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Advice on Replacing Wheels and Tires

WadeRoberson

Ready to race!
Location
NA
Car(s)
NA
My tires in the front are pretty much completely worn (the rears have about half their tread life left) and need to be replaced very soon, however since I planned changing wheels eventually as well. I don't want to put expensive tires on the 7.5" wide stock wheels and be stuck with stock wheels for a while. The problem is that I cannot afford new wheels and tires on all 4 corners (~$2k). I can afford new wheels and tires in just the front however. Is this actually an option? Would running different wheels and tires mess the car up in any way or would it be totally fine (other than looking odd)? Should I just get cheap tires to replace the badly worn ones while i save up for a performance set up on all 4 corners?

Heres the wheel & tire combo btw:
RPF1 18x8.5+40 ($300 each)
MPSS 255/35 ($230 each)
 

KevinC

Autocross Champion
Location
The land of Wyatt Earp & Doc Holliday
Car(s)
'19 Golf R, '21 M2c
I wouldn't mix them. Tried this briefly on my BMW, thinking as long as I kept the tires the same on each axle, I'd be fine. Wrong. The car handled and steered squirrelly as hell until I replaced all 4. Really surprised me.
 

nate704

Go Kart Champion
Location
Virginia
Tires and Brakes will save your LIFE. If you go cheap, you are risking yours and your family members' life. Don't ever go cheap on tires at least.
If you can't afford the new wheels and tires now, you can simply put the rear ones to the front and hope they will last long enough, so that you can buy new wheels and tires.
 
Location
St. Olaf
The problem is that I cannot afford new wheels and tires on all 4 corners (~$2k). I can afford new wheels and tires in just the front however. Is this actually an option?
1. swap tires between front and rear to gain some more time
2. get 4 tires at the same time
3. skip new wheels if you can't afford them
4. swap tires between front and rear frequently to wear them more evenly



RPF1 18x8.5+40 ($300 each)
MPSS 255/35 ($230 each)
That combo WILL cause serious rubbing.
 

heydabop

Passed Driver's Ed
Location
Texas
If you go cheap, you are risking yours and your family members' life.

Don't forget about everyone else on the roadway. It's not their fault when they get maimed due to your bad tires.

Also OP, if you can't afford new wheels you probably also can't afford extensive repairs from bad tires.
 

WadeRoberson

Ready to race!
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Car(s)
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Tires and Brakes will save your LIFE. If you go cheap, you are risking yours and your family members' life. Don't ever go cheap on tires at least.
If you can't afford the new wheels and tires now, you can simply put the rear ones to the front and hope they will last long enough, so that you can buy new wheels and tires.

When I said cheap I didn't mean dangerous & cheap Chinese tires. I just meant run of the mill tires that wont cost nearly as much as high performance summer tires.
 

WadeRoberson

Ready to race!
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Also so everyone knows I had no intention of leaving extremely worn tires on my vehicle for any extended period of time. I'm going to the dealership today to get the tires with the most tread put on the driven wheels.
 

Tico63

Ready to race!
Location
Florida
I copy and pasted that over from a google docs of mine. I plan on running 245/40/18s which do fit. This is the size tire RjRacing was running before he modified his fenders for an extra 15mm of clearance.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/225-40-18-HANKOOK-VENTUS-S1-Noble-2-H452-92W-BSW-Tires/43079130

I know it may be a big no no to purchase from Walmart. But if you just need some tires to get by, these are a good bet. They work really well for me. Tread life is not good I'm just letting you know, but for $120 a tire, it's not bad.

As far as wheels, I went with OZ Ultraleggera 18x8, they fit so nicely on the car because of their offset that you almost don't need spacers.

These Hankook tires may not be expensive but they are not cheap. I agree that when you say cheap tires you don't mean Chinese god knows what tires. Not everyone is ready to be rocking Michellin Pilot Super Sports out the gate. Only you know how to pace yourself. If you go Hankook, you'll be fine and you won't be "endangering" the lives of others lmao.
 

JC_451

Autocross Champion
Location
NJ, one of the nice parts.
Car(s)
2017 GTI Sport
Should be able to get financing on the tires.

Just a quick google search turned up Mavis (discount tires) offering 6 months interest free on tires. Goodyear also offers some kind of credit card that you can use to pay off the tires, not sure if that's as appealing though. Tirerack uses the Goodyear credit card and some kind of paypal financing as well.

Definitely some options out there and likely a bit more palatable than dropping 2K immediately.
 

SD11

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Jacksonville, FL
Car(s)
2017 VW GTI SE DSG
https://www.walmart.com/ip/225-40-18-HANKOOK-VENTUS-S1-Noble-2-H452-92W-BSW-Tires/43079130

I know it may be a big no no to purchase from Walmart. But if you just need some tires to get by, these are a good bet. They work really well for me. Tread life is not good I'm just letting you know, but for $120 a tire, it's not bad.

As far as wheels, I went with OZ Ultraleggera 18x8, they fit so nicely on the car because of their offset that you almost don't need spacers.

These Hankook tires may not be expensive but they are not cheap. I agree that when you say cheap tires you don't mean Chinese god knows what tires. Not everyone is ready to be rocking Michellin Pilot Super Sports out the gate. Only you know how to pace yourself. If you go Hankook, you'll be fine and you won't be "endangering" the lives of others lmao.


But WOULD you rock the the PS2's if the cost wasn't restrictive? I am probably ok for another 7-8k miles or more, but I was thinking some sticky new tires might be a fun upgrade...
 

WadeRoberson

Ready to race!
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Car(s)
NA
Why didn't you rotate them miles ago?
I hit a huge pothole causing excessive positive camber (that I was wasnt aware of) which caused the outside of the tire to wear extremely fast and go bald just on the outside 2 - 3 inches or so. The dealership caught this while I was getting them rotated actually.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 

ashchuckton

Ready to race!
Location
Ohio
Also so everyone knows I had no intention of leaving extremely worn tires on my vehicle for any extended period of time. I'm going to the dealership today to get the tires with the most tread put on the driven wheels.

Keep in mind with the worn tires on the rear in the rain you may experience snap over-steer. Not a safe move IMHO. Over-steer can be fun, but if it hits on a wet road when you aren't expecting it the results can co$t much more that a set of good tires.

Good luck....
 
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