Couple tire questions.

[AEH]

I have a couple questions about tire selection and need a little advise from the experts. I have ordered my wheels, (Boze Lateral G, brushed center, polished lip) but I still have a couple weeks to decide on my final width. I’m either going, 9”/265 & 11”/315 or 10”/275 & 12”/335.

First question is size. My car is being built to be a driver and it will never see any track time but should be plenty capable. LSA,C6 sub, DSE quadralink. My mind tells me the narrower wheels/tires will have better road manners and just go with the 9/11 combo and save a buck or two. The kid in me says stuff as much under it as you can get. So is 3/4” going to make any difference at the end of the day anyway?

Second question is tire selection. As noted, I plane to drive it as much as we can. Trips, etc. So I don’t need sticky tires but selection in those size ranges is limited to performance tires. I’m not familiar with the summertime type tire restrictions but read some tread compounds get brittle in cold weather. I don’t plan to snowplow through the Rockies but also don’t want to do a December burnout and peel all the tread off my tires. Am I overthinking that too?

So far I think I’m leaning towards the Michelin PS2 unless there is a better tire out there I should consider. I’m also have in trouble finding anyone with 335/30-18 PS2 in stock or even listed out of stock. If they made the AS4 in the wide rear size I’d probably choose that but they don’t.

thanks, Mike.

[AEH]

So after a little more reading on the summer tire compound issue I’m still a little confused. Michelin specifically address winter tires in their warranty statement (must document install in sept and removal in April)but does not address summer tires at all. I wasn’t able to even find a warning about cold weather driving on their website. PS2’s are oem on several vehicles and I can’t imagine buying a new BMW or Corvette and being told you can’t drive it when it’s below 40 degrees. So there must be a bit of Chicken Little going on there?

[AEH]

Maybe I stand corrected. Not sure what tires the below models came out with.

GM bulletin #13-03-10-001A: "Information on Tire Cold Weather Cracking" – (Jan 30, 2014) advises “avoid driving, moving, or test-driving vehicles equipped with high-performance summer-only tires below 20º F as operating at these temperatures can cause damage to the tires.” The car models affected include the 2012-2014 Buick Regal GS, 2014 Cadillac CTS Vsport, 2012-2014 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and Z/28, 2014-2014 Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE, and the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Stingray Z51, and SS sedan.

[Just 1 More]

I asked a similar question about tires a while back and based on replies and reviews, I settled on the Michelin PILOT® SPORT 4 S in a 325/30ZR19. I didn't like the choice of sizes and the lack of availability of the 18's so went 19 on the rear and 18 front.

[68Formula]

I asked a similar question about tires a while back and based on replies and reviews, I settled on the Michelin PILOT® SPORT 4 S in a 325/30ZR19. I didn't like the choice of sizes and the lack of availability of the 18's so went 19 on the rear and 18 front.

Noticed the low selection in ultra-wide 18 options as well. Many more choices in the 325/30ZR19, so must be common for a popular performance vehicle. I'd do the front/rear staggered rim height too if I were going minitub. Especially for any distance driving where you could find yourself needing a replacement on the road (at least you have a better shot at getting a replacement).

OP, to avoid feeling like you're getting wander with wide tires due to the "ruts" in the road, try going on the wider side of the recommended rim width for a given tire. It'll give it a little more stability and also better tire response when transitioning into a corner. For example on a 245/40R18 most manufacturer's measure on a 8.5" and 8-9.5" is recommended, so use 9 or 9.5" . On a 325/30ZR19 it's measured on a 11.5" and 11-12" are recommended. In that case I'd use a 12".

[AEH]

Seems like no matter how much planning I do I end up with issues I haven’t really thought through yet. Heck, I never even heard of summer tires till recently but I’ve mostly always been a truck guy. I have restored a few cars but there’s just a lot more that goes into one of these builds than most people realize. It’s fairly easy to restore a car but getting all the parts and pieces to play nice together can be a challenge. Even more so when you don’t know what you don’t know.

I’m gonna check with Zak and see if it’s too late to change size on the rears. Otherwise looks like I may be a fair weather driver.

[68Formula]

AFH, here's a little motivation.

https://www.pro-touring.com/threads/136671-Finally-after-17-weeks