Hi, I am currently using 225's most of the time in the back. I want to get some decent tyres for the front now and I am wondering which size I should order. Should I use the same width as in the back or is it of any benefit to run 235's or 245's? I can run up to 245 on the front without any rubbing or other issues.
On a rear wheel drive car it's actually an MOT fail/illegal to run a wider tyre up front on the road.
What I got told by my local MOT dude a little while ago. He's not a jobsworth either, he's a pretty genuine car enthusiast with some serious rare stuff out the back. That said, when I've looked through the section on tyres I couldn't see it myself.
Fair enough. Only relaying what I got told by a guy I trust but if it's not the case then it's not the case. Why you'd do it though, that's still a mystery. Makes for a drift car that handles like fucking arse.
but a 235 is only 10mm (give or take) wider than a 225. I have ran 235 40 on the front and 205/215/225/235/245 on the back for years with adverse effects. my advice would be to run a tyre with similar grip to the back on the front to keep the grip relatively square as you have to factor in the slip on the front wheels.so if you are planning on running budget plastic tyres on the back go for a middle of the road tyre on the front. but then everyone has a different opinion.
Tyre type and pressure (and geometry) has a fuckload bigger difference in grip than width. 235 front and rear or 235 front and 205 rear dont mean fuck all when 99% of people are running much higher tyre pressures in the rear even with same width front and rear.
I'd assumed it was going to be the same tyre type front and rear. Tyre pressure is a valid point. This is all irrelevant anyway because people are determined to run less grip at the back than the front because "drift cars are meant to slide". Advice be damned.
As gaz_moose figured out I want to run cheap tyres in the back. Something like Achilles ATR Sport 2, Retreaded Tyres or even old tyres if I find them for free. If I get some old tyres for free I will also use 235's and 245. If I buy them new I would opt for 225's. For the front I want to use something more decent. I read plenty of good feedback about the Advan AD08 / AD08R here so I wanted to try it out despite the price which is a bit on the high side. I was just unsure if I should order it in 225, 235 or 245 so I posted a thread here. So are you recommending me a front tyre with less performance than the AD08 if I always run cheap or old tyres on the back to keep the grip levels between the front and rear axle even? Maybe something like a Hankook V12 might be a better choice then?
Personally I've always found the best feeling car is one that has the same compound on the front that it runs on the back. People will disagree but it's a personal thing. One thing you'll get if you're running ALL the grip IN THE WORLD up front compared to the back is that the car wants to oversteer more so you've got no recovery room at the limit of your lock. If the front naturally breaks traction at the limit of the lock then you'll have more chance of recovery. It's personal, some people don't like the fact it doesn't make the front feel as sharp but as 245/40/18's are £35 per tyre brand new I'd run them on the back and the same compound on the front. It's up to you and depends a bit how good you are and how you want the car to handle.
