Bought new rims! Now I need tire suggestions! 

Kinja'd!!! "Bandit - destroyed his car" (notbandit)
09/22/2016 at 20:51 • Filed to: emma

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I bought new rims tonight for the Trans Am. They’re pretty close to what is pictured on the car above. The fronts are 18x8 and the rears are 18x9. Anyone have tire suggestions? I need help with brands and sizing. The original tires on the car were 225/70r15, and I’d rather have more sidewall than be rolling around on rubber bands which should be possible since I’m still at stock ride height.

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These are the ones I got (BMW CSL style), I’ll be painting them the same gold that I painted my original snowlfakes


DISCUSSION (32)


Kinja'd!!! LongbowMkII > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 20:56

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It’s going to be tough avoiding rubber bands with 18's IMO.


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > LongbowMkII
09/22/2016 at 20:58

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Eh, everything pretty much looks like rubber bands compared to a 70 sidewall .


Kinja'd!!! Steve in Manhattan > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 21:03

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tirerack.com always worked for me - best brand I ever had was Yokohamas. are you fitting all season or regular?


Kinja'd!!! My X-type is too a real Jaguar > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 21:05

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They should be round and made of rubber.


Kinja'd!!! random001 > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 21:08

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Michelin pilot super sports.


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > Steve in Manhattan
09/22/2016 at 21:10

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Summer tires only. I did one winter with the car... never again.


Kinja'd!!! lone_liberal > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 21:11

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I know with my Camaro 235/60-15s are a pretty standard size. Extrapolating from there would get you rubber bands, but like you said a stock ride height gives you a little leeway. I’m guessing (and that’s all it is) you’ll end up with a 50 series somewhere in the neighborhood of 235 for the front and 255 for the back.


Kinja'd!!! f86sabre > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 21:13

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Yokohama Advans have always impressed me. The A046s the Evo came with were wonderful.


Kinja'd!!! petebmwm > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 21:14

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This is your friend...

www.tacomaworld.com/tirecalc


Kinja'd!!! gawdzillla > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 21:24

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i hope u are LS1 swapping this thing


Kinja'd!!! Steve in Manhattan > f86sabre
09/22/2016 at 21:25

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The last set I had on my ‘97 SHO were Yokohamas - forget the model. I’d also guess that Goodyear makes a decent summer tire. Had a set of GTs on a 300D (I know) and they were a lot of fun.


Kinja'd!!! dogisbadob > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 21:51

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245/40-18 seems very close according to tire size calculators.

Nexen’s Nfera SU1 is a good budget tire, if price is a concern.

If you want a more premium tire, here are some suggestions:
Vredestein Ultrac Vorti
Nitto Invo

And some grand touring options:
Michelin Pilot Primacy
Bridgestone Turanza ER30

Are you keeping the old rims for winter use? It’s totally fine in the snow if you have appropriate tires :) The General Altimax Arctic is available in 225/70-15, as well as a few off-road truck tires.


Kinja'd!!! My bird IS the word > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 21:58

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to keep the same diameter, would be 265/45 R18, but I dont think that would fit. most websites I read say that (at least for 15 inchers) caps out at 255 width max, and some have rubbing issues. using the caculator, they have a 245/50 R18 that are only 7% bigger. that will throw off your speedo, but tbh it is probably already inaccurate. they would be stretched a bit though.

used this website, the visualizer doesn’t look too bad for these actually

https://tiresize.com/calculator/

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSearchResults.jsp?zip-code=&width=245/&ratio=50&diameter=18&rearWidth=255/&rearRatio=40&rearDiameter=17

looks like you have your choice, but they are all very expensive.


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > dogisbadob
09/22/2016 at 21:59

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Thanks for the suggestions. Yeah, I’ll keep them around since I spent so much time restoring them. It’s not doing winter duty anymore because it doesn’t have functioning heat and we use salt on our roads.


Kinja'd!!! lone_liberal > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 22:01

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I just checked a Camaro forum that I trust and it looks like for 18s people are using 35 and 40 series tires. 275/40-18 seems to be the choice for rears and 255/35-18s for the front. But I have to say most people are sticking to wheel sizes of 17 and below.


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > My bird IS the word
09/22/2016 at 22:01

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Good thoughts. Luckily, changing the speedo gear on a 700r4 is really easy and only costs like $4.


