What tire are you running on 15x8 wheel?

[M-Sport fan]

Back to the OPs question if I was doing a 15x8 street set up I would seriously look at RE 71s in 205/50 15. I used this tire in 205/45 16 and it was great.

AGREED!

Even though they tend to run a bit narrower in tread width than other tires in the same sizes, they more than make up for it in GRIP.

But, given their gumball sticky compound, I seriously doubt he will see even 15K out of them on the street, WAY under what he requested above.
(It is basically impossible to have a super glue compound AND high mileage numbers out of the same tire, and one of the very few which sort of do this are the Michelin Pilot Super Sports, but even they are a compromise given enough power put through them. )

 

[RAAMaudio]

I took a look, 7" tread width which is not bad, widest other tire I found had a 7.5" width but I did not look at section width on either one, I prefer a slight stretch for optimal feedback and response and usually overall more grip except sometimes due to rules for autocross the widest tire on allowed rim width can be faster.

Another aspect is sidewall stiffness, stiffer means more support, wider tread and section on less rim can be pretty good due to that as well but ride is usually harsher and weight usually more.

 

[LILIKE16ST]

OP you seem to want similar tires to me as far as tread life and performance I would look into the continental extreme contact in 205/50 as I'm considering those for my next tires. 340 treadwear they should last 20+k if you're not too hard on them and I've heard good things about them and a lot compare them to the Michelin pilot super sports only cheaper and the icing on the cake is they are only 19 lbs making the setup around 34.5 lbs per corner when mounted on 15x8 1.2s like we have which isn't bad at all. The Dunlop star specs would be a great choice too and stickier and also 19 lbs per tire but obviously will get a bit less wear out of them. Those are the two I'm deciding between in 205/50 for my next tires. The bfg sport comp 2 in 195/55 that I currently run aren't bad either and can get 20-30k miles and grip decent for what they are and work well on the 8 inch wheels being a wide 195 but are 21 lbs per tire. I got mine around 80 bucks each for the price they aren't bad. I've got to 15 or so thousand miles on mine and there's a decent amount of life left.

 

[ericr]

225/50x15 Toyo R888's. I have 6,500 hard-driven street miles and expect about 12-15k before replacement. With a little fender roll and pull they fit fine. They are incredibly grippy - much more than the 215/40x17 AD08r's that I had before.

 

[AlrightyThen]

Those on stock suspension or lowered?

 

[ericr]

Those on stock suspension or lowered?

Stock spring, koni sports, camber bolts at -2.25.

 

[RAAMaudio]

Damn good mileage out of those R888 tires so far! Pick up any nails, screws, rocks landing on the hood, etc.....?

R888 and RA1 both do not heat cycle out meaning for the hardest use they still work well all the way down to the cords. I have ran many of both on track and really like them a great deal but only drove to some events on them, never thought of full time use(rain only with RA1 when there is still plenty of tread, R888 would not be so great even at full depth but in a pinch OK) I always ran shaved RA1 on track, full depth on R888.

 

[AlrightyThen]

Stock spring, koni sports, camber bolts at -2.25.

That sounds like a delicious setup! I was only able to get -1.9 camber both sides with camber bolts .

 

[ericr]

Damn good mileage out of those R888 tires so far! Pick up any nails, screws, rocks landing on the hood, etc.....?

R888 and RA1 both do not heat cycle out meaning for the hardest use they still work well all the way down to the cords. I have ran many of both on track and really like them a great deal but only drove to some events on them, never thought of full time use(rain only with RA1 when there is still plenty of tread, R888 would not be so great even at full depth but in a pinch OK) I always ran shaved RA1 on track, full depth on R888.

They haven't picked up anything except small rocks when hot and that's of no real bother. The key for getting good mileage has been the negative camber up front and low tire pressures foe even tread wear - 32/30, front/rear, hot. The only problem with those pressures is that when cold, the pressure is in the 20's and triggers the TPMS.

 

[ericr]

Here's a photo from another thread...

 

[AlrightyThen]

Holy crap, you win the meaty tire thread for sure.

 

[M-Sport fan]

225/50x15 Toyo R888's. I have 6,500 hard-driven street miles and expect about 12-15k before replacement. With a little fender roll and pull they fit fine. They are incredibly grippy - much more than the 215/40x17 AD08r's that I had before.

That is TRULY unbelievable street use mileage for those tires, which are only a half step below full-on race slicks in ultimate grip!

IF Toyo had the gumption to make them in a 215/40-17, or 225/40-17, they'd be on my 17x8 1.2s as we speak.
As Rick has said, if it were the RA-1 made in the above sizes, even better yet, since they are decent rain tires at full tread depth.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Holy crap, you win the meaty tire thread for sure.

Yup, that beast is outright EVIL looking with that setup!

 

[Mr.PowPow]

So how big of a section, rim, and tread width should I be looking for?

 

[Mr.PowPow]

Bump for my question

 

[ericr]

So how big of a section, rim, and tread width should I be looking for?

On a 15x8 et35, I think the maximum without rubbing is 23.9" diameter, 9.2" section and 7.7" tread width. That's the specs for the Trofeo R in 225/50x15. My tread width is 8.2" and rubbed by about 3/8".

 

[LILIKE16ST]

I would love to run a 225/50 or a 205/55 but they just don't make any solid street tires in those sizes that can actually have real good grip and decent tread life.

