What size tyre are you running on 8" rims?

Discussions relating to MX5 Tyre choice, Wheels, Brakes Suspension components and other items to keep you going around corners, stuck to the ground or stopping on a dime.

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SLYDIT
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Post by SLYDIT » Fri May 29, 2015 7:32 pm

hate to break it to ya MrGrey , but the falkens are essentially illegal as of this month. so there are NO 195 or 205 road tires legal for an 8" wheel.

15x8"s are going to be selling very very cheap in the next month or so as every man and his helladog gets pink stickered for running 15x8's. the only legal way to run a max width 195/205 is to go with a 7.5" wheel. the 225's just look like arse IMO. and generally require flares.
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Post by MrGrey » Fri May 29, 2015 9:13 pm

aaahh ok, thanks for the heads up.
I already have flares which I will be putting on and although I am disappointed to hear that Falkens are no longer legal in the smaller widths (mainly due to 225's being noticeably more expensive in 15") I genuinely appreciate the warning as at least now I can shop around for some 225 tyres and see what sort of price range I am looking at. On the bright side, I basically just use my car as a daily driver and don't rip it up so I tend to get pretty good mileage out of tyres which means I will only getting painfully stung for new tyres a lot less frequently than many of the boy racers that live near me (I am a car enthusiast whilst my younger neighbors definitely fall into the "boy racer" category).

Que sera, sera ... what ever will be, will be

As for the profile/look, well, as I always say .... taste is totally subjective and although the stretched look has been very popular in the car scene for quite a while now, The look never really appealed to me. I guess I am just old school because from a looks perspective, I personally always liked the fat tyre look, just like the muscle cars from last century used to have (I love using the phrase "from last century" as it makes things sound so much older than if you just quoted the actual year/period)

Once again, thank you for the heads up.

-=edit=-

After mulling over this development it occurred to me that over a period of time this may have the effect of slightly lowering the cost price of 225's as this law change will potentially drive up the demand for 225/15's. When I recently bought new tyres I inquired about the price of 225's and if I recall correctly, they were over $200 each because the demand was very small. The guy at the tyre shop actually suggested that I consider importing a set from overseas as I may get a cheaper price that way.

Fingers crossed that they get cheaper but in the meantime, as I am in no major rush to get the tyres, I may spend some time casually browsing what is available... after 10 seconds of googling, these 225/45/15's may be a potential candidate:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp ... mpare1=yes

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Post by mjrstar » Sat May 30, 2015 1:41 pm

A 225 45 is going to be a big ask on the front. Offset will need to be spot on and maybe some trimming of the bumper and liners to clear on lock. (Depending on ride height)

I run that size on the rear with no problems but would not think it would go easily on the front.

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Post by SLYDIT » Sat May 30, 2015 4:57 pm

the sidewall on a 225/45 is pretty damn tall. although in theory it should be the same as a205/50, they just seem to be taller for some reason
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Post by MrGrey » Sat May 30, 2015 7:10 pm

mjrstar wrote:A 225 45 is going to be a big ask on the front. Offset will need to be spot on and maybe some trimming of the bumper and liners to clear on lock. (Depending on ride height)

I run that size on the rear with no problems but would not think it would go easily on the front.
in the front I am running dobi sport lowered springs... I think they are 35 mm lower than OEM? I would have to check....

are there spacers available for shocks/springs to allow me to incrementally increase my ride height if needed?

damn these LVVT law changes.... this has potentially thrown a spanner in the works that I will have to sort out one way or another...

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Post by MrGrey » Thu Jun 04, 2015 12:04 pm

I contacted the LVVTA to find out what the specifics are now and this is the reply I got.
NZ’s Falken distributor and supplier announced that they would no longer endorse the fitment of stretched tyres that was being supported by their European distributor, and that NZ Falken tyre suppliers were to fit according to the tyre fitment guide supplied for NZ.



See attached document.



Currently there are two contradictory fitment guides available for Falken tyres.



If the document from Europe is withdrawn, at that stage, LVV (and presumably from there the Police, and people issuing WOF’s) will not allow the stretched fitment, as there will be no current document supporting such incorrect tyre fitment to a wheel.



So it is over to you if you wish to fit stretched tyres as per the European document. The risk being, if that document is withdrawn from the Falken Europe website, you will need to replace your tyres to the correct fitment for the wheel. This might also put you in the position of needing to have your car re-certified, if you can no longer continue to run the same width of wheel.



LVVTA recommends that tyres should be fitted to an appropriate sized wheel.
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Post by SKREEE » Tue Jun 16, 2015 1:45 pm

Okay just talked to the guys down at M&T and they told me this email is only from the Distributors and not Falken proper so the 205 is still legal its only the Distributor that is up in arms about 205 only being on a 7.5 max and only the distributor supplying our neck of the woods the UK supplier is still okaying the 8.0.

Still with our backwards car laws its only a matter of time before aftermarket wheels are a no no anyway...

but as for fitment the 205s scrape like mad on full lock at 85mm of ride height, and that is with my +20 offset so 0 will probably be out of the question. Still want to run 15x9 at Zero offset to fill in my flares.

Still need to cut the guards which will solve the scraping issue. and might just pick up some spacers to save on getting the wider wheels for now.

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Post by Junkwhale » Tue Jun 16, 2015 9:01 pm

I've been trying to sort out tyre options for some upcoming autocrosses- is it really true that an EHP 205/50 tyre (like say the AD08R) won't pass a wof/cert on a 8" wheel? Will tyre places mount them?

That tyre has a 8.4" section width, so it's not like it's going to look stretched on a 15x8 wheel...

edit: eg a 205 bfg rival (which is the same width as the AD08R) on a 8" 6ul:
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Post by MrGrey » Wed Jun 17, 2015 12:06 am

Thanks for the heads up, that's good news :)
SKREEE wrote: but as for fitment the 205s scrape like mad on full lock at 85mm of ride height

Its worth noting that your ride height is supposed to be 100mm or higher to be legal (going lower requires an LVVT cert as far as I know)

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Post by built4speed » Wed Jun 17, 2015 6:03 pm

Take what you hear from mag and turbo with a grain of salt. If the NZ distributor(Falken NZ essentially) says that's the specs that's the specs. They have as much say in the matter as any other global supplier.

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Post by SKREEE » Thu Jun 18, 2015 8:43 am

MrGrey wrote:Thanks for the heads up, that's good news :)
SKREEE wrote: but as for fitment the 205s scrape like mad on full lock at 85mm of ride height

Its worth noting that your ride height is supposed to be 100mm or higher to be legal (going lower requires an LVVT cert as far as I know)
Heh I am somewhat aware of this... the upside is it passed a WOF :roll:. I just haven't had the time to lift it 15mm but then it still needs a cert for the coils and the cert can wait till the turbo is done.

As for M&T they said it is legal and will be that way until land trans says otherwise. They also gave me a printout of an email from Falken to show wof guys if there is any issue.

And Junkwhale it is more about what the tire manufacture says is fine for fitment most are pretty adamant that a 7.5 is max a 205 should go on Falken said/says otherwise so email the maker of the tire in question and find out what the manufacturer says.

Also have not encountered much issues at my ride height with our lovely roads down here. Only the severe speed bumps at most petrol stations.

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