Sidewall Discussion - Stretched vs Chunky

[1randomkiwi]

Doing research into tyre sizes for wheel options.
Anyone running a 245/40 profile on an 8" wide wheel?

 

I like having sidewall to protect the lip of the wheel and to provide a fat tyre appearance.

I know that the LVVTA say that 8" wide is the minimum for 245/40R18 -  Source

Basically 3 options at the moment:
8" wide with 245/40

8" wide with 235/45 - which is a less common tyre size

8.5" wide with 245/40 - 8.5" wide is harder to find in the style I'm looking at

Also figured its a good place to discuss tyre vs rim widths, pros/cons, photos of stretch/fat tyres etc

[Andy_Mac]

Chunky is better IMHO, just gotta be more pedantic with offsets to not rub

 

Assume you're actually staying 19inch and not dropping down to 18?

 

I’ll be going to 245/40/18 on mine for the next set of tyres as the 235 is ever so slightly stretched so gives no rim protection at all, plus the 245 is closer to the stock rolling diameter. 

[1randomkiwi]

17 minutes ago, Andy_Mac said:

Chunky is better IMHO, just gotta be more pedantic with offsets to not rub

 

Assume you're actually staying 19inch and not dropping down to 18?

 

I’ll be going to 245/40/18 on mine for the next set of tyres as the 235 is ever so slightly stretched so gives no rim protection at all, plus the 245 is closer to the stock rolling diameter. 

 

You running 18x8.5?
I'm looking at dropping down to 18" as they are much cheaper for tyres and offer more sidewall for rim protection etc

[Andy_Mac]

Yea. 

 

Reckon you’ll need a 45 profile with either width to avoid the wheels looking too small as they do with the stock wheels. 19’s just look so much better on 5th gens I reckon

[newsuba]

^^^ agreed

stock gen 5 have one of the worst looking guard/stock wheel combos.

 

i prefer tyres to fit squarely on the rim; no bloat, definitely no stretch !

 

this prompted me to seek out the specs on my megane wheels - a very un-subaru like 19 x 8.25 et65 with 235/35-19 tyres

not seen such high offset before.

[1randomkiwi]

Problem with 5th gens is the guard size to brake size ratio.
I have 19x8.5" currently and the brakes look tiny. Don't really see myself forking out $1500+ for Brembos.

Think I'll look at 18x8 with 235/45 or 18x8.5 with 245/40

[sobanoodle]

I am pretty sure the black CR-Kais (18x8.5) that I had on my wrecked BR9 were wrapped in 245/40/18s, looked nice and meaty.  

[Andy_Mac]

Pretty sure the Brembo’s were the icing on the cake with that setup though

[newsuba]

1 hour ago, 1randomkiwi said:

Problem with 5th gens is the guard size to brake size ratio.
I have 19x8.5" currently and the brakes look tiny. Don't really see myself forking out $1500+ for Brembos.

Think I'll look at 18x8 with 235/45 or 18x8.5 with 245/40

 

what size are the rotors ?

mine are 340mm brembos behind an open lattice style wheel.

find a monoblock type wheel design rather than an open spoke style ?

 

 

 

 

[Andy_Mac]

What about something along the lines of the RFP1. They always look a good inch or more smaller than they really are with the extra thick lip and smaller spokes. Should fill in more of that brake gap

[sobanoodle]

1 hour ago, Andy_Mac said:

Pretty sure the Brembo’s were the icing on the cake with that setup though

 

Haha you might be right.. 

 

Wouldn't mind chunkier tyres myself. 30th profile + runflat combo is a bit harsh at times (well most of times). Next tyres will definitely be non-runflats. 

[newsuba]

tire rack has a good online comparator where you can try various wheels on your car.

[1randomkiwi]

Was thinking something along the lines of these. Hides the center of the brake rotor, keeps the brakes looking proportional and fills the guards nicely:

[I"llbebugeyed]

I ran 245/40/18 on 8" rims on my Statesman, never had any issues. 

The tyre guys that fitted them never suggested that there might be.

 

Wider is better, and generally, tyres are cheaper to replace than the rims, so protecting them is a good option. 

 

Cheers

IBBE