Rowdy94

iTrader: (13)

My question is pretty simple. Can a very well handling daily driver that sees occasional auto-x use be put together on near-stock size 16" street tires?

I've decided it may be time to work on the suspension of my car, but I don't think the budget will allow for wheel and tires as well.

I can fit up to a 255/50-16 and it would be something like a KDW. As far as suspension, I'm thinking the Koni 4/3 setup and stock springs. I would lower it about a half inch with the heater hose in the rear and by using the lower perch in the front. I would also use an adjustable PHB and probably LCAs. Sways could be a possibility as well.

The two things I'm worried about are the width of the tires and the fact that they are 16s. That's not very wide, and the 16s will have much taller sidewalls than a 17 or 18...obviously.

Basically, will the tires support hard cornering well enough to legitimize dropping 1k plus on the suspension?

subtlez28

iTrader: (15)

Alot of autocross guys use the 16s. You'll be fine for street duty!
Plenty of good tires out there in this size!
Remeber...16x8s were the "big" rims on 3rd gens.
Check out FRRAX
http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/

On the other hand...wider tires look cool, perform better, and 275/40/17 are plentiful and relatively cheap...so I would/did upgrade rims & tires before LCAs and such.
There are alot of good deals on balanced wheel tire combos out there...new and in the classifieds.

Rowdy94

iTrader: (13)

Thanks a lot for the board link. If you were in the position to do it again, and you only had enough cash to do one or the other, would you upgrade the wheels and tires first, or would you dive into the suspension with a good set of 16" rubber?

subtlez28

iTrader: (15)

In my case the 16" snowflakes were ugly! But your 5 spokes are nice. I would put shock 1st on the priority list. And stiffer springs would be a natural when switching shocks. I don't know if Strano Springs will lork with the LT1 (probly will), but I love mine! The Konis and Strano Springs are definately my two favorite upgrades! I wish I had done the springs earlier--nice frim ride-not harsh!

So I would do spirngs/shocks 1st. But good rubber will be expensive 16 or 17s..so I would upgrade to a budget wheel/good tire combo at once(next). The LCAs, and even the PHB can wait for later (after wheels or tires).

OldeSkool

My IROC had 16x8's and handled marvelously.

You get a better ride and less trammeling/ less given to following ruts in the road/being affected by crown in the road. You also get a little less unsprung weight. So, there are actually a few advantages to the 16s

FWIW, My ideal setup would be something 16x10.5 rears with 17x10.5 fronts (I just like to have the same tread width all around) - dumb as it looks, the increased sidewall flex in the rear along with the width would really help coming out of the corners and the smaller sidewall in the front would have a slightly snappier steering response.

All that being said and back to my original statement about my IROC. Good sticky tires on your wheels are capable of giving you good results.

Also, let me say that you're on the right track with the Konis and the PHB. Let me suggest that you go with a double rod end PHB. And I'd also say go ahead with the swaybars. at least 35mm front and around 21-22mm in the rear (Strano makes a great set of light weight, hollow bars that aren't too pricey) And I'd also suggest holding off on the LCA's. I bought a rather expensive set of LCA's once only to go back to the stockers, albeit with new solid rubber bushings. The key is the LCA's need to be able to twist. So if you do get some, make sure they're either Rod/poly or rod/rod, keeping in mind that LCA's contribute much more to noise and harshness than PHBs (I have no problem with rod end PHBs on a street car, but I'd never go with rod end LCAs on a daily driver). But you really wont see that much improvement in actual handling with these. I'd save the LCA money to buy some stiffer springs to really make those new shocks shine. Once again, Strano in all his experience has come up with a set of springs that when matched with good shocks offers improved ride as well as vastly improved handling.. good looking stance too.

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

I'm still using the OE spec GoodYear Eagles GS-Cs, but I'm on my second set. I have them mounted on a set of 16x9.5 CCW wheels. The wider rims help stabilize the sidewalls during hard cornering.

Rowdy94

iTrader: (13)

Awesome guys, that sounds like some good, solid advice. I'm really leaning towards just getting Strano's handling pack with the Konis, sways, springs, and PHB after reading all of that.

I just need to look for some way to get off of these all-season Eagle GT-HRs.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

Look into the following street compound tires:

Kumho MXs
Falken Azenis rt-615
Hankook Ventus (32.... something I'm sorry I forgot the model)
Yokohama Advan Neova (expensive...)
BFG KD

A lot of these are what people use for the street tire classes in autox.

koolaid_kid

iTrader: (21)

I would suggest going to the Tire Rack web site and read their tire comparisons and reader reviews. While not the absolute last word in information, they will give you and idea of where to look and what to look for. They also put the tires into categories, such as All season, Performance, Ultrahigh performance, etc. which will give you and idea of what the manufacturer was targeting.

coolformula

iTrader: (21)

The MX is a great tire, got about 25K and still have 3/32 left on them.

Also the Firestone Wide Oval should last a bit longer and there awsome in the rain!

That would be my top 2 pics.

z28bryan

iTrader: (7)

I know this will cause some controvery but don't trust the tirerack reader reviews if you are looking for a fast autox tire. The average driver hasn't taken the tire on a autox course. The reviewers there will rate something like a GS-D3 all high 9's in the dry traction, etc categories when its not that competitive with the tires I listed above. They base their ratings usually on the first few weeks of riding on the tire just commuting to work. Tirerack doesn't even sell the Falken rt-615 tires.

The GS-D3 is an ideal summer street tire and awesome in the rain, but you won't see many competitive drivers in street touring with that tire. I would use the tirerack ratings if I were looking for a street driven tire only since the ratings are mostly pulled out of the average Joe's ***

Rowdy94

iTrader: (13)

Those are certainly 2 tires that were on my radar. Both certainly seem like a good deal for the amount of performance that can be wrung out of 'em.