I have a set of CE28s, 17x7.5 and 17x9 50/63 respectively. They came with 225/45 255/40 Falkens. I'm now looking to replace the falkens and Tire Rack recommends 215/45 F and 245/40 R.

I guess my question is this. Is it worth it to have that 10mm extra on the tires? I tracked both my stock Re050's and the falkens... and didn't really notice that much of a difference between the 2. I think the Bridge. made up for the width with lower treadwear maybe.

I'm looking at the Re01-R's... 215/245? or 225/255?

Thoughts?

 

What wrong with 215/255? I believe the CR has that setup.

 

Stock size RE050 fit those wheels pretty good and the handling is great.

 

I have 215/245 on the same rim (re's)

falken fk 452! (thumbup)

 

Well I don't have the aero and suspension mods to compensate for the increased rear grip that would provide... and the 215 re050's I hear are narrower than most 215's. (see below)

Great picture dude! Thanks, thats some good info.. seems like your fronts are stretched a bit over the rim, but it seems ok.


NOTE: I did some searching on TireRack...

RE050 (oem tires)
215/45 17 treadwidth - 6.7"
245/40 17 treadwidth - 9.0"
-----------------------------------------------------

RE01-R
215/45 17 treadwidth - 8.0"
245/40 17 treadwidth - 9.0"

225/45 17 treadwidth - 8.3"
255/40 17 treadwidth - 9.4"


I can't believe that the same size RE01-R is almost 1.5" wider than the 050!!! Jeeze, you could almost go 225 F 245 R on the R's and almost have a NonStaggered setup!!!

 

Check out the brand new Federal 595 RS-R's! You will totally be shocked by these, especially the price on a set. I know for a fact they make the 215/40, 225/40 and the 255/40. The treadwear is a crazy 180!!!

 

I prefer the 225/255 combo. more overall grip.

 

I think the 6.7" measurement on Tire Rack is wrong, they're actually wider than the old S02 fronts and those were listed at more than 6.7". The sidewall design of the RE050 fronts is slanted and curved to prevent rubbing.



A big advantage of the stock sizes is that you don't change your roll out, which is very important on the rear. With as little torque as we have increasing the roll out can really sap your punch.

 

Thanks alot guys! The more I search and more I read the less clear it seems..... I have a similar question with the RE01's so I hope this is not a total threadjack!

I have an AP2, w/Comptech S/C. I am replacing the RE50's with a set of RE01's. I am a novice HDPE participant. Running the stock 215/245 F/R setup with the RE01's has the well-documented issue of going from a 2.3" stagger difference to a 1" difference since the RE50's are so small up front (at least thats what the majority of posts and Tire Rack stats have indicated).

Based on my limited track experience, with an AP2's softer rear, the car is very neutral when driven to 80%, but still oversteers at the limit (probably in part b/c of my marginal choice in lines at the track and the S/C's increased power on corner exits) I have never experienced understeer to any great degree.

I would seem to have a 3 choices with the RE01's:

1. 215/245 with potentially increased oversteer with only the 1" stagger.
2. 215/255 which increases the stagger back out to about 1.4" but creates a diameter diff of .4"
3. 205/245 which increases the stagger back to 1.5" but is smaller than even the RE50 - 215's in other areas and has the smallest overall diameter.

I'm thinking the 215/255 combo would be the closest to the current if I am set on the RE01's...Any thoughts?

CaptainMike - your posts are some of the best on the subject and the 225/255 combo would seem to give me a 4th choice...but would be back to only about 1.1" stagger...am I over analyzing? - I have to believe that going from a 2.3" stagger to a 1" has to have some effect at the limit.....HELP, I need to order these in the next day or two!!!

 

You're overanalyzing. The effects of "tread width stagger" are often overstated/overestimated. If you want max grip for track work, get 225/255's. For the street, I'd go 215/255's. Handling balance is a much stronger function of front/rear roll stiffness distribution and camber and toe settings than tire widths (max section width or tread width).