I have a strange problem I hope someone can help me with. I have an '03 Pro5 with a competition stereo that added aproximately 1300lbs to the rear of the car. I had a set of Continental extreme P205/40R-17"s, the weight of the car actually shredded the inside wall of the rear tires so Discount Tire recomended a reinforced steel sidewall tire and got me into the Falken Ziex 205/40ZR-17. They are O.K. in dry conditions, and here in Las Vegas it's almost always dry, but if the road is wet forget it these tires suck. They couldn't get grip to save their lives. Is there a good reinforced sidewall tire that gives me good grip even in wet weather? Any help would be appreciated. Thanx, Tom
Need help with good STRONG tires
- Thread starter la2lvtom
- Start date
Are your tires rubbing in the back? Or is it the constant weight pushing down on the back forcing the camber to be off the entire time? If it's the later, maybe an alignment would help. My friend hauls a lot in his Jetta Wagon and installed airbags in the back to raise the rear of the car back up when loaded down. It sounds like your problem isn't so much the tires as it is a suspension issue.
The Kuhmo SPT and Yokohama S Drive are both good summer tires and excellent in the rain and dry and pretty reasonably priced.
The Kuhmo SPT and Yokohama S Drive are both good summer tires and excellent in the rain and dry and pretty reasonably priced.
The tires are not rubbing on anything that was checked by a local service shop I go to and trust and I have the alignment checked every 6 months (I'm pretty anal about that) its just the weight that is screwing up the tires. The Continentals were not reinforced in the sidewalls.
With 1300 lbs of extra weight in the back, your suspension must be sagging. Even with the lowering springs it will be, though may not be as noticeable. I would suggest getting airbags for the rear that you can inflate to raise the back up to compensate for all the weight. With all that weight, the rear tires will wear out faster, but they should wear evenly if the back isn't sagging. When the suspension is compressed the tires angle out and this is what is putting all the weight on the inside of the tire instead of distributing it evenly across the tire. This is why semi trucks have airbags and why my friend put them in the rear of his Jetta Wagon.
Your other choice would be to remove parts of your stereo that you don't need everyday and just put them back in for the competitions you go to. 1300 lbs is a LOT of extra weight for a passenger car to be carrying around every day.
Your other choice would be to remove parts of your stereo that you don't need everyday and just put them back in for the competitions you go to. 1300 lbs is a LOT of extra weight for a passenger car to be carrying around every day.
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- Protege5 2003
You are trying to put lipstick on a pig. You should have checked the vehicle specs before loading that much weight into your car.
My P5, with me in it, weights almost exactly 3000 pounds. Assuming you weigh around 150, and then adding in 1300 pounds more, your driven vehicle is 4300 pounds. Now look at the owner's manual page 10-6. The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is at most 3691 (for the automatic), 600 pounds less than what yours is. Gross Axle Weight Rating for the rear axle on the P5 is only 1720 pounds, I'm estimating you have 2800 on yours.
If you want to make the car safe to drive, then you need to lighten it by at least 600 pounds, and most likely also redistribute the weight so that it isn't all in the back. Until then, the car is not going to be safe to drive (other than at 5 mph, onto and off of a trailer), no matter what tires you put on it.
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- '13 CWP MS3 & '16 Mazda6 GT
jesus, get rid of that stereo crap...
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- 2016 GT ST 47A
There's some good advice.
actually, I have the factory springs on the rear, had the lowering springs on the rear and the wheel well covered the tire and part of the rim now with the factory springs on the rear it sits even with the front with the lowering springs up there. getting rid of the stereo is not gonna happen its what I like to do for fun also I'm one of the 5 loudest vehicles in my class on the west coast. the rear seat has been removed so the enclosure is sitting there as not to be directly over the axle so the weight is ditributed a little better than directly over the axle. the car is a daily driver, I want to garage it but until I find a car I like to buy (or if they ever drop the price of the MAZDASPEED3) I'm stuck driving it. It drives fine, the only problem I've had was blow out a passenger side strut. I had them both replaced at the time and no problems simce... well other than shredding the sidewalls of course.
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- '13 CWP MS3 & '16 Mazda6 GT
lol good thing I enjoy my hearing...
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- Protege5 2003
No way the car "drive's fine" with that much weight. It may seem ok when it is going in a straight line on a smooth street, but sooner or later there will be a sharp turn, uneven pavement, or a rapid stop and you'll find out the hard way that it wasn't fine at all. Afterwards, you may not be either.
If you must drive an overweight car find a shop that knows something about the required mods and have them fix up your car. It can be done, for instance armored limos have upgraded suspension and brakes to handle the extra weight.
You realize that you literally increased the weight of the car by 50% right? How low is that thing sitting? Can they even get the alignment right? Someone managed to figure out how to make a protege approach the 2 ton mark. I have to applaud you, as adding 1300 lbs to a car this small is a feat in and of itself.
Have you considered triple belted trailer tires?
What's the max gross vehicle weight on this thing again? 3600 or so isn't it? Wow.
Can you do a miata next? I just want to see how heavy you can make one of the lightest cars around. Maybe a CRX or a lotus after that.
Have you considered triple belted trailer tires?
What's the max gross vehicle weight on this thing again? 3600 or so isn't it? Wow.
Can you do a miata next? I just want to see how heavy you can make one of the lightest cars around. Maybe a CRX or a lotus after that.
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- Protege5 2003
Maybe it would be possible with a newer lotus, no way it could be done with the old ones. Those fiberglass bodies would never have withstood that kind of weight - put 1300 pounds in one of those and the suspension would have blown right through the body.
That would be the Elan IIRC. And that is kind of what I was getting at.
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Bengoshi2000
Member
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- 2002 P5
Haahahahah! Awesome photo. This thread is ridiculous. A car with a 1300 lb. competition stereo is NOT a daily driver my friend. Get real.
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- 2002 Protege 5
Good gawd!!
I like listening to my music and seeing how loud I can get my sound, but you murdered your little P5. You put a stereo system that really needs to be in a full-size suburban and put it in a pint size car. Where is the thinking in that??
When your stereo outgrows your car, its time to start thinking about a new ride.
Will your stereo not sound as loud in bigger vehicle??? Oh wait it just hit me, since its in a smaller car no one in your compact car class would even think about putting something that big and loud in their car cuz they wouldnt be able to drive it. Which gives you a mega advantage at sound competitions...hmmmm.
Sounds like we have a sandbagger!!
I like listening to my music and seeing how loud I can get my sound, but you murdered your little P5. You put a stereo system that really needs to be in a full-size suburban and put it in a pint size car. Where is the thinking in that??
When your stereo outgrows your car, its time to start thinking about a new ride.
Will your stereo not sound as loud in bigger vehicle??? Oh wait it just hit me, since its in a smaller car no one in your compact car class would even think about putting something that big and loud in their car cuz they wouldnt be able to drive it. Which gives you a mega advantage at sound competitions...hmmmm.
Sounds like we have a sandbagger!!
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yeah, put it on a trailer and buy a car for actual driving.
I bet the strut mounts are all deformed now if you are using it as a daily. There's a reason people trailer their goofy show cars around. That is not a daily, and if you can't afford a separate daily then you can't afford that hobby.
I bet the strut mounts are all deformed now if you are using it as a daily. There's a reason people trailer their goofy show cars around. That is not a daily, and if you can't afford a separate daily then you can't afford that hobby.
