Well, I've had 255 RE11s on my 17x9 Advans for about 6 months now. Have really enjoyed this setup(no track or autox, just some spirited driving).

I had Downforce front fenders for a while, and recently put the OEM ones back on. After that, I purchased some new 245/40 RE11s for the front. Mainly because I thought it looked much better. The 245/40 isn't much skinnier than the 255, but it's shorter, which is what I wanted. I'm now thinking about possibly replacing the rear 255s with 245s. I think it would really balance out the car, especially when it comes to looks(the 245 is noticeably shorter than the 255, so it doesn't flow just right).

Have any of you ran 245s all around on a 9" wheel? I do like having the 245/40 up front now, because it feels like I've gotten a lot of the steering response back that I lost with the 255s. Will the car lose a ton of grip if I replace the 255 out back with a 245?

Thanks in advance for any opinions/help!

 

It will lose 20mm of grip between both tires. To most its enough to notice a difference. I have had 245/40 Toyo R1R's before and the car was oversteer happy. Got a Cusco 32mm front sawy bar and helped out allot. Now I'm running 235/40 F and 265/40 R(sidewall is too tall) Starspecs. Will be going with 255/40 R next time.

I measured the contact patch a few weeks ago...
F 235/40 9 in.
R 265/40 10 1/4 in.

Btw My wheels are 9 in. wide all around. Non staggered wheels w/ staggered tires...

 

Thanks for the reply!

I just swapped a wheel on the rear that has a 245/40 on it. Doesn't look bad. Still have a 255 on the rear with it, so you can get a good look at the width difference. Doesn't look bad though.

 

From what Ive read, if you dont track the car much I doubt youll hardly notice the difference going to a 245 from a 255 on city streets, the plus sides are that you do get more crisper turn in and the sidewalls are still pretty much squared away on a 9 inch rim with no stretch.

 

That's what I'm thinking. I thought the RE11 was the widest 245 out there, but after some research, the AD08 245 is almost a half inch wider!

 

Well, I just ordered a full set of 245/40 Advan AD08s through Tire Rack. Their tread width seems to be just as wide as the RE11 255. Will hopefully have them mounted sometime this week.