loss of performance with a stretch?

[twastheglow]

I debated on whether to post this here or in the "ride control". I figured either would be fine. *shrugs*

I'd like to hear responses from anyone but am most interested in hearing from people whom have personal experience.

I'm curious as to whether or not people have had a noticeable decline in performance/handling when going from their stock tire sizes to something different to achieve a stretch. Specifically, my stock tire sizes on my e36 are 225/45/17 front and 245/40/17. In order to "properly" fit my wheels and achieve the look I'm shooting for I'm considering going with either a 195/45/17 or 205/40/17 front (on an 8" wheel) and a 215/40/17 rear (on a 9.5" wheel).

Now, I'm not concerned with the stretch itself...I'm more concerned with tires that are so much skinnier than the stock tires. Obviously that will decrease grip. I guess I just wanted to hear what other people's experiences are.

[twastheglow]

And as a side note, I wouldn't track the car with these wheels/tires. When I do, I'll be using my stock DSII's with stock tire sizes. I'm more concerned with aggressive street/back road driving.

[loxxrider]

You are right about grip for sure. 195 is REALLY skinny, but if thats the stretch you need to run them thats the stretch you need to run. A stretched tire will supposedly have a more rigid sidewall than one with less stretch which is a good thing. To be honest, I never really feel a difference except in harshness of ride quality. I used to drive HARD on mine and never had any problems. Thats on a quattro though.

[twastheglow]

You are right about grip for sure. 195 is REALLY skinny, but if thats the stretch you need to run them thats the stretch you need to run. A stretched tire will supposedly have a more rigid sidewall than one with less stretch which is a good thing. To be honest, I never really feel a difference except in harshness of ride quality. I used to drive HARD on mine and never had any problems. Thats on a quattro though.

Eh, like I said, I haven't made up my mind on the 195 vs. the 205. The only reason I bought up the 195's is because I thought the rears would look much more stretched than the fronts if I went with a 205 in the front. I guess my concern is the fronts will either have 20mm or 30mm less of a contact patch and the rears 30mm. Is that inch+ going to be noticeable in hard cornering on the street? I would assume not, but I figured I would raise the discussion nonetheless.

And thanks for the reply.

[hinrichs]

205/40 would be better up front, its just enough stretch imo and would prolly handle better. It does give a good enough contrast between the 215/40 out back that you would be running. I dont drive all that hard as it is on my setup but then i never got to really see how the stock sizes would perform due to getting my car in november and needing snow tires right away and then once spring hit i had already purchased new wheels/tires

[twastheglow]

205/40 would be better up front, its just enough stretch imo and would prolly handle better. It does give a good enough contrast between the 215/40 out back that you would be running. I dont drive all that hard as it is on my setup but then i never got to really see how the stock sizes would perform due to getting my car in november and needing snow tires right away and then once spring hit i had already purchased new wheels/tires

Thanks for the insight.

[kartikeya]

I really don't like going down in width just to stretch. I'd rather always go with a wider wheel and a wider tire. Another downside is that you'll be running tires with a load rating lower than recommended for your car, which could cause structural issues, especially combined with stretching.

But if you don't care about handling at all, then go for it, I guess.

[twastheglow]

I really don't like going down in width just to stretch. I'd rather always go with a wider wheel and a wider tire. Another downside is that you'll be running tires with a load rating lower than recommended for your car, which could cause structural issues, especially combined with stretching.

But if you don't care about handling at all, then go for it, I guess.

205/40 and 215/40 are a common tire size ran on an e36. The load rating I'm not too concerned with. The car isn't that heavy.

And I do care about the handling or I wouldn't have bothered asking. I'm aware that going from a 225 to a 205 and a 245 to a 215 is a downgrade in width, thus grip, but I'm trying to get a feel for just how much. And whether or not it's a tangible difference. As mentioned, this wheel/tire set up would be used for aggressive street driving. Anything more than that I would switch back to my stock wheels/tires.

[kartikeya]

'kay, then short answer: big difference.

[twastheglow]

'kay, then short answer: big difference.

I didn't mean to come across as a dick in my last post (if that's the way you took it). I'm just looking for people's opinions. Preferably from people whom have experience with exactly what I'm asking. Even better if their experience involves an e36.

[Zic]

i downsized from iirc 225/40 to 215/35. And changed brands as well, from sumito or something like that to toyo. The car would spin in 1-2 and sometimes 3 with the sumito and not spinning at all with the toyo. The point im trying to make, is if you are worried about handling, you can always "upgrade" in tire and "downgrade" in size.

[twastheglow]

i downsized from iirc 225/40 to 215/35. And changed brands as well, from sumito or something like that to toyo. The car would spin in 1-2 and sometimes 3 with the sumito and not spinning at all with the toyo. The point im trying to make, is if you are worried about handling, you can always "upgrade" in tire and "downgrade" in size.

Ah, an excellent point I hadn't thought about. LOL Duh. What kind of tire can I get in 205/40 and 215/40 that offers great grip with around a 300+ wear rating that isn't super expensive? The stock tires I have now are S-Drives.

[Eurotrashedlife]

Gotta agree with Zic about the Toyos. I've ran Michelins, Bridgestones, Hankooks and Toyos on my M3s and the Toyos are the stickiest tire I've ever used outside of an R compound. The T1R has a treadwear rating of around 260 I believe. They don't last that long but there isn't a tire I've seen that can match for traction.

[Zic]

+1 for t1r.

[twastheglow]

I used to run T1R's on my S13. For me, they tended to wear out kind of quickly and it always hurt my wallet to replace the rears as often as I did. I'd have to check the prices on these specific sizes though.