 

[RAAMaudio]

If you look at all the specs there are some excellent 205/50/15's that are close enough in diameter to stock tires, nice wide tread and section width and work really well on 8" wide wheels where the tread width will nearly always be measurably and effectively wider than what they show on a narrower wheel. I forget the exact numbers right now but the 225/45/15 Rival on 9" wide wheels came out around .4" wider tread than the specs showed on an 8" wheel. The 225 RA1 barely fit on those wheels even with rear camber change and rolled and pulled fenders and the 225 Hoosier R6 would not fit at all.

I run 205/50/15 Nitto NeoGen for my "all season" setup, really 3 season and clear day use in the winter, on 8" wide wheels and they work amazingly well, ride, noise, grip, much better than expected. Grip is not like the Rival S of course but pretty darn impressive for an AS rated tire and they are cheap. If I wanted more grip then I would look for the best overall fitment, weight, width, diameter, etc in a 205 for a 15x8 wheel. The new Rival S 1.5 has a stiffer sidewall so they should work better on a 8 in 225 than the prior version which proved to need a 9" wide wheel to maximize the grip, turn in, etc but I would still look into the 205 version of any tire first over a 225 unless I was constrained by autocross or TT rules.

If I end up keeping the car I might give the RA1 or R888R a try out in 225's for my summer tires, I sure would if I tracked or autocrossed the tires as little rain here and once worn down the street tires become the track or autocross tires, RA1 with thick tread rain day street or track as well. I would look at the same if running all 8" wheels but only in a 205, etc, depending on the actual specs.

Here is a tire that taken care of should give a huge amount of grip on an 8" wheel, super low weight which improves all aspects of performance, decent wear, and a very decent price at $117 each....Dunlop SSII
205/50R15 86V SL 200 A A 1,168 lbs. 51 psi 8/32" 19 lbs. 5.5-7.5" 6.5" 8.4" 7.5" 23.1" 904

I like the section width and tread width on an 8" wheel as a little stretch really wakes up the response of the tire.

Rick

 

[LILIKE16ST]

If you look at all the specs there are some excellent 205/50/15's that are close enough in diameter to stock tires, nice wide tread and section width and work really well on 8" wide wheels where the tread width will nearly always be measurably and effectively wider than what they show on a narrower wheel. I forget the exact numbers right now but the 225/45/15 Rival on 9" wide wheels came out around .4" wider tread than the specs showed on an 8" wheel. The 225 RA1 barely fit on those wheels even with rear camber change and rolled and pulled fenders and the 225 Hoosier R6 would not fit at all.

I run 205/50/15 Nitto NeoGen for my "all season" setup, really 3 season and clear day use in the winter, on 8" wide wheels and they work amazingly well, ride, noise, grip, much better than expected. Grip is not like the Rival S of course but pretty darn impressive for an AS rated tire and they are cheap. If I wanted more grip then I would look for the best overall fitment, weight, width, diameter, etc in a 205 for a 15x8 wheel. The new Rival S 1.5 has a stiffer sidewall so they should work better on a 8 in 225 than the prior version which proved to need a 9" wide wheel to maximize the grip, turn in, etc but I would still look into the 205 version of any tire first over a 225 unless I was constrained by autocross or TT rules.

If I end up keeping the car I might give the RA1 or R888R a try out in 225's for my summer tires, I sure would if I tracked or autocrossed the tires as little rain here and once worn down the street tires become the track or autocross tires, RA1 with thick tread rain day street or track as well. I would look at the same if running all 8" wheels but only in a 205, etc, depending on the actual specs.

Here is a tire that taken care of should give a huge amount of grip on an 8" wheel, super low weight which improves all aspects of performance, decent wear, and a very decent price at $117 each....Dunlop SSII
205/50R15 86V SL 200 A A 1,168 lbs. 51 psi 8/32" 19 lbs. 5.5-7.5" 6.5" 8.4" 7.5" 23.1" 904

I like the section width and tread width on an 8" wheel as a little stretch really wakes up the response of the tire.

Rick

I agree 100%. Some want to focus on getting the widest tire possible on a given wheel (understandable with autocross) when in fact a little narrower tire works better on a wider wheel and in fact makes said tire wider than what the specs show due to being on that wider wheel. My 195 bfg are every bit as wide if not wider mounted on my 8 inch wheels than my 205 stock all season Michelin were on stock wheels and they're a fairly wide 205 based on specs. When they were side by side during install it was close but I think the bfg might have actually been wider with more usable tread on the ground. When you suggest 205 to people they're like why run stock width on an inch wider wheel but this actually makes the same tire wider vs being on a 7 inch wheel and improves response and turn in and overall feel of the car. This is something I learned from you rick and I am so glad that I did because I used to be in the "put the widest tires you can on the wheel" crowd before. I ran 275/40 on 17x9 in wheels on several of my mustangs when in fact that tire needed at least a 10 inch wheel for best response. They were nitto which run narrow which help but still. I've learned alot over the years. Alot thanks to you rick since I've been a member of this forum.

 

[RAAMaudio]

There are guys running 245 Hoosiers on 15x10 and 175 on 11's for best results but those are very wide tires, the 225's I had were more like a 240 to 245 in reality.

I seriously considered flares and 15x11's with the 275 Hoosiers at one time but I would of had to build my own flares because I would only run real ones, not cartoon looking ones that do not even cover the front of the tires