Treating 'er Right - Question on New Shoes

[98 'Bird]

Hey guys. I've been living with curb-rashed rims on my Bird for way too long. I got a new job and decided now is the time to spend a little.

I'm planning to get the rims refinished; all that was holding me up was that I couldn't justify tossing way (7-year-old) tires with only 25,000 miles on them to pay for a new set. I feel that I need a new set because the outer lip of the rim sticks out beyond the sidewall - hence the curb rash. OK, I plan on NOT scuffing curbs but I feel that I need something that will protect the rims, considering I will have just paid to refinish them.

So a question... My current tires are 215/60-16. It seems that I could alternatively fit 235/55-16's. But, this size seems to be quite rare (looked at tire rack and others). But these tires sure must have been the size my friend had, who I've seen bounce off curbs without consequence! Now, back to the original... Goodyear makes tires that seem to have the deepest built-in recess to protect the rims I've ever seen, Eagle GT's. It's only in the 215 size though.

But, do they really cover enough? Should I try to get the 235's? Does anyone have the small 16-in rims, or experience with the new GT's or alternate tires sizes? I'm confused!

[Joe 1320]

My v8 cars came with a 245/50/16 on the factory rims, never had any curbing issues with that size.

[Z Ya Later]

I guess I would have to ask...any reason not to go with the 245/50ZR16? It would lower your C.O.G., give you a wider contact patch and give you a broader range of tires to choose from. Do you know what width your wheels are?

[98 'Bird]

I guess I would have to ask...any reason not to go with the 245/50ZR16? It would lower your C.O.G., give you a wider contact patch and give you a broader range of tires to choose from. Do you know what width your wheels are?

uhhhh... Trying to find out for sure. I think they're 16 x 8. I don't actually know how to tell other than to measure the rim without a tire mounted

The comprehensive VIN decoder specifies my original tire as P215/60R16 BW R/PE ST TL AL2 94T and wheel WHEEL(ALUMINUM)(PAINTED) PAINTED AL WHL(N60).

I think only the steel rims were 16 x 7.5, where I have the painted aluminum wheels.

EDIT: ok I see 245/50-16 as among the tires in the list of RP codes, so if we assume they all came on 8" wide rims are they interchangeable on any stock 16" rims?

[Joe 1320]

uhhhh... Trying to find out for sure. I think they're 16 x 8. I don't actually know how to tell other than to measure the rim without a tire mounted

The comprehensive VIN decoder specifies my original tire as P215/60R16 BW R/PE ST TL AL2 94T and wheel WHEEL(ALUMINUM)(PAINTED) PAINTED AL WHL(N60).

I think only the steel rims were 16 x 7.5, where I have the painted aluminum wheels.

EDIT: ok I see 245/50-16 as among the tires in the list of RP codes, so if we assume they all came on 8" wide rims are they interchangeable on any stock 16" rims?

Yep, you have 16x8 and ther 245/50/16s came on the T/A stock.

[98 'Bird]

Yep, you have 16x8 and ther 245/50/16s came on the T/A stock.

Wow are you saying I can just swap them? The 245-50's I see are all real nice summer high performance tires which would be great!

Is there a catch like they won't work because they'll scrape the front wheel wells?

[Z Ya Later]

The only real catch I can think of is needing the speedo re-calibrated, since your car is set up for 26.1" tall wheel/tire combo and the 245/50/16 size is a 25.6" wheel/tire combo. Speedo re-calibrations aren't that hard and I believe most hand-held tuners and such can do it, as well as any mail-order tune and dyno shop.

Another option would be to go with a staggered setup of 245/50/16 in the front and 255/50/16 in the rear. The only tire I can find on TireRack that matches this is the BFGoodrich gForce Sport. While I don't have any experience with the Sport, I did use the gForce T/A KDW. While my Wide Ovals grip a little better, they were a pretty solid tire for the money.

You could probably run 255/50/16s on all 4 corners as well, but again, the gForce Sport is the only street tire that TireRack lists. While there may be some others, I'm too lazy to see what they might be. lol

My suggestion, for what its worth, re-calibrate your speedo and go with the 245/50/16s...namely the Wide Ovals. Hope this helps.

