Guys,

The Nitto 315's I got for my new TTII's look like they are way too small for the 17 x 11 rim. They're OK from a distance, but when you walk up to the car they look silly. Check out these pics.

According to my measurements, they are 305mm wide, mounted, laying on their side measuring to the widest point of the tire. WHere do they get 315 from?? I've heard they run a little narrow, but come on.

I thought I could live with it, but everytime I walk up to get in the car I feel ill looking at them. Part of it may be the fact that they have no rim guards.

Anyway, they've got to go. but what to replace them with? The Nittos give me 7/8" clearance for the control arm and about the same in the wheel well, so I can go a little wider, but not a lot.

Has anyone done a chart comparing the actual widths of 315 tires? I tried to do my own off from Tire Rack and other sources, but am not sure I trust their measurements now. Here it is anyway.

----------------------section width--tread width--depth--treadwear
BFG KD's($253)-----------12.6"-------10.4"-------9/32-----200
Eagle F1 supercar($372)--12.6--------NA---------8/32-----220
Eagle F1 GS D3($271)-----12.3-------11.2-------10/32-----280
Yoko AVS Sport($328)----12.6-------11.4--------10/32-----180
Dunlop SP 8000($268)----12.4-------11.5--------10/32-----200
Sumitomo HTRZ($110)----12.6-------11.5---------9/32-----160
Nitto Drag Radial($170)---12.13------??-----------6/32-----100

It troubles me that the BFG KD's have such a narrow tread width. I've also heard that the GS D3's are good hooking tires, but then why is the treadwear up at 280?

ANy thoughts? The car is strictly street, tho I have plans for a blower someday, so I need as much traction as I can get without killing myself if it rains.

Thanks!

 

The GSD3's run very large and their published numbers do not reflect that.... A guy working for Discount Tire or the like posting on here said he made the customers aware that these tires run wide before ordering. Upon buying my 285's I compared them to a Nitto 315 555R and the D3 was only a tad narrower. The D3 315's are really wide.

 

i read before on here that those tires are narrower than 315

 

nittos are smaller than others.

 

what off set r those TTII's? they look like 36+offset?....am i right


did you use spacer ? BFH? PHR? what mod's was needed to fit those 315's in the rear of your conv!!??


and about your situation get some GSD3's you will be more than happy , that's what i am planning for

 

I run BFGs and they fit very well. They don't look small on the wheel

 

thye look fine...what did you wnat them to look like?

 

My 315 GSD3's are steamrollers.

 

i thought the same thing when i got my nittos. they just looked to small for 17/11 rim and 315 tire. they hook up allright for me so i just left them on. like slammed-am said the 315 GSD3s look huge so ill probably get thoughs next.

 

Thanks for the response guys,

THose 17 x 11's are: Torq Thrust II part#: 50571163 Backside Spacing (in/mm): 7.75/197 offset: 45.72mm and there is absolutely no clearance problem with those skinny Nittos(7/8" out from control arm and wheel well on the tight side).

It appears to me that American has gotten the backspacing on these wheels exactly right. BTW, I had them chrome plated by Cal Chrome. THey did a good job and it was $800 for everything including shipping. Doesn't show in the pics, but in person, the chrome may be a little too much.

Back to the tires. Strange thing about those D3's is according to Tire Rack they are the second skinniest 315 behind the Nittos, but then I hear they are "steamrollers".

I laid the Nittos on their side(mounted on the 17 x 11 wheel), put a straightedge across and measured the distance to the ground(303mm aka 12 1/8").

315 is supposed to be sidewall to sidewall. How can these tire manufacurers publish all these bogus measurements??

Anybody else got any actual measurements for 315's?? Would be nice to create a sticky with this type of measurement to minimize surprises.

I was thinking about the BFG KDs. They are supposed to be wider and come with rim guards which should help with the appearance, but I am concerned about getting caught in the rain.

01 Red WS6: Are your BFGs g-Force T/A KDs, or KDWs? If they're KDs, how bad are they in rain? Should I go KDW to be safe? Everyone is selling KDs. KDW is hard to find. Any chance you could pop one of those dudes off and measure it??

Any help is appreciated!

 

I have Yokohama AVS Sports, they have a rim guard, but they are also god awful expensive, quite a bit more than even the GS-D3. They do look good though and the grip is ok. I have LCA's and a Spohn Adjustable crossmember mounted torque arm along with SLP subframe connectors, and with just my little TR224 @ 112 my traction with these tires is...uhm...mediocre.

