[GTCON]

Hey, thinking of picking up these tires for my next sets of rubber. Ive never ran nittos and am just wondering if 275/35/18 are more equivalent to 265/35s? I have heard from people who run nitto tires that they run smaller then regular tires so im deciding if 265 is the right size to get for 18x9s or if i should get 275s. I really like how 265/35 tires look on 18" rims so please let me know any info or experience you guys have on these tires, thanks!

[Ke^in]

What are you going to run the tires for? Are you getting the NT-05 or NT-05r?

[ReverendDexter]

FWIW, I had 275s on my 9" rims, and my opinion as a corner-carver is it looks like butt. Not nice skinny-girl thong butt, but fat hairy plumber butt. I'm much happier with the look and feel of the 255s I have on there now.

[Jazzer The Cat]

^ when I'm done here, I'm gonna kick your ass!

[3sportbob]

Originally Posted by Jazzer The Cat ^ when I'm done here, I'm gonna kick your ass!

My EYES! My EYES!

[ReverendDexter]

Who got that pic of you, Eric?

[Jazzer The Cat]

[GTCON]

Originally Posted by Ke^in What are you going to run the tires for? Are you getting the NT-05 or NT-05r?

Im looking to get some good performance tires for my summer driven car. Minor track use. But i want good tires, im done with cheapies and ive heard great things about the nt-05. And just the regular nt-05 not the drag radial.

Does anyone else think 275 looks but on the front with a 9inch rim? I like the look of my 265/35/18, but ive heard nittos run smaller thats the only reason im asking if i should get a 275/35/18 nt-05. Hmmmm maybe ill stick with the 265/35 nitto... any other opinions?

[JerseyTrueBlue]

The wider the front tire the more it's going to follow the road, I run 245 sumi's on my 17x9 bullitts in the front and it still pulls pretty bad if there are grooves from big trucks on some of the shittier highways around here. It's all preferance really though, a 275 is the suggested size for a 9 inch wheels but hardly anyone runs them up front that I know.

[GTCON]

ive had 245s before, i thought they were a little too small, my current 265/35 looks great and i want the same thing but i just wanted to know more about this whole nittos running smaller thing.

[GidEup]

running nt05 275.35.18 on the front and they hang over/cover my 18x9's by just a shade; maybe 1/8-1/4 inch. I went with the 275 so that just incase I decided to hit the side of a curb I'd be ok since my wheels are impossible to find anymore and I dont have the money to repair & re-coat my wheels. 275 is going to be annoying as hell if your roads suck though. (excuse the gramarmarmar im tired)

[ReverendDexter]

The question here is if you want tires for performance or tires for looks. If it's for looks, do whatever you think looks good. If it's for performance, you need the right tread compound, the right stiffness of sidewall, and the right size for your wheels.

I'm assuming by "track" that you mean dragstrip. If that's the case, you're probably not going to be has happy with the NT-05 as you think. It's designed as a handling tire, and as such has a fairly stiff sidewall. For drag racing you want a relatively soft sidewall out back; you want a fairly narrow tire up front, as this decreases rolling resistance.

If you're talking about handling, then you want a tire no larger than 115% of your rim width, preferably more like 110%. For a 9 inch rim, 115% is 262mm, so going to a 265 is a little wider than you really want; a 245 or 255 is much better.

[GTCON]

Its my summer car and it doesnt really see rain so i want a performance street tire. I dont really race the car at the track anymore so thats why i said i might go to one if i feel like it. I just want a good street tire that wont skip on me under normal driving conditions, and i would like it to stick if i do some spirited driving. Ive heard the nt-05 is great and i dont mind spending good money for a good tire. I dont think discounttire has the nt05 in 255 and i dont want 245 its too skinny so i guess ill live with 265.35. Thanks for all the help guys!

[Eagle2000GT]

Originally Posted by ReverendDexter If you're talking about handling, then you want a tire no larger than 115% of your rim width, preferably more like 110%. For a 9 inch rim, 115% is 262mm, so going to a 265 is a little wider than you really want; a 245 or 255 is much better.

Interesting. A 245 on a 9" wheel is 7% over. A 275 on a 10.5" wheel is 3% over. What would be considered too small?

[Jazzer The Cat]

A 245 is going to be fine for a 9" wheel, but will run on the thin side. I think you may not be accounting for the thickness of the rim itself. This adds probably over 1.25" of overall width to the wheel when measuring from outside to outside. A wheel measurement is this dimention from the inside to inside width.

Jazzer

[ReverendDexter]

Originally Posted by Eagle2000GT Interesting. A 245 on a 9" wheel is 7% over. A 275 on a 10.5" wheel is 3% over. What would be considered too small?

Depends on who you ask. I'd say 100% is the smallest you should ever go, though I know some drifters that aren't totally obsessed with the "hella flush" look to go slightly under that. 100% used to be ideal about 20 years ago, but tire tech has improved a LOT since then, and with it the ideal tire width has gotten a little wider.

It also depends on the tire and your application. Going narrower effectively increases sidewall stiffness, so if you're using a tire with a really soft sidewall, you'll want to go narrower than normal. If you're using a tire with a really stiff sidewall, you can go a little wider. Conversely, if what you're after is a soft sidewall, you can get that by going wider than normal. I'd argue that's a much more important reason for drag racers to choose a wide rear tire than just larger contact patch. I might not win that argument, but I'd still argue it, hahaha.

[Eagle2000GT]

Softer sidewall? I just had to replace my front tires (275/40-17 Sumitomo HTZ II or IIIs on 9" wheels) after only 12,000 miles because the sidewall got soft. I thought I had a front end alignment problem because the car pulled hard to the right and was showing extreme wear on the outside edge. When checked the alignment on that wheel was perfect it was the tire.

I drive 20,000 miles per year and I don't want to buy tires twice per year. Maybe I'll start running a smaller tire on those wheels.

[ReverendDexter]

Yeah, I had 275s on my 9s up front, I went down to a 255 and I'm much happier.