newbie tyre question..havnt got a clue please help

[sh00016]

hi guys going to order 4 new tyres (i have 15inch alloys,non standard) the setup on there at the moment is:

front: 195/55/r15/89v
rear: 205/55/r15/89w

im going to buy toyo proxes i think (i know people have their opinions).. shall i get the same setup or go 195 front and 225 rear? also 50 or 55? will it fit/make much difference etc? im not really sure how it works!

thanks

[sh00016]

and my car is a turbo mk 2 rev 2 1992!

[John145]

Ideally you'll want the next step down in profile on the rears compared to the front, ie. 195/50 and 225/45. However 225/45 are expensive and 195/55 are expensive.

I've opted for 195/50 and 225/50, 4 T1Rs, haven't driven them in yet, only got them today!

Being a turbo its more important that you look at getting the balance correct so it'll be worth getting the 195/50 and 225/45 combo or the 195/55 and 225/50.

The bigger the profile the more feel you get through the steering wheel and the more warning you get before it lets go. However top end grip can be reduced slightly until you get to extremely low profiles ie 35.

Also bigger profile allows for a smoother ride.

HTH.

[sh00016]

ok thanks for your help, ive had a look. Below are the prices iv found.

195/55 £71 each fitted and 225/50 £115 fitted

195/50 £53 each fitted and 225/45 £103 fitted

the 225/45 only come up as 16 instead of 15..do they do a 225/45/15 do you know? would 225/50 and 195/50 be balanced?
thanks

[Quigonjay]

195/55/15 and 225/50/15 are the standard sizes, not 225/45
i have 205/50/15 and 225/50/15 as a compromise (R888's on standard wheels)

[Leon.]

It's also dependant on your wheel widths - do you know these? Standard are 6" and 7" front and back respectively, and that is what determines the tyre width.

Also, as a rule, it's good to stay near the stock rollng radius, which means the outer diameter of the tyre, which is determined by profile and width of the tyre, and the diameter of the wheel. Larger rollng radius means possible arch rubbing (on lowered, wide wheels and/or with low offset), and on the rear it means reduction in acceleration, and higher gearing. Vice versa for smaller rolling radius.

[sh00016]

im not sure about the wheel widths..is there a way to check, like markings or anything? i dont want to end up buying tyres that dont fit

[Leon.]

Well they normally have the size either in the hub area on the back or around the rim on the back.

[Jim Galbally]

195/55/15 and 225/50/15 are the standard sizes, not 225/45
i have 205/50/15 and 225/50/15 as a compromise (R888's on standard wheels)

ditto

[HighwayStar]

I'm the same again on T1-Rs.... 205/50/15 front and 225/50/15 rear. The question is whether to stay with the standard 195/55 on the front or swap to the 205/50 which will reduce understeer (and of course therefore bring you closer to oversteer). I can see no reason to change the profile on the rear if you're staying with a 225 width from the standard 225/50.

R.

PS. Be aware that the rear T1-Rs in particular take a good 300 miles or so to scrub in and will feel like they're on sideways till they do.

[sh00016]

ok so for the t1-r 205/50/15 front and 225/50/15 rear priced up that comes to £377.20 fitted

Iv seen some people have the FALKEN - ZE912 tyres and for the 205/50/15 front and 225/50/15 rear they cost £270 fitted

is there much noticeable differences between the two? i mean my tubby did only 4-5k miles last year and im not going to be cornering at ridiculous speeds so are t1-rs needed and secondly are they worth the extra £100?

thanks

[HighwayStar]

Only you can answer that one but if you find yourself disappearing backwards to the scene of an accident I imagine you'll regret not getting the Toyos just before the impact.
Seriously mate I've not tried the Falkens but my basic (though extremely logical) rule on tyres is this... get the best you can afford since they're the most important thing on your car. I'm on my 4th set of T1-Rs after changing from the old Yokohama AO22s and they're a good enough all weather tyre for me to look no further.