War Eagle!

I tried search, but could not find answers. I need new tires on my 2001 gs430. I was hoping to go a bit wider but stat with stock 16" rims. Has anyone run 245/50/16s on the stock rims? Any suggestions on how wide I can go?

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

I am thinking the same thing. I have bilstein sports with l-spotline springs and find it very firm with my 17" summer wheels but the ride is really nice with my 16" 225/55/16 winters. I am tempted to go 245/50/16 for the summer to try and get the same nice ride

J-Spin

I am pretty sure on the stock 16's the widest tire size is 235/55/16.

Infamous 1

iTrader: (20)

I think you should find a cheap used tire in that size and try it!

SoCalSC4

A 245 is going to look like butt on that skinny 16x7" wheel

The words "buffalo tires" comes immediately to mind.

newgsman

iTrader: (4)

My 16's are 7.5" and most 245 50 series tires are actually spec'ed for a 7.5" rim. My rims are 1st gen GS wheels but I think even the 2nd gen GS 16's are 7.5"

I am surprised nobody's tried a fat tire on these rims...

/209JOHN\

iTrader: (5)

It might fit, but you may have severe tire wear down the center.

When you mount a fat tire on a skinny wheel it causes the center of the tire to wear prematurely.

e-man

Yes, it will fit. The overall diameter of 245/50/16 is about the same as the diameter of the stock size, 225/55/16. I don't believe you'll have any rubbing issues. There is a CL member who has this exact size -- IAGS400. If you do a search on his name, you should be able to find some posts about it. Hope this helps.

e

RON430

245/50-16 fit on the 16 rim and are a great tire size. On the back. The fronts rub on a suspension member on the inside wall of the tire and you chew up the inner sidewall. Any guesses how I know?

e-man

You're still hanging around CL, huh Ron? Are you still educating all the newbees on the ins and outs of aftermarket suspension alternatives? I always enjoyed reading your posts.

e

RON430

Still here. Just not on the second gen thread much. Don't think I intended to keep my GS this long but there isn't much that interests me to replace it right now. My car still has the Bilstein sports and the TRD blues while my wife's GS3 still has the HDs and Sportivos. Still a pretty decent combo all things considered. Eventually when they go away I will probably put the stock sways back on sell the two sets of blues and Sportivos I have.

Wanted a bit more bite on my car and went with the 245 50/16 and ate up the inside of Pirelli P Zeros. Thought maybe it was the tires and switched over to Goodyear F1s and that's when I realized the rubbing problem when we got strange results when we looked at force measurements on the car. Otherwise, a great size. Right up until you see the cord on the inner sidewall. Live and learn.

War Eagle!

Guys: OK, thanks. I wasn't that worried about the tire/rim combo. I had run something similar on an auto-x racer years ago. The rubbing on front was primary concern, especially given the sidewall bulge.

Ron430: Thanks for feedback. Did you have rubbing on factory or aftermarket rims? I've done a little measuring and it looked like the OEM rims would clear the 245s, but I'm basing my calcs on a cutout from a 16x8 rim.

e-man

IAGS400 has 245/50/16 RE960A/S's on stock 1998 16" GS rims and has no rubbing problems that I know of.

War Eagle!

Really? That is good to hear.

Also, I've checked the manuf's website, and the tire manuf does state that a 16x7 is in spec for a 245/50/16 tire. I've seen the combo run in the aut0-x circuit, but did want to get a feel for real world usage.

RON430

Mine were on the stock 16s. I had both Pirelli P Zero Nero and Goodyear F1. The only way to see the wear without getting under the car is to crank the wheel hard over and get out and look at the inside sidewall. Even though a tire is 245/50-16, there can be differences from one mfr to another. It is possible that some other mfrs tire had an overall narrower profile and it doesn't rub.

The first notice I had on mine was when Custom Alignment did an on the car balance. It worked and they balanced but the force readings were screwy. It seems to be that the Pirellis lasted longer than the Goodyears but both had the same problem. I had an unusual creaking from the suspension and took the car into Magnussen Lexus and got one of their better guys to go for a ride with me. He definitely heard it. Brought the car in and put it on the rack and immediately saw that the 245/50 was rubbing on the inner sidewall on a steering component as I remember. You might be able to get an aftermarket wheel with a different offset to take care of the problem but the benefit of the tire is not enough for the hassle on my car. If you go ahead with them on the stock rims, good luck.