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > lone_liberal
09/22/2016 at 22:07

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I may have to adjust the rear wells a bit by knocking the seat belt bumps in a bit, but they should fit. The year one snowlfakes are 17x9 on all four corners so the width should be ok


Kinja'd!!! SVTyler > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 22:10

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Hankook V12's are a pretty good summer tire (have them on my Focus) and according to TireRack come with in 235/50R18's and and 255/45R18's at decent prices:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Ventus+V12+evo2&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=545YR8K120XL&tab=Sizes

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&tireModel=Ventus+V12+evo2&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=35YR8K120XL&tab=Sizes


Kinja'd!!! lone_liberal > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 22:10

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Here’s a chart. It’s for Camaros (and it’s in Czech) but it should put you in the ballpark http://chevroletcamaro.cz/post/2008/07/15/tabulka-velikosti-kol-a-pneumatik-vhodnych-pro-camaro.aspx


Kinja'd!!! My bird IS the word > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 22:12

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interesting tranny swap. you do that?


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > My bird IS the word
09/22/2016 at 22:13

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Yeah, when I got the car it had a chevy 350 and a th350. So a few years ago I swapped in a Pontiac 400 and a 700r4. The whole build thread is under the tag above.


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > SVTyler
09/22/2016 at 22:15

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Those look pretty nice, I’ll keep them in mind.


Kinja'd!!! derf > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 22:23

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235/50-18 comes within half a percent of the circumference of 225/70-15, and 255/45-18 is only 1.3% off in the same direction.


Kinja'd!!! My bird IS the word > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 22:30

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Damn, that thing has come a long way in the amount of time its been. kudos dude. I dont plan on starting the bodywork on mine for another two years at least, and I am probably going to farm it out because artist I am not.


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > My bird IS the word
09/22/2016 at 22:35

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Thanks, I had the “opportunity” to do everything on the car because what else do you do as a poor high school kid?


Kinja'd!!! My bird IS the word > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 22:39

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Still though. There are certain things I wont touch due to the difficulty and I am a poor college kid. though, those are things that just aren’t going to get done ;) It’s a big undertaking to do a full resto while still in highschool.


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > My bird IS the word
09/22/2016 at 22:41

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Like I’ve offered before, if you need any advice let me know. I pretty much know these cars and their quirks inside and out now.


Kinja'd!!! My bird IS the word > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 22:54

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Thanks. Fortunately the community has everything pretty well documented, the only thing I am struggling on is the damn interior vent control. I think the vacuum line is shot. You ever mess with that?


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > My bird IS the word
09/22/2016 at 23:00

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Oh yes.... http://oppositelock.kinja.com/youre-move-takuro-or-sweedish-bandit-1457744825 I rebuilt my whole heater system. That thing is a massive pain in the ass. If it leaks anywhere then none of the vents work and your engine will lose vacuum. I fixed the whole system so I could DD it in the winter and get the defrost working, then the vac hose in my engine bay melted so I just disconnected it and have been meaning to get around to installing a dedicated vacuum pump just for the heater controls.


Kinja'd!!! My bird IS the word > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 23:09

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Thats... not encouraging. But I have already had my dash apart (but not off yet.) so I can probably turn it around really quick when I do my stereo (priorities!). I have a pretty trick set up in mind with the factory 8 track.


Kinja'd!!! Bandit - destroyed his car > My bird IS the word
09/22/2016 at 23:16

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Let me know what you do with that. I’ve got a factory 8-track sitting around but have no idea how to connect it to my aftermarket stereo.


Kinja'd!!! My bird IS the word > Bandit - destroyed his car
09/22/2016 at 23:31

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I got a different set up in mind.

https://www.amazon.com/Kenwood-Compact-Automotive-Marine-Amplifier/dp/B00UTXQL74/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474600813&sr=8-1&keywords=KAC-M1824BT

delco 8 track hooked up to one of these. I will have to clean up the tape deck since it is a tad worn and the contacts are dirty, but the unit will handle AM/FM and I can use bluetooth to hook my Ipod directly to the amp. The amp will also drive modern speakers with new speakers in the back and a dual voice coil up front, since the 8 track requires old style 8 ohm speakers on its own, and noone really makes cheap 8 ohm speakers anyway.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_068D412UK/RetroSound-D-412UK-Dash-Speaker.html?tp=47095&awkw=135834277225&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=72581584585&awdv=c

also need a line level converter to hook up the delco to the kenwood

https://www.amazon.com/Kicker-KISLOC-2-Channel-Speaker-Converter/dp/B00I4EF1BC/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1474601243&sr=8-6&keywords=line+level+converter

I will do a full write up next year when I get the time/funds, but the install seems pretty straightforward.