HeritageBruce
GT Owner
These tires fit the OEM wheels perfectly. I had the whole weekend but spent both days on the Lotus touring and autocrossing. I'm promising myself this coming weekend will be a GT weekend.
Definitive Wheel and Tire Thread with Pics
- Thread starter getbit
- Start date
fjpikul
GT Owner
Chris A.
GT #32
Something to consider...and please correct me if I'm wrong.
Those front tires were designed as rear tires for a Porsche...and in relation to the rear tires they will raise the front of the car slightly. Would the REO50A 255/40/18 be a marginally better set-up for tread pattern and size?
Looking forward to your review.
Those front tires were designed as rear tires for a Porsche...and in relation to the rear tires they will raise the front of the car slightly. Would the REO50A 255/40/18 be a marginally better set-up for tread pattern and size?
Looking forward to your review.
oooh
a 345/35 makes me happy in the pants. still not as much sidewall as the oem 315/40 but a lot better than the 30 sidewall tires a lot of guys are running. let us know how they feel over time.
Midnite Blu
GT Owner #755
Kingman
GT Owner
HeritageBruce
GT Owner
You scared the s*@# out of me, ran down to the garage, pull the cover and checked. :lol The screen is still there. I looked at the posted picture again, and sure enough I couldn't see the screen. Maybe it becomes invisible when photographed???!!!
Back to the tires, here're the dimension I got from Tirerack's website:
Front Rear
Goodyears OEM 26.3 28.9
REO50A 26.3 28.6
As you can see, the sizes are close enough, even though the 275/40-18's will also work but I was afraid of rub so I went with the 265's, and the 265 has more tread depth which could be good (in the rain, snow, or wear longer) or bad (not as sticky). If I get no rub at all, then I may go up to the 275's next time.
As to the increased in width, going from 235 to 265 is a 12.77% increase vs. from 315 to 345 or a 9.52% increase. In theory I'm putting more rubber in the front relative to the rear and hopefully that should dial out some understeer, but then the treads are deeper in the front so there's a good chance that one set of fronts will last as long as two sets of rears also.
sr71
GT Owner
IN THE SNOW???? IN SOUTH CAL???? and I would't be driving on that medication either!
HeritageBruce
GT Owner
:lol Yeah, we Kalifornians drive on snow also..... when we go skiing in Colorado. :banana
BTW, I didn't have the Bridgestones on yet at Stillen's Open House.
boondocksts
GT Owner
- Apr 5, 2006
- 37
Bruce, what's the word on the tires? I need to replace mine, and I really do not want to go back to the Goodyears.
HeritageBruce
GT Owner
All I know for now is the RE050A's are quieter and ride better. My car isn't running too good (pinging) right now so I'll wait until that's fixed before I can hammer the car. I promise I'll post performance impressions as soon as I'm able to do a few spirited runs.
H
HHGT
Guest
Okay Bruce, you need to take one for the team. Stop by my house this weekend and we'll take off your tires/wheels and put them on my car and I'll shave off a few millimeters off the rubber and then report back to the forum.
Hummm, Orange on Red....
HeritageBruce
GT Owner
Sam,
I have a better idea... take your Whippled engine out of your car and put it in mine. Go team Heritage....
STORMCAT
GT
Bridgestone Specs a Word of Caution
I just received my rear Bridgestone Tires. I too am going to run the 345/35/ 19 Potenza RE050A Scuderia's on the rear. For the record these tires are the highest speed rated tires you can buy for our application. besides the ZR rating there is a bracket "Y" or ( Y ) which is good for over the 186 mph rating. We know the Enzo runs 212 mph so these are not the issue.
The word of caution comes on the speed rating for the front tire selection. I'm going with the Stock size Front : Bridgestone RE050A 235/ 45 / 18 these are ZR and Bracketed "Y" (Y) speed rated. Luke ( ext 362 ) at the Tire Rack informed me that the same tire in the 255/ 40 /18 is not a bracketed Y (Y) tire and carries a lower speed rating. I have run my car over 200 MPH and I want to have bracketed Y ( Y) tires for piece of mind.
The 18" front tires are not a Scuderia series tire. The performance specs ( grip , wear etc. ) match the Scuderia so they should match the rears well. The BS 235/45/18 will have a higher grip level than stock . So my take is that you have raised the grip level of the car at both ends but you still have left the designed push at the front. Now having said this I didn't ask about the 265 width speed rating that HB is running..
I just received my rear Bridgestone Tires. I too am going to run the 345/35/ 19 Potenza RE050A Scuderia's on the rear. For the record these tires are the highest speed rated tires you can buy for our application. besides the ZR rating there is a bracket "Y" or ( Y ) which is good for over the 186 mph rating. We know the Enzo runs 212 mph so these are not the issue.
The word of caution comes on the speed rating for the front tire selection. I'm going with the Stock size Front : Bridgestone RE050A 235/ 45 / 18 these are ZR and Bracketed "Y" (Y) speed rated. Luke ( ext 362 ) at the Tire Rack informed me that the same tire in the 255/ 40 /18 is not a bracketed Y (Y) tire and carries a lower speed rating. I have run my car over 200 MPH and I want to have bracketed Y ( Y) tires for piece of mind.
The 18" front tires are not a Scuderia series tire. The performance specs ( grip , wear etc. ) match the Scuderia so they should match the rears well. The BS 235/45/18 will have a higher grip level than stock . So my take is that you have raised the grip level of the car at both ends but you still have left the designed push at the front. Now having said this I didn't ask about the 265 width speed rating that HB is running..
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HeritageBruce
GT Owner
The 265 fronts have a (101Y) rating, so it is also rated BEYOND 186 MPH and 101 meaning it is rated for 1819 pounds, the Scuderia rears are (110Y) rated for 2337 pounds. I'm hoping the new tires will make the car understeers less, and thus enable me to stiffen the front shocks to improve turn-in as I feel this is one of the GT's very few weak performance traits, when compared to cars such as Porsche's 996GT3, Ferrari's Challenge Stradale, or the Lotus Elise.
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HeritageBruce
GT Owner
Brian,
I'd think twice before running the same size fronts but go up from 315 to 345 sized rears. The car is already pushing quite a bit and if you throw a 9.5% increase in tread width in the rear, this may make the car push like a front driver.
Bruce
BlackICE
GT Owner
How about some adjustable swaybars too allow us to dial out the understeer? I wonder does Alex have any data from testing in the past.
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STORMCAT
GT
Hey Bruce,
I understand where you are coming from. I really don't push my car
(cornering wise ) that hard on the street. I was really looking for some better bite in the rear to compensate for the pulley upgrade. I'm trying to reduce wheel spin under heavy acceleration. I didn't want to increase the weight or rolling resistance to the front tires. If I track the car I'll throw on some Hoosiers.
I have a question for some of you. The the 345 rears are wider than the stock 315's but the 345's are smaller in diameter. The larger diameter 315's with a larger circumference theoretically have a larger contact area not width wise but in the rotational plane. It would be interesting to see what the actual contact patch looked like for each tire. The 345 Bridgestones should provide more grip due the the softer compound. When I get them mounted I'll post some feed back.. Thanks for sharing your info guys that's what make this such a great place !!