255/45/17 Instead Of 255/40/17 ?

[KrazyKong]

I have some 255/40/17 on the rear of my car fitted to some R33 GTR stock rims. I was at the tyre place today and they did not have any tyres of this size.

They did have some used 245/40/17 Toyos and 255/45/17s.

Has anyone broken with tradition and used 255/45/17 instead of 255/40/17s?

Other than the speedo vs actual speed you are travelling, what would be the issue?

[hardsteppa]

Bigger sidewall, more flex, less direct feeling. May or may not be an issue at that size.

[MrStabby]

See what the diff in rolling diameter is, because;

From vsi-09-rev4.pdf (NSW);
"The outside diameter of the wheel and tyre combination must be no more than 15mm over the largest diameter wheel and tyre combination specified for the vehicle and not more than 15mm below the smallest diameter wheel and tyre combination specified for the vehicle"

If you dont know the maths, google an online calculator.

[blind_elk]

How wide is a 33 GT-R rim? 8"?

If that's the case, you probably only need a 235/45 tyre. (245/45 max)

I'm surprised the "tyre place" couldn't give you a definitive answer.

(similar sizing rules apply in Victoria, fyi)

[KiwiRS4T]

Size difference is minor. More important is are they quality tyres?

[niZmO_Man]

R33 GT-R wheels are 9" wide.

Going from 255/40 to 255/45 your speedo will be approx. 5 km/h 'slower', probably more accurate.

[KrazyKong]

The tyres that had were Sailun's. I've not heard of that brand them before.

My choices were Nexen Nferra Su1 (I have them in 235 on the front and no complaints thus far), Nangkang, Archilles and that was it. I know they are all on the budget scale, but I cannot afford Bridgestones or anything past $160 per tyre at present.

I guess I wouldn't mind my speedo being more accurate, but in a way it's nice to know I got a little safety buffer there haha.

I've heard of folks putting on 265 tyres on their stock GTR rims. Has anyone done this or would you then start scraping the guards?

[niZmO_Man]

Crap tyres brah. Sometimes tyre shops keeps good second hand ones (I got Advan sports for $100, they were in good condition).

[hardsteppa]

Re003 in a 235/45/17 averages out to about 130 a tyre with current offer.

[KrazyKong]

Crap tyres brah. Sometimes tyre shops keeps good second hand ones (I got Advan sports for $100, they were in good condition).

I've been using a set of used Bridgestones on the rear that cost me $50 each. I believe there were a very expensive tyre as they are the no flat ones as well. But they are worn now so it's time to get new or "new" used ones.

255/40/17 isn't a popular size at the second hand places unfortunately unless I go with the 245/40/17 Toyos at $50 each.

hardsteppa, where is that from? Jax? I won't put 235s on the rear seeing as how they are already stretched a bit on the front.

Even cheap tyres are going to be better and safer than the Bridgestones I've got that are past due for replacement.

[admS15]

I was just having a look at the pricing of re003 in 18", quite reasonably priced for say a 245/40/18 at 250 each b4 offer but then you look at a 265/35/18 which is what I run and its a whopping 409 each. Wtf. I was liking the sound of the pricing on these until I saw that. Back to the drawing board for my next tyre. Lol.

[Jordy32]

Re003 in a 235/45/17 averages out to about 130 a tyre with current offer.

Could you post or PM me where I can get them for this price? quite keen!

I love my 45 profile, looks fat lol

[KrazyKong]

OMG wow, so the tyres I've been running on the rears are Bridgestone Potenza RE050A 255/40/17 runflats. Did a quick search on Jax's website and they are $359 each. Best $100 I ever spent that's for sure lol.

So going from those to Nangkangs or Nexens is going to be stepdown for sure. I still don't quite understand the speed ratings and all that though. I don't race or drift my car, it's a daily driver with the odd rare burst at the lights.

Nangkang have these two models in the NS-20 range.

255/40ZR17 94W

255/40R17 94V

Was quoted $159 fitted each.

[hardsteppa]

Yeah re003s work out to that price on the buy3, get 1 free deal from anywhere that stocks bridgestone i believe on current promotion.i got them from Jax who in my 2 experiences so far are shit. First one threw in free wheel alignment which was appalling, much worse than went in, and this latest, wheel balancing is bad vibes at 100k, frkn dangerous at 140k. Am going to go to trusted tyre shop and pay to get rebalanced.

[KrazyKong]

Found a near new set of Kumho Ecsta KU19 255/40R17 for $85 each. Going to get them fitted on the weekend.

I've been to Jax once to get a puncture repair. They proceeded to tell me I wasn't allowed the Bridgestone Potenza RE050A funflats on my car. Nah uh, nope, I wasn't allowed to use them they said. Thus they could not repair the tyre. WTF!? So I had them put the tyre back on, and drove to the local guys who fixed it for $20 with the old tar & rope repair method. It Hasn't leaked since.

[niZmO_Man]

You don't have to worry about speed ratings as you don't drive >110 km/h.

Keep an eye out on ebay/forums as sometimes you can find good tyres going cheap.

I will never recommend Nankang, I bought some cheap 17" wheels once (how said that forged Volks go for less than $1k) with had near new NS-2 fitted, was shit in the dry and downright dangerous in the wet. Only drove it for a few days because I was waiting to get good tyres on my 18" R34 wheels.

But I guess if you're desperate it'll do. See if you can get Kumho (KU31), they should be priced around that much.

Don't even get me started on shit alignment jobs...

[KrazyKong]

I've got some used Kuhmo's already, KU19s. They look in very good condition with what looks like near new tread on them. Am hoping they are going to be as good as the RE050As I've had on.

[admS15]

^I seriously doubt they will be anywhere near as good as re050a. They have a hardness rating of 140 which is quite soft and come out as factory tyres on many performance cars such as ss commondores all the way through to some Ferrari's, believe it or not. They where my favourite street tyre until I started tracking. There is also many different versions of them and they have been around for quite a while now but are still in production. Anyways, they are an awesome tyre, especially when you get them cheap. You definitely scored when you bought that pair. I suppose if the kuhmos are no good, you can always just skid them out of existence

[KrazyKong]

You're probably right about them not being as good as the RE050As, but I always knew I scored when I got them for $50 each. Back to reality now, so if they aren't as good, I still hope they will be good and worth the $85 I paid each for them. I used to have Nexen N6000s on the rears and when they got low in tread, they sounded like a truck. Loved the look and tread pattern, but they were so noisy and lacked grip, especially on say grass or anything other than a hard flat surface.

[niZmO_Man]

My Lib came with KU19, noisy and not that not much grip, but I'm a bit spoilt as my GT-R had FK452 then RS-3. Not sure how old the tyres were though. I'd rather drive on Kumho than Nankang though lol.

RE050 are on a different (more expensive) level compared to the ones you listed. I had some second hand ones on the front of my R31, best street tyre I've ever driven on (RE040 aren't too shabby either).