jero

Hey guys, i used to participate greatly in this site before it closed and moved, then lost base... anyway my stats. No type-R, not so fortunate. 1998 gs-r 34,000 miles, bought it new. oem Type-R struts, springs, rear lca, aem cai, comptech exhaust, neuspeed strut bars, dc sports short shift, neuspeed bushings, bone stock from the outside.

anyway, went hog wild and got some axis 7, 18 inch white rims. I know the 18s are heavier and rob HP, but these are relatively light (if there is such a thing for 18s) ANYWAY, they have toyo's on them now with the recommended 215/35 size. this size has a sidewall that literally is about an inch and a half tall. As a result 2 of the 4 toyos have ripped out sidewalls, despite having atleast 60% of the tread left. So my question is:

do you think a 225/35 will clear? or what about a 215/40? i'm using for summer use only (chi-town) and i'm thinking yoko parada spec 2s.

your feedback is appreciated.

JERO

hopofthese

whats up

I am no expert in any of this but i can tell u from experience of having a 99 honda civic si with 18inch rims and 195/35 tires (big mistake). Your rims no matter what are just too big, I learned my lesson by messing up the rims and losing a lot of power. The rims are affecting ur car's potential because rims are so big that it takes the car more power to rotate them around. I would suggest getting smaller rims maybe some 16s, but the biggest should be 17s.

I think 225's are going to be a lil big but it all really depends on the width of the rim you got. If you are going to be doing any track or autocrosses i would really sugggest gettin smaller rims. The 18's might look nice and all especially when your car is dropped, but really its all just bling. so its all your choice.

jero

The rims are 7.5 inches wide. I do not plan on autocrossing with them, If i did, i wouldn't have got them due to the weight. They are purely for style. I have always loved the look of white rims on red cars... So you think i should stick with the 215s? Looking at the rim atleast with the toyos on, it looks like there is easily nearly a half an inch of space on each side of the tire that could be filled in with a wider tire, but what concerns me is fender and wheelwell clearance. anybody else have any input? Thanks in advance for your help!!

JERO

Type R 98

id say 225 18"s tires, and take out that plastic piece of shit well on each side, you should be alright, don't drive fast in the rain, if at all. though.. you have to compromise

Beasty18C5

I curently run 18 racinghart cpo35 with 215 35 zr 18 with yokohama parada on my ITR i have no problems rubbing but my car isn't lowered. Going to a 225 would make it worse cause they will be wider and taller than what u and i have and wouldn't recomend, if your car is lowered u might have to sell rims and go with 205 40 17's then u might be okay.Any ways this will affect your performance I noticed big time and i will be buying 16" for racing around town, roadcourse or drag.I will use my 18" for show.

Beasty18C5

Also i've heard of Toyo's having their sidwall's ripping i have two friend's that happend to them there was a recall on that as one of them got it replaced but u have to pay for the tread that was used up.

jero

I thought about removing the fender lining, but decided against it because of the CAI. Without the liner, i may as well pour dirt into the engine. mine isn't lowered anymore than a stock type-R due to the suspension swap. I guess i'll just go with the 215/35 paradas. from an earlier post, how is your tread life on the parada spec 2's? How is the traction in the rain? the only other tire i'm remotely considering is the scorcher TA, but they seem soooo tacky with the colored strip and all...

thanks again guys,

JERO

Beasty18C5

I have the regular Parada's and they were pretty good in rain i can't really compare them to any tire cause i haven't had a chance. They will wear a little faster then Toyo's cause the compound is softer. Although I did have a chance to compare tires at the 2002 NOPI NATIONALS BF Goodrich tire test facility and 3 cars three different tire competitors they had 2 of the same cars with one being equiped with their own tire different series on each car and the competition I can't remember the exact order but there was a Yokohama AVS, Pirelli P7000 can't remember the last one. Can't tell you which of their models went up against those cause all I wanted to do is drive the SHIT!!! out of them, but each time I felt the competition tire was better then their own. This is from my own experience. By the way the three cars I got to beat on were Acura RSX base model, Lexus IS300, and the Subaru WRX shitty thing they were all automatics.

Later[/b]

hopofthese

The problem with your wheel size is your limited in tire selection. Doing the math on the paradas the225-35 paradas have a 5.2mm wider section width and are 7.8mm taller than the 215-35. If you have 3mm of clearance between the tire and strut and also between the tire and fender you maybe able to get away with it.
Also toyo tires(except the T-1, RA-1) suck. I had a set of FZ4 toyo's, they have to be the worst tires in the world, wet traction was bad and dry traction was not much better. I could have swore those things where hard plastic, no traction and would not wear out. I wouldn't put them on my car again, even if I got them for free!!!!! Tires the have a small sidewall its best to pick a good quality tire and check air pressure constantly. If budget and clearance allows look into a set of so3s', Awesome dry and wet traction. Only down side to them is cost and they run wider section width that other brands.

I say go with the 225-35, the extra side wall will help protect the rim, the increase in section width is small and allows better tire selection(s03,AVS sport).