Will it work? Pilot Sport 4s 245 on RSe10 8"

MonkeyMD said:

Could be OP's priorities are pure speed. In that case, I agree and he should probably just go wider wheel with 245.

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That's a good way of considering the whole issue: what are my priorities here?
The main one would be steering precision.
I'm under no illusions about being too fast at anything at age 56ish .

So per MotoIQ, tread width should match wheel width or up to 0.5" less.

So looked up tread width on Tirerack.com
Obviously no PS4 in 235/225 so included PS3 & PS2.

245/40/18
PSS - 9"
PS4 - 8.4"
AS3 - 8.4"

235/40/18
PSS - 8.2"
PS3 - 8.2"
AS3 - 8.2"

225/40/18
PSS - 7.8"
PS2 - 7.8"
AS3 - 7.8"

So looking at Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 tires on 18x8 wheels.

Tread width:
225/40/18 = 7.7"
235/40/18 = 7.8"

Section width:
225/40/18 = 9.1"
235/40/18 = 9.5"

Both are within the "rim width range".

Is the 235 worth $40 CAD more per tire?

Not to go off topic, but wouldn't 245/35 be a better way to go compared to 235/40? Wider, but slightly shorter/smaller diameter = more clearance?


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I would have made a lot of mistakes fitting new Michelins to the RSe10s if not for the insight I've gained from this thread. I think I now have to wait to see what kind of dimensions the 18-inch Pilot Sport 4S possesses (once it is released) in the 225 and 235 sizes. Wish I weren't so brand loyal -- there's a lot to be said for the Firehawk 500 tire -- but it comes from years of experience with Michelin on other cars and lots of bicycles.

pamasana said:

I would have made a lot of mistakes fitting new Michelins to the RSe10s if not for the insight I've gained from this thread. I think I now have to wait to see what kind of dimensions the 18-inch Pilot Sport 4S possesses (once it is released) in the 225 and 235 sizes. Wish I weren't so brand loyal -- there's a lot to be said for the Firehawk 500 tire -- but it comes from years of experience with Michelin on other cars and lots of bicycles.

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I'm glad this was helpful. It was for me as well!

Good luck with your tire hunting!

Don't take that MotoIQ article as Gospel, particularly concerning PSS. Tread grooves extend up the sidewalls on some sizes of Michelin PSS. For my other car, 265/35/18 list a wider tread width than 275/35/18 because of this. Yes, you read that right. But in this instance, the "narrower tread" 275 have more rubber on the ground than the 265s, as they should.

All that to say, 98% of the time, a 235/40/18 wants an 8" wide wheel.

Noize said:

Don't take that MotoIQ article as Gospel, particularly concerning PSS. Tread grooves extend up the sidewalls on some sizes of Michelin PSS. For my other car, 265/35/18 list a wider tread width than 275/35/18 because of this. Yes, you read that right. But in this instance, the "narrower tread" 275 have more rubber on the ground than the 265s, as they should.

All that to say, 98% of the time, a 235/40/18 wants an 8" wide wheel.

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Hey, that's really interesting. Reminds me of how Michelin and Continental design their road bike tires, actually.
I will probably end up with 235s for the GTi. Whenever they make them.
Kinda wish they'd hurry. I've had the RSE10s for a couple of weeks now and look forward to seeing how they and a set of Michelins perform. But with two long road trips coming up, might as well use up a bit more of my Continental all-seasons and have the Michelins for the fun roads.
Thanks for the tip!

moonluv810 said:

Not to go off topic, but wouldn't 245/35 be a better way to go compared to 235/40? Wider, but slightly shorter/smaller diameter = more clearance?


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This is where I'm going eventually -- 18x8.5 +45 with 245/35/18s. I am lowered on VWR springs and that wheel/tire setup seems to be the widest I've read about folks with my setup going without having to negative camber, roll fenders, etc. I've heard mixed things about 245/40s on those wheels, and they look too "chunky" for my taste. My priorities are aesthetics (I like wide tires) and the occasional drag strip visit. I kind of gave up on ride quality with California roads and lowering springs, LOL.

For now I am on stock Austins/tires with ECS spacers (15mm front/20mm back) -- big improvement aesthetically for $149 on sale.

Let me know if you go 18x8.5 +45 245/XX or dig up some more testimonials about that combo -- I only found a couple folks who have done that.

pamasana said:

I would have made a lot of mistakes fitting new Michelins to the RSe10s if not for the insight I've gained from this thread. I think I now have to wait to see what kind of dimensions the 18-inch Pilot Sport 4S possesses (once it is released) in the 225 and 235 sizes. Wish I weren't so brand loyal -- there's a lot to be said for the Firehawk 500 tire -- but it comes from years of experience with Michelin on other cars and lots of bicycles.

