smaller tyres...bad idea?

[Papercup]

Hi Guys.
 
Need a little advice. I just bought this:
 
http://www.neweraimports.com/carDetails.jsp?carId=291
 
and its got these imported jap track tyres on it. I don\'t want to waste them driving around, and also they are terrifying in the wet. So i want to change them until i go to trackdays for something a little more ordinary. They are 17", 8J front wheels and 9J rears, and the tyres are 235 front and 255 rear.
 
I have, in may garage, a set of Eagle F1s. These are about 18 months old and were on my Octavia vRS. I bought them, went to the ring, came back, and took them off. So they are almost new.
 
But they are 225s all round. Is putting these on a bad idea? I have checked the \'rim width calculateor\' here: http://www.rochfordtyres.co.uk/tyrecalc.asp and its OK to put them on wheels of this width, but is it a bad idea to drop widths like that for general driving and handling?
 
I think the fronts would be OK to go from 235 (down 10mm) to 225, but the rears going from 255 down to 225 (30mm) makes me wonder....should i play it safe and just use these as fronts and order 245 rears to match (as they don\'t make 255s in ths tyre) and at least then i have dropped 10mm, an equal amount, front and rear?
 
Advice welcome...
 
cheers

Andy

[Papercup]

p.s. bear in mind i have 400 at the flywheel....

[Fish]

There\'s no real reason why you couldnt run 8j wheels all round! Grip in the wet may be the issue.

Fish

[Papercup]

There\'s no real reason why you couldnt run 8j wheels all round! Grip in the wet may be the issue.
 
Fish

I don\'t really want to change the wheels; i really like them. Its more whether it is a bad idea to put smaller tyres on...

[Fish]

I wouldnt go smaller foot print than what an 8j would give.

Fish

[rob]

Hi Guys.
 
Need a little advice. I just bought this:
 
http://www.neweraimports.com/carDetails.jsp?carId=291
 

wow i like that a lot :god

although i recon it could do with are some spats or an aftermarket rear bumper.......funny you see loads of imports with loads of body mods and a standard rear bumper......wonder why that is?

[CraigN]

I wouldnt do this.

i can\'t see 225s fitting on 8j rims. and they would look rediculous like the car is running on biscuits.

you will loose a lot of surface area.

I run 255 on the back of mine and 235 on the front. Must be the std size.

[rob]

i thought standard was 225 front and rear....(225x50x16)

[Fish]

Yes for 16\'s thats the size, for 17\'s its 235/45R17 Front and 255/40R17 Rear.

Fish

[Baz116]

i`m running 225/40/18 on fronts, 255/35/18 on rear. Both on 8j rims, look fine and handle fine, better than the 215/45/17 front and 235/45/17 rears it had on when i got it!

[Papercup]

Plan B is to run these 225s on the front and get a pair of matching 245s (they don\'t make em in 255) for the back, meaning i have dropped 10mm front and back. Seems more sensible, and equal?
 
I\'d really like to use the tyres i have lying around, and this seems the best way to do it. I only have to buy a pair for the back, and i have four fronts.
 
10mm is nothing...and they have got to be better than the terrifying things its wearing now; it will spin the back in third at 80mph in a straight line in the wet. I am scared to drive it unless its bone dry. It has the potential for a massive accident.
 
Andy

[JamesFD3]

Andy,

I would recommend you stick with the correct size tyres,you will run into nastys such as as execessive tyre movement on the rim during hard cornering and the car will feel out of sorts.

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3\'s in a 235/45ZR17 front and a 255/40ZR17 rear are £362.80 all in delivered from Mytyres.co.uk

[Papercup]

Andy,
 
I would recommend you stick with the correct size tyres,you will run into nastys such as as execessive tyre movement on the rim during hard cornering and the car will feel out of sorts.
 
Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3\'s in a 235/45ZR17 front and a 255/40ZR17 rear are £362.80 all in delivered from Mytyres.co.uk

Do you really think that 225 front and 245 rear will make that much difference? 10mm difference?
 
they are 45-profile GSD3s; same tyres in every way, apart from that 10mm...

[Baz116]

To be honest mate, if your going to drive SENSIBLE, but lets face it, your not, then 225 all round would do, BUT these cars need all the traction they can get. I noticed a massive difference when i changed my wheels. At the end of the day its a gamble, run narrower tyres and risk meeting a brick wall or run wider tyres and, er, well, reduce the odds!!! :p

Personally, i`d go for wider rears

[Papercup]

To be honest mate, if your going to drive SENSIBLE, but lets face it, your not, then 225 all round would do, BUT these cars need all the traction they can get. I noticed a massive difference when i changed my wheels. At the end of the day its a gamble, run narrower tyres and risk meeting a brick wall or run wider tyres and, er, well, reduce the odds!!! :p
 
Personally, i`d go for wider rears

You\'re right. I\'ve tried to be sensible but i can\'t do it
 
I\'d already shelved the 225-all-round idea; i had my doubts all along but wanted a few people to think the same i do. I do still think that dropping 10mm at the front will make bugger all difference. I didn\'t realise (or couldn\'t find) 255s in these GSD3s but according to James they do exist; that was why i was talking 245s. At present i am leaning towards just ordering a pair of 255s for the back, the same as is on it now.
 
I am also still leaning towards using my 225s on the front, going down from 235. It may even handle better and will certainly aquaplane less. Worst case is it understeers a little, and i\'d rather it did that than oversteer.
 
I\'ll ask a few tyre places as well, just to make sure. But writing off £400 of tyres (thats what i paid for them when i put them on the vRS to go to the ring) is too much to take. If i can use them i will.
 
Andy