tire size - front vs. rear...

[dafirebird]

I'm in the market for a new set of tires and want to go wider, at least for the rear. Going from stock to P255/50/R16, BF Goodrich G-Force, on a 2002 Firebird. I would like to know if I should use the same size all the way around, or keep narrower tires in front. I've heard that with wide tires in front, you lose some control on wet roads (displace more water) but gain corner handeling. Kind of a trade-off I suppose.

[josh98bird]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

I'm in the market for a new set of tires and want to go wider, at least for the rear. Going from stock to P255/50/R16, BF Goodrich G-Force, on a 2002 Firebird. I would like to know if I should use the same size all the way around, or keep narrower tires in front. I've heard that with wide tires in front, you lose some control on wet roads (displace more water) but gain corner handeling. Kind of a trade-off I suppose.

I have 255/50/16 in the rear and 245 in the front... you can't really tell a difference in my oppinion and traction is a little worse in the rain with these from the 235's i had.

[josh98bird]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

but i don't think its the size as much since i got different brand tires with different tread pattern???? so i have no clue

[Scott90]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

i have winston winners, all four 245/50/16

[Fireball27]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

Going from a 235 or 245 to a 255 won't affect your wet traction nearly as much as changing the actual tire tread. So if you buy some good wet/dry tires then you shouldn't have to worry about it. All you might want to think about is that having a wider tire up front will make steering at lower speeds harder.

[Vracer111]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

245/50-16 is a good size for the 4th gen Fbody. I have 275/40-17 all around (Nitto NT-555 RII DOT R tires) on 17x9.5 wheels and grip is much better than stock, even in the wet. Don't want to run through water puddles with them but it grips great in the wet. The power steering pump failed after I came off a track session last year.... the aluminum framed sparco steering wheel was on the verge of distorting with the ammount of force required to turn it with a failed pump (was a long drive home!)

Main thing is to get a GOOD tire in the right size... choosing a poor tire will be nothing but frustrating to your cars performance. 255/50-16 are oversized tires...

[Fireball27]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

245/50-16 is a good size for the 4th gen Fbody. I have 275/40-17 all around (Nitto NT-555 RII DOT R tires) on 17x9.5 wheels and grip is much better than stock, even in the wet. Don't want to run through water puddles with them but it grips great in the wet. The power steering pump failed after I came off a track session last year.... the aluminum framed sparco steering wheel was on the verge of distorting with the ammount of force required to turn it with a failed pump (was a long drive home!)

Main thing is to get a GOOD tire in the right size... choosing a poor tire will be nothing but frustrating to your cars performance. 255/50-16 are oversized tires...

Yes.

Let me just say this for wet driving: Having a narrow tire is not nessesarily an advantage, driving in rain ain't like snow. Its the ability of the tire to get as much water out from under it as possible that matters more than its width. What you need is a tire that has large channels in it that allow the water to leave the tire surface. A test done by Tirerack and Car and Driver magazine concluded that out of all the "high performance" tires on the market today this tire: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Eagle+F1+GS-D3

was the most effective in the wet. You'll notice its got a lot of deep channels that allow water to escape from under the tire. No coincidence there. If you ever need more proof, just look at F1; they've got what? 15" wide tires and can run up to 180mph in wet conditions.

[dafirebird]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

cool... exellent advice...thanx guys - Paul

[Finkledbody]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

Yes.

Let me just say this for wet driving: Having a narrow tire is not nessesarily an advantage, driving in rain ain't like snow. Its the ability of the tire to get as much water out from under it as possible that matters more than its width. What you need is a tire that has large channels in it that allow the water to leave the tire surface. A test done by Tirerack and Car and Driver magazine concluded that out of all the "high performance" tires on the market today this tire: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....Eagle+F1+GS-D3

was the most effective in the wet. You'll notice its got a lot of deep channels that allow water to escape from under the tire. No coincidence there. If you ever need more proof, just look at F1; they've got what? 15" wide tires and can run up to 180mph in wet conditions.

Yes but with a front an rear wing exhurting 60,000lbs +/- of downforce on the wheels... it allows for 180+ MPH in the rain.. put 15" tires on your car an an try doing 50 MPH in the rain.. haha

[Fireball27]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

Yes but with a front an rear wing exhurting 60,000lbs +/- of downforce on the wheels... it allows for 180+ MPH in the rain.. put 15" tires on your car an an try doing 50 MPH in the rain.. haha

Oh sure downforce will give you tons of traction, but see what good that does when you've got a quarter inch of rain between your tires and the pavement. If your tires don't have the ability to evacuate the water from under them then it won't matter how skinny/fat they are or how much downforce you are running.

[Kronic Budz]

Re: tire size - front vs. rear...

i have 275/40/17 all around and they help for cornering in the dry and wet.