S2000 STR prep resource
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Originally Posted by TheNick,Feb 16 2011, 05:37 AM
I'd run a 245/17 in a heartbeat on my AP2.
I'm picturing a hell of a lot more grip than the 255 because the tire actually fits on the rim and you can run normal tire pressures (low 30's) with less camber.
Will also yield better gearing that will help keep up with the smaller cars with more midrange thrust. Spin the motor to 86-8700 to get a 62-63mph top speed in 2nd which will be more than adequate on 90% of courses. Spin it to 9k for Nationals if necessary.
I think people are being pretty ignorant to the fact how floppy the sidewalls are on a street tire. The 9" wheel is way too narrow for a 255 street tire. 245 would fit perfect.
I'd absolutely have these on the front of my car at all times - might have a set of 255's for airport courses and a set of 245's for normal courses for the rear.
I'm picturing a hell of a lot more grip than the 255 because the tire actually fits on the rim and you can run normal tire pressures (low 30's) with less camber.
Will also yield better gearing that will help keep up with the smaller cars with more midrange thrust. Spin the motor to 86-8700 to get a 62-63mph top speed in 2nd which will be more than adequate on 90% of courses. Spin it to 9k for Nationals if necessary.
I think people are being pretty ignorant to the fact how floppy the sidewalls are on a street tire. The 9" wheel is way too narrow for a 255 street tire. 245 would fit perfect.
I'd absolutely have these on the front of my car at all times - might have a set of 255's for airport courses and a set of 245's for normal courses for the rear.
again... less is more
Joined: Jul 2004
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From: Kentucky
Originally Posted by oinojo,Feb 23 2011, 11:04 PM
^this...
again... less is more
again... less is more
Of course, I fall in that ignorant category that Nick mentions. Ignorance is bliss.
-Dave
Joined: Jun 2010
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From: Near Philadelphia
This doesn't make sense to me either. I think Nick is trying to get everyone else to run on smaller tires so he can beat everyone 
I can totally understand the logic on an AP1 - doing it for gearing reasons without much if any loss of grip. But the grip being better for 245 makes no sense. I know for a fact that my 225 width hoosiers on my 6" wide miata wheels gripped better than my 205 width hoosiers on the same rims. That's waaaaaaaay too wide for the rim. This is right in the middle of the recommended rim range. More tire width should give more contact patch.
I can totally understand the logic on an AP1 - doing it for gearing reasons without much if any loss of grip. But the grip being better for 245 makes no sense. I know for a fact that my 225 width hoosiers on my 6" wide miata wheels gripped better than my 205 width hoosiers on the same rims. That's waaaaaaaay too wide for the rim. This is right in the middle of the recommended rim range. More tire width should give more contact patch.
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From: Frankfort, KY
Originally Posted by Random1,Feb 23 2011, 10:45 PM
BTW I had a friend weigh an unmounted 245 R-S3 and it came to 24.8 lbs. Anyone else have weights for 245 or 255 unmounted and new?
edit- The ship weight for 2 tires was 53LBS. So they are around 26.0-.5 LBS concidering they have tape on them and 3 1/2 inch wide plastic bands on them.
So they are 1.2-.7 pounds heavier then the 245s. giving up 1/2 inch or 6.2% of the tires width scares me to much to be the test guy and maybe waste $580. When you guys are kicking my butt at a national event on 245, I'll tell myself that I lost because I should of been on 245s and it might make me feel alittle better.
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From: Near Philadelphia
Originally Posted by josh7owens,Feb 23 2011, 08:12 PM
I can weight one of my unmounted 255s tomarrow. I'll post the weight around 1pm or so.
edit- The ship weight for 2 tires was 53LBS. So they are around 26.0-.5 LBS concidering they have tape on them and 3 1/2 inch wide plastic bands on them.
So they are 1.2-.7 pounds heavier then the 245s. giving up 1/2 inch or 6.2% of the tires width scares me to much to be the test guy and maybe waste $580. When you guys are kicking my butt at a national event on 245, I'll tell myself that I lost because I should of been on 245s and it might make me feel alittle better.
edit- The ship weight for 2 tires was 53LBS. So they are around 26.0-.5 LBS concidering they have tape on them and 3 1/2 inch wide plastic bands on them.
So they are 1.2-.7 pounds heavier then the 245s. giving up 1/2 inch or 6.2% of the tires width scares me to much to be the test guy and maybe waste $580. When you guys are kicking my butt at a national event on 245, I'll tell myself that I lost because I should of been on 245s and it might make me feel alittle better.
I just mounted mine so I can't weigh them.
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From: Frankfort, KY
Originally Posted by IntegraR0064,Feb 23 2011, 11:30 PM
Can you actually weigh the tire when you get it to get a more exact number? Ship weights are usually overestimates - they're not exact.
I just mounted mine so I can't weigh them.
I just mounted mine so I can't weigh them.
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From: Azusa
Originally Posted by daverx7,Feb 23 2011, 07:13 PM
I see the logic, but it just goes against conventional wisdom about putting on the widest tire you can fit on a rim (within reason).
The Tire Rack did an interesting test with an STR Miata where they tried 245 and 255 17" tires, and 255 18" tires, and found that the 245 tires were the quickest around the course. It was one of the floppy sidewall tires, must have been the Toyo since the 245 Hankook is new.
There are plenty of real competition examples where people who win are not on the widest tire for the wheel, for different reasons. Gearing, responsiveness, balance, weight. Width does not have an overriding effect on grip.