As far as width is concerned....they are pretty damn wide! My wheels came with Dunlop SP8000 Sports, and after I mounted them, I had to do the BFG method to make some room in the inner fender, I also had some fender lip problems on occasion, but it wasn't all that bad. After about 10k miles I replaced them with the Yokos, and to my surprise, I had to do the hammer method all over again, as can be seen here....



So yes...they are quite a bit wider than the Dunlops....here's a comparison pic:



While this pic is not the best, but you can see that on my wheels and tires, it does not look that the tire is too small for the wheel. I have AFS ZR1 wheels by the way.



Personally I will go with the D3's next time around. I saw a GS Corvette with those tires on in 315 size...and they looked bigger than the Yokos.

Manny

 

just as a stupid question, what air pressure are you running? i perosnaly run 28lbs in mine and they drive better and look better just my .02

 

Air pressure won't have any affect on the looks of his tires since what he's lacking is the rim guard. Besides, it is a well known fact that Nittos are the smallest 315 tires out there.

I bet part of the reason why Nitto makes their tires so small is because they are popular with most Fbody owners running 315's on 11" simply because the grip good and because, due to their smaller size, they don't cause any, or as many rubbing problems than other tires that size by other manufacturers do.

Manny

 

Well, I can tell you that The Goodyear GSC's are 12.5" wide and they're 315's. THEY were huge, I had them on my TTII's before my Nittos. They were 315's and were exactly 11" wide.

 

I vote for the other F1's the super car i have them on the rear of my Z they are on 10 1/2 rim and they are pushing it on that. that would fit perfect on your 11's and they look bad *** from behind. They feel pretty soft and are tuff to get to break loose. The tread pattern that they have alos forces the water outward if you do drive in the rain. They may be expensive but worth it.

 

Thanks for the pics Manny. A big help. I remember you were one of the first ones to stuff 315s on the back when noone thought it could be done. THe BFHing looks minor to me, however, being a convert, I have some kind of frame bracing running right thru the area you are pounding on, so the BFH treatment may not be a good idea with the 'verts. Also, did you have to hack the bumpstop?

You are right about the Yokos. I talked to Tire Rack, and they are positive that those widths I mentioned in my original post are correct. THey say they mount and measure every tire they sell to be sure their measurements are correct. They say the GSD3 is the narrowest 315 they sell(they don't sell Nittos).

Based on that, it seems that in order from narrowest to widest we have:
-------------------------section----tread width---depth----utoq
Nitto Drag Radial($170)----12.1--------??----------6/32-----100
Eagle F1 GS D3($271)------12.3------11.2--------10/32-----280
Dunlop SP 8000($268)-----12.4-------11.5--------10/32-----200
BFG KD's($253)------------12.6"------10.4"--------9/32-----200
Eagle F1 supercar($372)---12.6--------NA---------8/32-----220
Yoko AVS Sport($328)-----12.6-------11.4--------10/32----180
Sumitomo HTRZ($110)-----12.6-------11.5---------9/32-----160

ANother thing they told me is that there is no standard for treadwear. Meaning you can't compare the treadwear(utoq) from brand to brand. Otherwise, it would appear that the Dunlops are as soft as the BFG KDs, and the D3s are hard as a rock, but the guy at Tire Rack said the D3s aren't as hard as the Dunlops and hook much better.

He recommended the GSD3's for my car. He said that even tho they are a narrow 315, they put a lot of tread on the road(more than the BFG KD). He also said the KD's were extremely unsafe in the rain and BFG does not make a KDW in this size.

From this list, the GSD3s do look tempting, as the F1 supercars are too expensive. Just hope the GSD3s hook as well as Tire Rack says they do and don't look too skinny. Anybody got pics and or actual sidewall width measurements on the D3s??

 

I have some GS-D3 315s on my **** and I love them.

 

i dono if thats right with the chart... ive seen some sumitomo`s look a lil small for a 11" wide wheel ive got some bfg g-force drags and they a HUGE! just my .02 if im wrong let me know cuz these are the tires ill be getting next f the dragradial!

 

As you can see, my GSD3's are wide as hell. I measured mine at 13.1" wide.

 

Question is, do the GSD3s hook as well as the Nitto drags in the 315 size?