decide on a tire switch?

das76

thanks for the feedback. Current situation is that since the car needs an alignment (since it’s getting new control arm bushings) that might fix the rubbing and at the same time we are going to test all season on 235mm on the front but I’m not holding out much hope that that will change the look very much

So assuming it doesn’t I think my plan is going to be:

1. go with summer tires on the RUF rims. I contact RUF as well and they recommend 2 tires: Pilot Sport 4S and Dunlop Sport Maxx RT2. The Dunlops looked the best from a fit perspective

2. since I haven’t had any luck selling the red TE37 rims that came with the car I’ll consider using those and having them painted silver and use the all seasons on those for the winter driving months of Nov-Feb

@bweSteve

as far as offsets etc go the wheels are as follows from RUF

F: 8.5x18 ET 58mm
R: 10x18 ET 66mm and they supply a 7mm spacer for the back

however we went with 15mm in the back (centering) and either 5 or 7 (but I think 5) in the front.

das76

mechanic got the 235/40-18 all seasons on. Wow. What a difference in stretch compared to the 225. I didn’t expect it to be that much better

there is a bit of rubbing on the front of the wheel well (the black plastic part) during steering but even my 225s were rubbing a bit

now just to check that I won’t have any other issues.

bweSteve

excellent