Larry Herman

I am trying to decide on what size rain tires to buy for my car. The decision is between 18" 225s or 245s for the front. The 225s will probably cut through the water a little better, but may tend to understeer at the limit. The 245s will probably have enough grip to cause the balance to shift to oversteer.

If anyone has played with rain tire sizes, I would like to know what you think. Also, what condition do you prefer in the rain, mild understeer or mild oversteer?

sleder

Larry, if this is strictly for rains, I would go 225's if it's dual purpose, I would go 245's... You have the correct formula.
Has the new beast arrived?

SundayDriver

First, tire width has a very different impact than in the dry. Narrow tires carry a higher load per square inch and cut through the water better. Obvioulsy as a track dries this starts to change, but in real wet conditions, reverse your thinking about width and grip.

That said, you want as much understeer in the car as you an get in the wet. With tunable cars, most people disconnect sway bars and set shocks full soft. You want compliance and push.

John H

I pushed so much I went straight off the track at VIR last fall. I'd definitely go for the 225's.

Greg Fishman

You want some understeer. What I would do with my 993 is to soften the shocks to the lower end of the range, and either unhook the rear sway bar or loosen it to the end position. It just depends on the day, etc.

Get some Hoosier Rains (DOT) if you want to be competitive at a rain race.

Larry Herman

Thanks everyone. Greg, that is exactly the tire that I am looking at. I just got a couple of sets of the new R6 in 245 & 285, so that takes care of the dry, and am trying to decide on a front tire to match the 275 rain tire that Hoosier offers for the rear.

What I am trying to do is to decide on either the 225/275 or the 245/275 combination. I could even run 225/245 for those monsoon races.

Greg Fishman

Larry,
I had 245's, but that was because Woodman only had those at my last rain race. They seemed fine to me, but I don't have a ton of experience in the rain to make a strong recommendation either way.

If you have some old 16's or 17's that would be great as the taller sidewall helps soften the car. Also don't have to use an expensive set of 18's for tires you might use a handful of times a season.

Raeffer Govoni

Sorry it looks like this.

fleadh

You want understeer. But, not so much as that you can't stay on track. Light understeer and drive to it, while always looking for grip.

-mike

ProCoach

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Sean F

If only we could get your old avatar back

multi21

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