OP I think the point everyone here is making is, you don't want to go larger than 255 for 8.5j anyway. Even more so with competition tires, as they generally run much wider than their street counterparts.

 

Both of these guys are exactly right. 255 width tires on 8.5x17s are going to be better than anything wider you might put on 8.5x18s. Nevermind the fact that you'll spend over twice as much money on the latter setup.

 

Hahaha I love these internet quarterbacks. Just rehashing what they readz on the interwebz...

I guess the last 5 years we've been using 275/40r17 on the FRONT 7 inch wide wheel to win the National Championship has been all wrong!!! I'm sure glad you internet experts are here to set me straight!

Here in the real racing world boys, we TEST things to see if they are actually faster or not, and not just read off what some websites say is the right tire size. I never once asked anyone's opinion on tires, yet here people are, telling me what I already know and tested to work isn't gonna work cuz they read it on the interwebz. Too funny!

 

Fair enough. We see a lot of stupid questions in here, sometimes we assume the worst.

I can understand stuffing the widest possible tire on if you are limited in wheel width by your racing group. I still think CCW is the way to go, selections in this size are hard to find. Best of luck.

 

What tires are you running in that size? I very much question if you are actually getting a benefit from the extremely wide tire on the narrow wheel. But whatever you just have the usual answer of "it's my car and I know best" so that's where I stop caring. Go buy your wheels and do whatever you want.