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What Tire Sizes for SVT Rims?

C

Canadian 98 CSVT

CEG'er
Joined
May 28, 2007
Messages
70
Location
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
I'm looking at replacing my tires, just keeping the stock E1 SVT rims. I currently have the 205/55R16s, looking to beef up! I see the 99-00 have 215/50R16s, but the tire calculator on Tire Rack tells me 225/50R16's are an upsize. I want to keep my speedo calibrated right, and I believe the 225/50R16's should be right. Also, what brands are everyone happy with? These are summer rims/tires only, and find the Yokohamas on there suck in the rain... I'd like good rain/dry traction. Fairly budget conscious too! I had a set of Wanli S1088's on my 86 Mustang (17's) and I liked them, but can't seem to find them in the right size... Any suggestions? :shrug:
 
The stock size for E1's is 215/50. You can go with 225/45 and have it be almost exact but there is less choice in that size versus 225/50
 
Right now I'm running 225/50/16's, Khumo ecsta asx. My speedo isn't off more than 3 miles per hour, according to the radar signs they put on the side of the highways. Just drove a few hundred miles thru thunderstorms at highway speeds (for me, anyway :laugh:) w/o any issues. So far, they seem like a great tire. Just my .02
 
The stock SVT tire sizes were 205/55ZR16 for 98 and 215/50/16 for 99 and 00. The diameter of the 215/50 is slightly smaller than the 205/55.

The diameter of the 225/50ZR16 is the same as the 205/55

225/50ZR16 offers MANY more choices. There is room for this size, but hust barely.
 
getsum111 said:
Right now I'm running 225/50/16's, Khumo ecsta asx. My speedo isn't off more than 3 miles per hour, according to the radar signs they put on the side of the highways. Just drove a few hundred miles thru thunderstorms at highway speeds (for me, anyway :laugh:) w/o any issues. So far, they seem like a great tire. Just my .02
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Thanks Scott, this is the kind of response I'm looking for, an opinion on what brand they like and what size they are running! My problem with the Yoko's on the car are exactly what you say the Khumos are doing good for you! I was getting a fair amount of hydro onthe highway doing 120+ km/h (75 mph). I want a tire with good traction, wet or dry, but affordable too! Any other opinions will be appreciated too! I'm pretty sure I'm sticking with the 225/50 16s since they are the proper OD for my 98, but the brand is still in the air!

Cheers!:laugh:
 
I have BG Goodrich g-force ZR16-91Y but I won't get them again. They are very noisy (but hugs the corners very well). The sound is more noticeable at slow speeds.
 
I am currently running Khumo SPT 225/50/16 and am very happy with the tire. It has very good dry and wet handling. Good ride qualities and low noise. I have run Yoko ES100's on a previous car and hated them.

If you are looking for an inexpensive summer tire then I would buy the SPT. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+SPT

The 225/50 is $69 a tire and the 225/45 is $97 a tire. Unless you are a hard core street driver the additional $30 a tire is not justifiable for the lower profile. I have checked my speedo with a GPS and there is no noticeable variance in calibration running the 50 series tire.

If you want a better tire with simular performance there is the Bridgestone RE750. I have also had that tire and liked it but it is $121 a tire and certainly not worth the increased price for marginal performance gains.

Or there is the Factory tire the BFG KDW. Their price is comparable to the Bridgestone. Again a great tire and I liked them when I bought the car new but the price is too high when there are tires like the SPT available.

I have driven many different tires from the major brands, including their R Compound tires. I keep going back to Khumo because I can never justify the cost difference for marginal performance gains on the street. I have never had a defect in a Khumo tire and never had one fail. I have owned at least 5 different sets of Khumo tires on various cars. 4 Sets of Bridgestones 2 sets of BFG's and 2 sets of Yoko's. Not including R Comps.

I cannot comment on All season tires because I have never owned any.
 
I have a Bridgestone 750 clone on my car, Dayton Daytona ZR1. It is an excellent summer tire for low cost. It may also be a clone to Fuzion ZRi. Dayton and Fuzion are Bridgestone Brands.

This is my second set of Dayton Daytonas. The first set lasted 60,000 miles so it was a no brainer to replace them with the same.
 
Big Jim said:
I have a Bridgestone 750 clone on my car, Dayton Daytona ZR1. It is an excellent summer tire for low cost. It may also be a clone to Fuzion ZRi. Dayton and Fuzion are Bridgestone Brands.

This is my second set of Dayton Daytonas. The first set lasted 60,000 miles so it was a no brainer to replace them with the same.
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There is a set of the Fuzion ZRi at a local place for $73 a tire, they looked good tread wise and were not hard but I have read that they don't last long and snow traction isn't good at all. What have been your experience?
 
The Daytona is not a soft tire. The Fuzion at the tire shop also did not look to be soft. It is not as hard as the BFG KDW or KDWS, but those things get really noisy as they wear and have the traction of a railroad car iron wheel (well maybe not quite).

The Fuzion is not a winter tire. That doesn't matter to me, as it hasn't snowed in the Los Angeles area for decades.
 
Big Jim said:
The Daytona is not a soft tire. The Fuzion at the tire shop also did not look to be soft. It is not as hard as the BFG KDW or KDWS, but those things get really noisy as they wear and have the traction of a railroad car iron wheel (well maybe not quite).

The Fuzion is not a winter tire. That doesn't matter to me, as it hasn't snowed in the Los Angeles area for decades.
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Should ship out a truck load to you in the winter and throw it under your car and have you slide around. :) When I felt up the tire, the compound felt very gripy and soft. Well, compaired to some other tires I felt...some are hard as rocks. And they were fuzions, cause they still have the sticker on them, and thought about it for a good 10 min.
 
CSVT1214 said:
Do not attempt using Fuzion's in the snow. You will die.

That is all.
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x2, I needed a few pairs of

oops.jpg


after our early snowfall last year :shocked:
 
Thanks for the advice on the snow guys, but you are talking to a Canadian...lol I know not to mix the snow with performance tires! :crazy:
Besides, I already have a set of steelies for the snow with "snow tires", not all seasons. I'm just looking for a decent summer tire at a reasonable price. The Khunos are sounding pretty good. I had a set of Wanli S1088 's on my stang, they handled really well in the rain and dry. I haven't had much luck finding them in the size I want though. I've also had a couple sets of BFG KDW's, tore through them pretty quick, so not interested in those at their price.
The 225/50 16's are my size, as the car is already calibrated for that OD. Luckily this is the less expensive size! lol Thanks for all the advice everyone, keep those opinions coming! :laugh:
 
I have been running Hankock tires on mine over 35,000 on the tires and still have half the tread life left... The handle awsome in dry and rain and hook up real fast and hard... so hard I worry one of these times I'm going to rip out a cv
 
Big Jim said:
...It is not as hard as the BFG KDW ....., but those things get really noisy as they wear and have the traction of a railroad car iron wheel ....
.....
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No, kidding. They sound like the traction of a railroad car iron wheel on sand. Actually, they sound more like worned out wheel bearings. :shrug:
 
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