Wider Tires on stock GT wheel (pic)

[skylight]

...well, not too much wider, but I put on a set of high performance Yokohama 215/50-17's for the summer. i got them mostly cuz i like the tread pattern look. Steering response is noticably tighter...




Yokohama AVS ES100 215/50-17. Got 'em from Tire Rack here...
--> http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....odel=AVS+ES100

[Kirby]

Just read the reviews on this tire, this must be quite a tire compared to the old rags that come on the PT!
Would a 225/45 fit on this rim? (Equal tire radius = no speedo offset, your tire looks like a perfect fit though.)

[don668]

The 225/45-17 wont fit on a 6" rim. The 215/50-17 are the ones Yokohama and the Tirerack recomended to me.

Don

[Cal Cruzer]

Keep in mind that with a wider tire @ the same aspect ratio you are increasing the rolling diameter of the tire. This will:
1.Throw your speedo reading off.
2. With an auto, where they use a speed sensor on the tranny as input for shift points to the computer, could mess with the shift points. This is why Bauman makes their Bauminator that interprets the difference for the computer to give it the right info. I don't think they make it for the PT though.
3. Could reduce your acceleration a bit as this has the same effect as changing final drive gear ratios to a shorter ratio.
4. If you lower your car a lot, your now taller tire could rub.

This is why most people doing a +0 application need a new wheel to get the tire wide enough. You can keep the same rolling diameter with a wider tire but employing a shorter aspect ratio and nothing changes ie. 245/45/17 is almost identical in rolling circumfrence to a 275/40/17 but a 275 would not fit on the same wheel, at least not safely.

I am rambling again.

[Kirby]

Thanks for the info, especially on the speed sensor in the transmission. I havent swapped out the stock tires yet, but in my look ahead I see that the 215/50 only adds 1 to 2 percent (60mph spedometer equals an actual 61 mph)while a 225/45 swap is almost a wash. Do you think such small changes will greatly affect the sensors and therefore performance?

[TurboDanny]

Those loook good! I too, am debating the purchase of upsized tires for my GT. I have winter driving conditions to consider, so do I purchase all-season tires or summer tires? Reading about the issues with smaller rims not fitting over the GT brakes (thinking snow wheels), I'll probably go with an all-season performance tire in a 215/50 size. Any recomendations on such a tire? [:I]

[NkBkGt]

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

here you can use this link to calculate
speedo change

[Cal Cruzer]

That speedo change is based on the assumtion that you have the same trans and final drive gearing as a Miata (thinking to myself...Does it work like that or would the % of change be the same no matter what the gearing is, hmmm...of course the speed would differ but would the percent of change? I will have to check that myself)

[bobs turbo pt]

looks nice !!

[Gary04GT]

Looks sharp! [|)] Are these tires only for summer use or can they be used all year in areas that get little snow or ice?