Gah! Can't Find Tyres!

[MBS206]

Hey all

I have a set of Advan Racing RG wheels on the car. The rear is running 265/50/R17 on it.

Now, the current Falken tyres are rat house, so I went looking at the tyre shops for new tyres (Just for prices atm) and I can't manage to get any.

Can anyone recommend somewhere in Sydney to buy them from (I'm even thinking of putting Semi slicks on it for track use)

I'm currently in wollongong.

Thanks

[scathing]

265s are very hard to find. I've been looking a bit.

Does 265/40 give you right rolling diameter? 255/40 and 275/40 are much easier to find.

[SAMFISHER]

265/50-17 is the wrong size, put 255/40's or 265/40's on it.

[MBS206]

Sam, can you explain why they are wrong?

I don't understand how a profile can be "wrong" or do you mean wrong for keeping the speedo accurate?

As so far, I've checked it against a mates car, with basically stock tyres, and both speedos read identical...

Will the drop in size be that dramatic on my speedo reading also?

[Munkyb0y]

i'm not sure why, but the wider you go the lower the profile. that's how it usually works.

i have 265/35/18's on the rear, they are impossible to find in 40 series. but my front 235/40/18 are easy to get.

maybe someone can shed some more light.

[zillagtr]

The profile is the percentage of the width. eg 265/30/19 my car. 30% of 265mm is your wall height. This is why the profile gets smaller the wider you go. This is my understanding, i could be wrong.

[Thunderbolt]

You have a R33 GTS-T. That would mean the stock tyre size is 205/55/16 right?

I have plugged in a few details into a calucator that is located here: http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

Stock Tire - 205/55R16

Rim Width Range: 5.5 - 7.5 in

Overall Diameter: 24.87 in 631.69 mm

Actual Speed: 60 mph 100 km/h

Tire 1 - 265/50R17

Rim Width Range: Unrecognized tire size.

Overall Diameter: 27.43 in 696.72 mm

Speedometer1: 54.3 mph 90.6 km/h

Speedometer Difference: 10.30% too slow[/color][/size]

Tire 2 - 255/40R17

Rim Width Range:8.5 - 10 in

Overall Diameter: 25.03 in 635.76 mm

Speedometer1: 59.6 mph 99.3 km/h

Speedometer Difference: 0.637% too slow

Edited October 28, 2006 by Thunderbolt

[scathing]

And 255/40 R17 are piss easy to find. You can get soft street tyres, or a more touring tyre, and most of the more "street sports" oriented companies (Toyo, Falken, etc) have a range of tyres in that size.

Since it keeps your speedo so much more accurate, I'd suggest going there instead.

[Munkyb0y]

http://www.1010tires.com/TireSizeCalculator.asp

that's a handy tool.

says mine is:

Stock Tire - 205/65R16

Actual Speed: 60 mph - 100 km/h

Tire 1 - 265/35R18

Speedometer1: 62.8 mph - 104. km/h

Speedometer Difference: 4.699% too fast

Diameter Difference: - Diameter Difference: 4.5%

sounds about right. thanks for that link

[MBS206]

And 255/40 R17 are piss easy to find. You can get soft street tyres, or a more touring tyre, and most of the more "street sports" oriented companies (Toyo, Falken, etc) have a range of tyres in that size.

Since it keeps your speedo so much more accurate, I'd suggest going there instead.

I will run 265 on mine as soon as it's time to replace them.

As for Falken having 255, not anymore, there largest tyre is now a 235. Don't ask me, I was only speaking to the reps.

Also, Falken = THE SHITTEST tyre ever. Absolutely, ZERO traction! Get them slightly warm, and they walk all over the road too!

[SAMFISHER]

Looks like you guys worked it out earlier in this thread.

265/50 is too big in diameter, the "50" is the profile of the tyre as a percentage of the width.

265/40 is much closer (very slightly larger) to stock diameter.

265/50's would look like tractor tyres?

[scathing]

Also, Falken = THE SHITTEST tyre ever. Absolutely, ZERO traction! Get them slightly warm, and they walk all over the road too!

That's true for the Ziex series, especially the 326's, but they do make some reasonable tyres.

The infamous RT215s stick like shit on carpet unless its wet and they're worn, the ST115s aren't bad as a more long-lasting street sports tyre, and I've heard that the FK451s are a good "touring" tyre.

[Beer Baron]

I will run 265 on mine as soon as it's time to replace them.

As for Falken having 255, not anymore, there largest tyre is now a 235. Don't ask me, I was only speaking to the reps.

Also, Falken = THE SHITTEST tyre ever. Absolutely, ZERO traction! Get them slightly warm, and they walk all over the road too!

what are you talking about mate?? Falken make probably at least 15 different types of tyre suitable for a passenger car with a 17inch rim. so i'm assuming you've tried them all? and they are all shit? or are you just talking nonsense? Sorry if it sounds harsh but it's so tiring hear people sprout rubbish.

I've tried a mere 4 different types of falkens in 17s. 1 was terrible, 1 was excellent and 2 were quite good. so you could understand why I would think it strange you think all falken tyres are crap. I also highly doubt they only make 17inch tyres up to 235 wide.

[MBS206]

Go down to a tyre shop, and ask to have a look at the new Falken range.

As for Falken tyres being shit.

I haven't ran various ones in 17", but I've driven many a car with Falkens fitted, and not a single one will grip at all.

As for the 265/50 looking like tractors... Nope, still quite a small profile really... It's weird. I'll check them again, but I swear it said 265/50/R17

[MBS206]

Okay, just went and washed the car, and took a VERY close note on what size they are.

Sizes:-

Front: Falken ZIEX ZE326 235/40ZR17

Rear: Falken FK451 265/40ZR17

Don't ask me what the "Z" stands for.

So as for FK451 being a good touring tyre. THEY'RE UTTER SHIT on my car.

And you can't blame my alignment either. I got it aligned 2 weeks ago incase it was out. Which it was. Badly. Stupid previous owners!

[SAMFISHER]

Okay, just went and washed the car, and took a VERY close note on what size they are.

Sizes:-

Front: Falken ZIEX ZE326 235/40ZR17

Rear: Falken FK451 265/40ZR17

Don't ask me what the "Z" stands for.

So as for FK451 being a good touring tyre. THEY'RE UTTER SHIT on my car.

And you can't blame my alignment either. I got it aligned 2 weeks ago incase it was out. Which it was. Badly. Stupid previous owners!

I knew you didn't have 265/50's!

[GTshortie]

This site might be useful for you guys to calculate how much your speedo is off by when changing tyres:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

[GTshortie]

Opps sorry didn't notice someone already posted up that site sorry guys.

hahaha

[MBS206]

But anyway.

I still can't seem to track down 265 in Wollongong, anyone know a good tyre shop in Sydney (I'm NOT talking Tempe) I'm half tempted to go and buy a set of Semis to put on the RG tyres, and buying maybe some stockies for the front and rear with just average tyres on them, for wet weather/winter days.

[Beer Baron]

why not just get some 255s? 10mm difference will mean SFA. plus due to variances in different manufacturers tyres it's quite possible some 255s will have as much tread as some 265s.