225/40-18 vs. 225/45-18 tires on stock wheels with stock suspension

[08cosmic3]

I just compared the Hankook 225/40 and the stock briggs at tire rack and they say .6 inches different. I could always add an Eibach pro kit later which I hear lowers the car an inch.

 

[CornerCarver]

I have heard that tires the same size can be different. Im looking at the HANKOOK VENTUS V12 EVO K110 92Y 225/40-18. I can order 4 tires shipped from onlinetires.com for $449.82. There is a $50 mail in rebate from Hankook right now so that makes them only $400.

Ya, I think that could be the problem with Tire Racks measurements. They seem to list the same measurements for each tire size, no matter what brand or model tire. So, the accuracy is probably not quite there. I have read on a couple forums that the Kumho XS runs a bit wide compared to other tires, so that might be part of my problem as well.

Keep us posted if you get those Hankooks. I've heard that is a pretty good tire, and that rebate surely can't hurt.

Not sure what I'm gonna do. Probably try to figure out where its rubbing first, but then I might just order the Yoko's.

 

[CornerCarver]

I just compared the Hankook 225/40 and the stock briggs at tire rack and they say .6 inches different. I could always add an Eibach pro kit later which I hear lowers the car an inch.

Yup. The .9 I mentioned was comparing the 225/40 to the 225/45 that I got, so you are correct. The .6 differentiation from the factory tires doesn't sound too bad, but I read in another thread (or two) that the fender gap was huge. Who knows really, until you try it. I didn't expect to have rubbing problems from what I read everywhere, but it turns out that I do.

 

[08cosmic3]

You should be able to correct the problem without having to get new tires. If the rubbing is only under extreme cituations and is only rubbing the splash shield, I would not worry too much. You can sale the tires and only take a small loss and get stock size for piece of mind. You could get the 225/40's and an eibach kit ($235) and the 1 inch drop from this kit would more than cover the gap.

 

[CornerCarver]

You should be able to correct the problem without having to get new tires. If the rubbing is only under extreme cituations and is only rubbing the splash shield, I would not worry too much. You can sale the tires and only take a small loss and get stock size for piece of mind. You could get the 225/40's and an eibach kit ($235) and the 1 inch drop from this kit would more than cover the gap.

Ya, I haven't given up yet. I'm gonna try to figure out where its rubbing first. Could be something really minor. On a side note, these Kumho XS tires offer some SERIOUS grip.

 

[Nliiitend1]

Check the inner rear section of the right rear wheelwell. There's a piece of plastic in there that seems to be closer to the inner sidewall that any other area, and that might be where you're rubbing...it might take some time before it shows though, depending upon how severe it is.

 

[H3br3w_Ham3r]

Ran 225/45s on my stock wheels for a while with no issues. Lowered on BC coils today and still no rubbing as of yet!

 

[SpeedKnight]

I run the stock (215/45) Bridgestones and wheels during the warm months, and (225/40) Toyo Proxes4 on Eneki Evo6 during the winter. Never measured the gap difference between the two but it's not much. The 40 series Toyos are harsher on the bumps than the Bridgestones, but with the toyos having a bigger foot print and firmer sidewalls I don't notice any performance loss during the cold months. The Toyos do fairly well in snow too.

 

[CornerCarver]

Check the inner rear section of the right rear wheelwell. There's a piece of plastic in there that seems to be closer to the inner sidewall that any other area, and that might be where you're rubbing...it might take some time before it shows though, depending upon how severe it is.

Filled the car up with gas this morning and took it out for another shakedow. I still can't figure out where its rubbing, and it only happens at two specific spots...both are sweepers that I'm taking around 50mph and the road sorta dips down. When the suspension compresses, I can hear a slight rubbing from the rear...very slight. If I take flat corners at speed, no rubbing. Don't even get it over rough roads... it seems to only be while turning and encountering a dip in the road.

I rolled up some small pieces of tape and put them along 5 sections of each rear fender lip in hopes that if it was rubbing there that it would pull the tape off. However, all the pieces of tape stayed in place so I really don't think its touching the lip of the fender.

When I got home, I took both rear wheels off and cannot see any signs of rubbing in the wheelwell, which is sorta dirty so you'd think it would show if the tire is rubbing. Also, the tires themselves show no signs of any rubbing.

Hmmmmmm. Could it be my Rally Armor splash guards?

 

[builthatch]

Filled the car up with gas this morning and took it out for another shakedow. I still can't figure out where its rubbing, and it only happens at two specific spots...both are sweepers that I'm taking around 50mph and the road sorta dips down. When the suspension compresses, I can hear a slight rubbing from the rear...very slight. If I take flat corners at speed, no rubbing. Don't even get it over rough roads... it seems to only be while turning and encountering a dip in the road.

I rolled up some small pieces of tape and put them along 5 sections of each rear fender lip in hopes that if it was rubbing there that it would pull the tape off. However, all the pieces of tape stayed in place so I really don't think its touching the lip of the fender.