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simple answers. if you want to put a 245 on a 8 inch wheel you will be fine.

not optimal, but life will not end..

if you track stuff, well you can do the same. but it will suffer. really if you track at all. all this is void as you will kill any tire you put on. until you address front camber.

now that is done. if you are driving on the street, 245 on an 8 inch wheel is fine.. whether it is a pss or ps4 does not matter. you are not that good, and you are driving on the street..

Michelin makes great tires, but i have killed 8 of them on track days. not the tires fault. camber..

for the street, pick a good max / gt tire. you will be fine..

i would give the firestone indy 500 tires a shot, as i am going to put them on my track car after i finish on my mich pss tires.

beers

^^ thanks for the advice. the firestone "checks a lot of boxes" on my list and I'm considering it. the main things I'm looking for is a tire with good steering response and feedback through the wheel. like a lot of equipment, all of the UHP summer tires are probably capable of a lot more performance than they will ever see on the street or from a typical driver.

nsw said:

This is where I'm going eventually -- 18x8.5 +45 with 245/35/18s. I am lowered on VWR springs and that wheel/tire setup seems to be the widest I've read about folks with my setup going without having to negative camber, roll fenders, etc. I've heard mixed things about 245/40s on those wheels, and they look too "chunky" for my taste. My priorities are aesthetics (I like wide tires) and the occasional drag strip visit. I kind of gave up on ride quality with California roads and lowering springs, LOL.

For now I am on stock Austins/tires with ECS spacers (15mm front/20mm back) -- big improvement aesthetically for $149 on sale.

Let me know if you go 18x8.5 +45 245/XX or dig up some more testimonials about that combo -- I only found a couple folks who have done that.

Click to expand...

I should be mounting up a set of 245/40 pilot sport a/s 3's onto 18x8.5 +45 VMR wheels sometime this week. Lowered on VWR springs and based off of the two people I have seen on here run the same setup, clearance should be ok.

pamasana said:

I would have made a lot of mistakes fitting new Michelins to the RSe10s if not for the insight I've gained from this thread. I think I now have to wait to see what kind of dimensions the 18-inch Pilot Sport 4S possesses (once it is released) in the 225 and 235 sizes. Wish I weren't so brand loyal -- there's a lot to be said for the Firehawk 500 tire -- but it comes from years of experience with Michelin on other cars and lots of bicycles.

Click to expand...

Have you checked out the new Conti Extremecontact Sport? According to the reviews it's like a cheaper PSS:

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArtic...ED-Continental-Tire-ExtremeContact-Sport.aspx

I'm not sure how it compares to the new PS4S, but it's supposedly a big improvement over the DW, which is already a great tire especially in terms of value in my opinion. I'm currently running a pair now in size 245/40 on 18x8.5 wheels and I absolutely love how they feel. Are they the grippiest 300 TW max performance tires out there at any price in dry weather? Absolutely not. However, their wet grip/braking is outstanding (feels almost the same as how they do in the dry which makes them extremely consistent regardless of the weather) and most of all the ride is heavenly. I've never ridden a 40 series summer tire that absorbs and smooths out bumps (mandatory with the bad roads out here in California) as well as the DW's do, and the new Sports are supposed to be just as good but with much better performance, on par with the current PSS's. I've also used the Indy 500's (had a set of 255/35's on my 18x8.5's) and while yes for the price they were unbeatable and did have pretty good grip, I personally found the compound to be a little hard for my tastes (wears well but doesn't give you that "sticky" tire feeling like a tire like the Toyo R1R does, another favorite tire of mine).

In terms of width for an 8" rim, I would agree that a narrower tire on a wider rim combo is almost always going to give you better steering response than a wider tire on a narrower rim. I've used a 225/40 on my 18x8.5 rims, and while the fit looked atrocious they handled amazingly. That being said, having tried both extremes, I still find myself always gravitating towards using the widest tire possible, for not only aestethic reasons, but also because the ride is so much better, ultimate grip is undeniably better, and like others have mentioned, it "insets" the rim, which really does make a world of difference in terms of protection from curb rash.

I agree particularly on the latter.

Following this thread heavily Almost biting the bullet on rim and tire combo and interested in the look and clearance of the 245s on 8.5 rims.