[98 'Bird]

The only real catch I can think of is needing the speedo re-calibrated, since your car is set up for 26.1" tall wheel/tire combo and the 245/50/16 size is a 25.6" wheel/tire combo. Speedo re-calibrations aren't that hard and I believe most hand-held tuners and such can do it, as well as any mail-order tune and dyno shop.

Another option would be to go with a staggered setup of 245/50/16 in the front and 255/50/16 in the rear. The only tire I can find on TireRack that matches this is the BFGoodrich gForce Sport. While I don't have any experience with the Sport, I did use the gForce T/A KDW. While my Wide Ovals grip a little better, they were a pretty solid tire for the money.

You could probably run 255/50/16s on all 4 corners as well, but again, the gForce Sport is the only street tire that TireRack lists. While there may be some others, I'm too lazy to see what they might be. lol

My suggestion, for what its worth, re-calibrate your speedo and go with the 245/50/16s...namely the Wide Ovals. Hope this helps.

Yes this helps much! Thanks, Steve and Joe. Time for me to do my homework now. I'll post what I find.

[Wild Willy]

That is an odd stock tire size- must be a Firebird thing. My Camaro came with the 16" snowflake wheels, and 235/60-16 tires, non-speed rated- (Also came with 2.73 gears and a steel driveshaft- people treat me like I'm nuts because my LS1 Camaro had a steel driveshaft, and when people offer an "LS1" driveshaft for sale, I always ask if it is aluminum or steel.- also, because of the factory tires, my car was limited to 108 MPH- I have since corrected both those deficiencies.)

Lots of choices in the stock tire size of 245/50-16- and there are choices in 255/50-16, also, which may have a little bigger diameter and keep your speedo a little more accurate. You can always have your PCM re-programmed to reflect the correct tire size you are actually running.

[98 'Bird]

That is an odd stock tire size- must be a Firebird thing. My Camaro came with the 16" snowflake wheels, and 235/60-16 tires, non-speed rated- (Also came with 2.73 gears and a steel driveshaft- people treat me like I'm nuts because my LS1 Camaro had a steel driveshaft, and when people offer an "LS1" driveshaft for sale, I always ask if it is aluminum or steel.- also, because of the factory tires, my car was limited to 108 MPH- I have since corrected both those deficiencies.)

Lots of choices in the stock tire size of 245/50-16- and there are choices in 255/50-16, also, which may have a little bigger diameter and keep your speedo a little more accurate. You can always have your PCM re-programmed to reflect the correct tire size you are actually running.

I'm seeing a lot of drag radials for the 255s. I almost can't believe all these sizes would be ok on my car, just with the speedo drawback. Sure these won't rub against anything on the car right...? Thanks, Willy

[Trash man]

they dont change the wheel offset or wheel wells just cause they put a skinner tired on and with .5 of an inch differance of diameter, im pretty sure ur speedo wont be off by much

[Z Ya Later]

I'm seeing a lot of drag radials for the 255s. I almost can't believe all these sizes would be ok on my car, just with the speedo drawback. Sure these won't rub against anything on the car right...? Thanks, Willy

Well, just remember, they sold them with 275/40/17s without any modifications. So, I think you'll be fine with 255/40/16s.

[98 'Bird]

Thanks for all the insight, guys.

I decided that it's probably best to stick with an "all season" tire in case I happen to need to drive it in colder temps. This leaves the 245s for me, which means looking into the speedo calibration. I'm looking into what would have to be done for that.

[Trash man]

i wouldnt worry too much by it, in 1000 miles you might be half mile off

[Z Ya Later]

Thanks for all the insight, guys.

I decided that it's probably best to stick with an "all season" tire in case I happen to need to drive it in colder temps. This leaves the 245s for me, which means looking into the speedo calibration. I'm looking into what would have to be done for that.

You're most welcome.

As for the speedo recalibration, you could either get a handheld unit (and pick up a few extra ponies with some other tweaking) or do a mail-order tune. If you're going the mail-order route, I recommend Jeff Creech at Carolina Auto Masters. He was a little more pricey, but well worth it. Enjoy.