When I got home, I took both rear wheels off and cannot see any signs of rubbing in the wheelwell, which is sorta dirty so you'd think it would show if the tire is rubbing. Also, the tires themselves show no signs of any rubbing.

Hmmmmmm. Could it be my Rally Armor splash guards?

you read my post about my spacers, right? you are not rubbing the outer portion of the tire, believe that ; )

 

[CornerCarver]

you read my post about my spacers, right? you are not rubbing the outer portion of the tire, believe that ; )

Ya, I did read that. If its the inside edge of the tire, it will be real tough to tell where its rubbing. I guess I could pull each rear wheel every so often and see if there are any signs its rubbing.

It happens in such a rare instance, I don't think I'm going to worry about it. If it was happening everytime I took a sharp turn or went over rough roads, that would bother me, but this is only happening while cornering hard thru a rough section of road.

Maybe I could try a real thin spacer in the rear to see if that helps?

 

[builthatch]

Ya, I did read that. If its the inside edge of the tire, it will be real tough to tell where its rubbing. I guess I could pull each rear wheel every so often and see if there are any signs its rubbing.

It happens in such a rare instance, I don't think I'm going to worry about it. If it was happening everytime I took a sharp turn or went over rough roads, that would bother me, but this is only happening while cornering hard thru a rough section of road.

Maybe I could try a real thin spacer in the rear to see if that helps?

it's a possibility. you could run 5mm spacer and probably keep the stock studs. of course you'd have to make sure you have enough thread engagement OR run those lug nuts that go into the stud bore of the wheel a bit more. it would offset whatever inside spacing issue you might have, and you have plenty of room on the outside edge; you'd be bumping the wheel out a total of 10mm (10mm width/2, then add 5 for the spacer)

but then again, it might very well be a compound issue because of the added tire height!

i agree with you- just let it go for a while and see what happens. i think that you'll see something eventually and it'll be indicative of exactly what's happening. i understand the frustration though...i was having the same issue in that it was such a limited occurance, but my issue was worse in that it was flipping the inner fender lip toward the tire in on spot, and then would proceed to tear up the tire if i left it. that lead to me having my fender lips rolled in and my rear flares then were messed up and were bulging. that lead to me spending 1300 to have them done right and everything repainted. THEN i had a dispute with that shop over poor work, and had to go to another shop to spend 1400 to redo the bad work. it culminated with a credit card dispute vs. the first shop and a month stretch without my car. so, i'm just saying, it's not as bad as it could be ; )

i think this will work out for you.

 

[CornerCarver]

it's a possibility. you could run 5mm spacer and probably keep the stock studs. of course you'd have to make sure you have enough thread engagement OR run those lug nuts that go into the stud bore of the wheel a bit more. it would offset whatever inside spacing issue you might have, and you have plenty of room on the outside edge; you'd be bumping the wheel out a total of 10mm (10mm width/2, then add 5 for the spacer)

but then again, it might very well be a compound issue because of the added tire height!

i agree with you- just let it go for a while and see what happens. i think that you'll see something eventually and it'll be indicative of exactly what's happening. i understand the frustration though...i was having the same issue in that it was such a limited occurance, but my issue was worse in that it was flipping the inner fender lip toward the tire in on spot, and then would proceed to tear up the tire if i left it. that lead to me having my fender lips rolled in and my rear flares then were messed up and were bulging. that lead to me spending 1300 to have them done right and everything repainted. THEN i had a dispute with that shop over poor work, and had to go to another shop to spend 1400 to redo the bad work. it culminated with a credit card dispute vs. the first shop and a month stretch without my car. so, i'm just saying, it's not as bad as it could be ; )

i think this will work out for you.

Bummer about all you went thru. My MS3 is staying pretty much stock. Aside from some sticky tires and maybe some Koni's, I don't really want to do much to it...even down to rolling the rear fenders. The car is plenty fast for me in stock form, thats why I probably should have just stuck with the factory tire size LOL.

Whats interesting (and sorta frustrating) is I stopped into my Mazda dealer the other day to talk to one of the techs that knows our cars, and he said he thought that in certain extreme cases, you could get the STOCK tires to rub in the rear. That would be something if I have been rubbing like this all along in these one or two instances and didn't even notice because I wasn't specifically listening for it like I was after I got these Kumhos installed. I was down at the Dragon a few months back though, and made about 14 runs total, so you'd think I would have heard some rubbing under those extreme conditions.

 

[funksilver07]

I went with 225/45/18 Dunlop Direzza sport Z1 star spec on the stock wheel and happy with the results. Wouldn't consider running a 225/40 on the stock wheel... (wrc)

 

[Carl.E]

I have some 225/45 Bridgestone RE-01R's on stock rims (stock suspension), and I too have noticed occasional slight rubbing in the back during sweeping turns at high speeds. Most often when other people are in the car. I also researched a bunch to make sure 225/45's wouldn't rub...guess nobody on here ever carries passengers!

I haven't pin-pointed what is rubbing yet either, but I'll keep hunting and post results if someone else hasn't by then!

-Carl