kuhlrx7

there seems to be tires for anything larger than 15x8 phased out for us wider 1st gen guys. I used to run 265/45 tires then 255/45 then/now 245/50 and they seem to be phased out now also. so what size tire does that leave for us wider 15 inch guys? the 225s I have looked at are too narrow and only rated for a 8 inch wide rim. going to 60s or going taller is not good either. so does thet leave running a race tire on a street car?

Black91n/a

Yup, they have the same problem with Miatas, there's no good tires available that are short enough that are wide enough except for a few exceptions. Bigger is the way things are going these days, if you want wide you need to go with larger rims it would seem.

fluffysheap

I'm suffering from this too. I've got lovely 15x8/15x9 epsilons and I think I am going to have to retire them... which probably means converting to 4x4.5" bolt pattern You can still get 265/50 and 275/50 in a couple of tires but they aren't really the best models.

225ish for the fronts are readily available but I think what has to realistically happen is 16" front/17" rear wheels. It's even hard to find real tires in sizes suitable for the rear in 16". 275/40-17 is a common size and goes great on 17x10. 255/40-17 is available too for 17x9, although I bet you could shoehorn 275/40-17 onto 17x9 as well if you wanted. 17" is too big for the front, it looks stupid, but it's probably ok on the back.

I just dread trying to find wheels that have the proper old-school look, not to mention that the epsilons are really good wheels, anyway.

Actually... now that I look around... its sort of a challenge to find 17x10 even for 4x4.5". It looks like 5x4.5" is better. Hey, since you have to redrill your hubs anyway, you might as well redrill them for 5-lug

kuhlrx7

yea, I realy love the epsilons also. I was realy hoping with all the tire guys in this section of the board that someone would chime in and have some sort of a sugestion to this problem. I know there are a lot of people that could realy use a fix for this problem. I know many people that have 15 inch wheels that are wider than 8 inches and need a lower aspect tire. it really sucks that the tire companies dont use the forsight too continue the more desired sizes for the older import performance cars. May be a euro tire company or japanesse company has some of these needed sizes? Its a shame because almost all american tire companies did make and carry these sizes.

fluffysheap

I'm thinking redrilling hubs really is the best solution. On the front you can switch to mostly T2 parts (a swap I do not know how to do, but have heard on the board here that it is doable) and get rack & pinion steering and fancy brakes in the bargain. On the rear you have to redrill the hubs but my guess is those hubs will last the life of the car since rear brake rotors basically never wear out, even on the track, unless something bad happens to them. Or you could get an adapter, with a widebody kit it's not like space is at a premium, and you might need a spacer anyway.

Granted none of this is as simple (or cheap!) as just having decent tires but if they aren't available then they aren't available.

2Lucky2tha7

iTrader: (3)

I know this is old, but.....
Any answer on the tire sizes from foreign countries? I've got the 15x8 and 15x9 ssr's (which look identical to the old epsilons I had). Tried 17.8's before which provided awesome traction, but they didn't look right at all.

Black91n/a

For street probably 225/50/15, might look a little stretched, but there's not much for wide 15" street tires.

2Lucky2tha7

iTrader: (3)

phew, LAST available size left for street use that will fit my 9" rears.
The Dunlop SP Sport 8000
245/50ZR15 They have a 24.7" diameter
I used to have a set of these on my 88 rx7 years ago, and they gripped really well. Wow, and I was really starting to ponder on the fact of having to sell these (as well as my other set of 15x9's and 15x8's for a 1st gen,) in order to go with really wide 17's just so I can GET a good street tire. But, at that point, that would
just push me to swapping out the whole driveline and front hubs for a 5-bolt setup, etc., etc., etc. Too much money, and that would suck.
I'll be running 225/50-15's on the front, but obviously a different tire. At the moment, it looks like the Dunlop SP Sport 9000's. Diam. is 23.9" and they are also z-rated.
These are basically my only choices for front tires:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compar...5&startIndex=0