18/19" wheels coming in- question on correct tire sizes

[synth19]

I have some volk GTV's coming in next month, sizes are:
18x7.5+33
and
19x9.5+36.

I have seen people go with 225/35/18 and 265/30/19 and others who have gone with 215/35 front and 275/30 rear, or 215 and 265. I will be dropped on Tein flex coilovers. I want to be flush with the fenders and not have any tire rubbing. What are ppl running and why? Any issues? Seems like it's all over the board with tire sizes with this common offsets for volks. I'm going with Toyo TR1's.

 

[CLEANSX]

All the sizes you mentioned will work, I say it comes down to ride quality, stance & look. some people like wide tires & it makes it look more racy or exotic. I say 265/30/19 REAR as opposed to 275 & 215/35/18 because they're cheap! I don't track and the car is so slammed I don't need to show how wide I can go. NSX aren't the fastest things on the street, but they are one of the most beautiful things on the road, so wider is not better for me. Good luck, again either choice you mentioned will work. You will get slight rubbing no matter if you lower it enough when you corner. -Albert

 

[Hapa88]

I have some volk GTV's coming in next month, sizes are:
18x7.5+33
and
19x9.5+36.

I have seen people go with 225/35/18 and 265/30/19 and others who have gone with 215/35 front and 275/30 rear, or 215 and 265. I will be dropped on Tein flex coilovers. I want to be flush with the fenders and not have any tire rubbing. What are ppl running and why? Any issues? Seems like it's all over the board with tire sizes with this common offsets for volks. I'm going with Toyo TR1's.

225/35/18 will rub like crazy on that setup. This size is NOT recommended. Also 225s seem to fit better on 8" wheels (even then the 225/35 is considered to be too tall for the NSX).

215/35/18 is the correct tire size for the front. For the rear it's a matter of preference. Personally I would go the 275/30/19 rear (that is because that's what I run and I have no problems whatsoever).

 

[synth19]

^ thanks, I was leaning towards 215's, but one vendor recommended the 225's.

 

[KooLaid]

I get rub with 215/35 and 225/35. However, I'll go with the 225's LONG before I'd ever go to a 215. The 215's sidewalls are just too damn short, like under an inch. There is no cushion. Same goes for 265 rear. No sidewall. Too short.

I prefer 225/35 front (or even 235/30) and 285/30 rear. Any rub you get will be at full lock anyways. I get better handling and ride with this setup.

 

[synth19]

the larger number (ie 225 or 215) indicates the WIDTH of the wheel, not the sidewall height (35 or 30). If you are saying that you feel sidewalls are too short, then you need to get a 40+ series profile.

I get rub with 215/35 and 225/35. However, I'll go with the 225's LONG before I'd ever go to a 215. The 215's sidewalls are just too damn short, like under an inch. There is no cushion. Same goes for 265 rear. No sidewall. Too short.

I prefer 225/35 front (or even 235/30) and 285/30 rear. Any rub you get will be at full lock anyways. I get better handling and ride with this setup.

 

[whiteNSXs]

the larger number (ie 225 or 215) indicates the WIDTH of the wheel, not the sidewall height (35 or 30). If you are saying that you feel sidewalls are too short, then you need to get a 40+ series profile.

A wider tire translates to a higher sidewall given the same profile tires. In this case, 35% of 225mm is taller than 35% of 215mm.
Steve

 

[nsxtasy]

Let's be serious here. Changing the front treadwidth by 10 mm won't make any significant difference in ride comfort (although it will affect rubbing). The difference in sidewall height on a 35-series tire when you change the front treadwidth by 10 mm is only 0.14", which is less than the difference in tread depth between a new tire and one that is worn. If you are concerned about the negative effect of short sidewalls on ride comfort, you should be getting smaller wheels than 18"/19". If you want 18"/19" wheels, the effect on ride comfort is a downside you'll have to accept.

Here are the calculated sidewall heights (before taking deflection into account) of the most popular NSX front size tires (fronts almost always have shorter sidewalls than the rear, even after accounting for the difference in wheel diameter):

18" Front 215/35-18 2.96"
17" Front 215/40-17 3.39"
16" Front 205/45-16 3.63"
16" Front 215/45-16 3.81"
15" Front 205/50-15 4.04"

 

[KooLaid]

Numerically yes the number are small. However when the finished product comes out, the numbers don't do it justice. I have had both sets, 215 and 225 in the same tire. Visually, there is a big difference along with other differences. Ken, even you should know numbers don't mean everything.

And thank you WhiteNSX for clarifying for the OP for me. I should of extra emphasized the same profile.

 

[N Spec]

I have 215 right now and it barely fits the rim on 8 inch. To be honest, I did not feel a great difference in ride comfort from stock 16/17s to 18/19s and tanabe springs. Performance, yes. Bumps are a lil bit harder but I felt them with 40 series tires. Can someone post pis of sidewall difference between the 225 vs 215 on 18s?

 

[synth19]

^ ah, the difference is my setup is 7.5" width wheel vs your 8"

 

[nsxtasy]

Numerically yes the number are small. However when the finished product comes out, the numbers don't do it justice. I have had both sets, 215 and 225 in the same tire. Visually, there is a big difference along with other differences.

No, there isn't. You're seeing a difference and mis-attributing it to the difference in tire size. Here's why.

All too often, people ascribe a perceived difference to something other than the actual cause. For example, whenever anyone replaces stock shocks with aftermarket ones, they always remark about the huge difference in feel, when - in many cases, anyway - much of the difference is due to the difference between worn shocks and new ones, not between the stock shocks and aftermarket ones. Similarly, when replacing tires, most people replace a tire that is worn down close to the treadwear indicator bars, with one that has full tread depth. They often remark about how such-and-such model tire does so much better in rain than the previous one, when in fact the difference is due to the ability of the added tread depth in handling rain, rather than the tire model itself. The same thing is true with sidewall height. The difference in sidewall height between a worn 215/35-18 tire and a new 225/35-18 tire is 0.39 inch - not exactly huge (not as much as the half inch difference you typically see with each inch difference in wheel diameter), but significant. However, almost two thirds of that difference (.25 inch) is due to the difference in tread depth between a worn tire and a new tire, and only one third (.14 inch) is due to the difference in nominal tire size. (For the same reason, because of the difference in tread depth, a new 215/35-18 tire has a taller sidewall than a worn 225/35-18.)

I have 215 right now and it barely fits the rim on 8 inch.

FWIW, most 215/35-18 tires are approved for mounting on rims 7.0-8.5 inches wide.

Can someone post pis of sidewall difference between the 225 vs 215 on 18s?

For the above reason, the sidewall height can vary by up to .25 inch depending on tread depth, so the appearance can be greatly influenced by the amount of tread depth, more so than by the difference between the two sizes. Unless you are comparing a photo of one brand new tire to another of the same brand and model. And even if you are, it's going to be virtually impossible to see a difference of one seventh of an inch in sidewall height by comparing photographs.