007lexus

hey guys,

I was wondering if I can get away with 245/50/16 on stock lexus wheels? The tire guy at Americas tire store, told me that this size is not recommended but its do-able.

What do u guys think?

Has anyone done this?

Any comments or concerns about this change in size?

Will the handling get better or worst?

Which is better for an sc400 Kumho's or Yokohama's? Any deals out there??

Thanks,
007

Red93sc400

Hey 007:
The Tire Rack website may be of great value to you in this question's answer. The SC400 and 300 have factory standard 225/55-16 tires. This factory tire was designed for rims with a width of 6-8" wide and have a tread width of 8" and give an overall OD of 25.7". The sectional width of this tire is about 9.2" wide.

The 245/50-16 has the exact same OD. but was designed for rims that are 7 to 8.5" wide. The sectional width is 10" and the tread width is 8.7". So the 245/50-16 is a wider and chubby-er tire designed for a slightly wider rim. It is not Taller, ie: it would not have a bigger Overall Diameter so the profile is fine.

You do ask a great question. Were I you, I would give the folks at TireRack a call and get their opinion. As far as the brand of tire, I have no personal data on those brands. They seem to be popular with kids running Accords and Hondas. You can use the Tirerack website to do comparisons of different brands of tires.

When I do that, I tend to quickly eliminate loud or noisy tires and those that do not have good traction in the wet. I find those two atributes very important. I dislike but loud or hummy tires. And any tire that is less able to hold the road when it rains is not worth it. That logic has led me to the Dunlop Sport 9000 for summer tires 225/55-16. However, I am thinking of getting some new wheels for my SC this summer. They will most likely wear the Bridgestone Potenza S-03 in 245/40-18 front and 265/35-18 rear. Imagine a 10" wide rear tire on the SC!

The rims may be the SSR GT3....

Heres a pic of them...

amati5

I had them in the back of mine without rubbing or anything like that. I would stay with 225x55x16. 245 is too wide for the rims (only 7 in in width) you'll have lots of rubber sticking out from the rims. It looks like the tires are underflated. It also didn't improve the look or the ride.

moshlub

I fell in love those rims the first time I saw them. The only problem.. I want chrome. They're not available in chrome and costs $150+ per wheel to get chrome plated.

Do you know how much those rims cost?

Yokos vs Kumhos:
IMHO, i prefer Kumhos ... here's why. The Yokos cost more but grab better. The Kumhos grab a little bit less than the Yokos, but they also cost less than half of the Yokos. For paying half-price of the Yokos, the Kumhos performance loss is negligible. Of course, I'm talking about the Yoko AVS and Kumho Supra series.

matt7184

I have Falken FK-451s on my car and for $90 I think its a good deal. They are much better than the 502s (I hate thos tires, no grip at all!). I was right behind a Carrera 4 (women driver) on an exit ramp w/ 25 speed limit and I was going 50 with enough grip, didnt want to push it because its a big fall!

Im running 225/50/16 and was going to go with 245, but it depends on the tire brand. My tires look wider than the Michelins that came with the car. I think 245s would have been too wide for the stock 16x7 wheel.

Bean

iTrader: (1)

i dont' know why anyone would have 245s rub at all on a SC300...

I'm running 17x8 BBS RX rims with 245/40/zr17s on mine...

Red93sc400

Hi Moshlub:
The SSR GT3's are in the $550 range each. I have the fronts on order and they should be coming in soon. The rears which are 18x10" will hopefully come in some time in February. They are out of stock in the hole and offset for the SC400. I saw them at Lime Rock at a Bimmer ralley this fall. They look sharp. I hope they clean easy. I have had chrome wheels in the past. If you can keep them waxed well and avoid pitting they are great. However, I live near the ocean and chrome and salt air are at odds with each other.

VQT

I have 245-50-16, BFgoodrich g force, KDWS on mine. It does bulge out a little. The tires is wider so it does handle a little better. I just like wider tires that's all. I don't have $2000+ to spend on rims and tires
I wouldn't mind having 245-40-18 tires and rims on my car though.

moshlub

I'd like to see pics when you get them on. Although you have a red car, don't you? Mine is black and I think my car would look better with chrome rims, b/c I have chrome on them right now. Just the stockers though.

1BomexLex

hey..
id say go with the 245
more traction
and not too thin
just right

Red93sc400

Yah, I will do that (take pics). However, I will not run the new wheels and tires till the snow season passes (April 20th or so). Am going to replace my stock rotors with slotted and vented rotors and probably paint the calipers red. Indeed my SC is garnet red metalic. Yours being black would indeed look better with chrome, I agree. Or a titanium colored wheel. The red and chrome look is perhaps too flashy but that is a taste thing. The fronts should arrive next week as I got the shipping advice today. They are shipping with the tires mounted. I may mount them on the front just to see what they look like and figure out if I would need to lower the springs or leave them at stock height. The big rear wheels should ship out in late Jan or Feb as there are none in the States at this time that I can find (that will fit the SC400).
During the snow season I run Blizzacks on the standard 93 SC rims. I need a narrow tire tread to grip the snow and Ice better.

007lexus

hey VQT,
Does your tires look like flat looking? Someone posted that 245 on 16 inch rims makes the tires look 'flat-looking'. Can you post pictures if possible? When you say bulge, is this bulge from the wheel wells? or the rim itself?

007

VQT

I have no pictures and don't know how to post it either. The tires bulge out a little like a donut shape. Not too much, it doesn't looks that bad. Unless you like the flat looks of very low profile tires then it's a different story. It looks a lot better than the original 225-55 though.

cupete

I have 235/45/17 in front and 255/40/17 in rear on yokohama tires fitted in Racing Hart rims, I paid about $125 for the front tires and $135 for the rear tires. They perform OK but I hear too much tire noise so the next time I need to replace my tires, I will go with something other than yokohama.

VQT

Check out tirerack.com my BFGoodrich KDWS is quiet and not too expensive.