I bought my 2004 Crossfire used and it came equipped with some expensive wheels, which require low-profile tires. With the factory wheels, did the car still require low-profile tires?

 

Check out my gallery for info on the stock tire sizes.

The stock tires are fairly low profile by traditional standards.

Message - CrossfireForum.org Gallery

 

I don't really know what all the tire numbers are. Maybe I should've phrased my question differently. If I got rid of the wheels on my car and replaced them with the original ones, would the car still require the expensive, low-profile tires? The tires I have to buy now are $250 each.

 

Linda, I suggest you look at the tire specs/sizes Display_Name posted and call Discount Tires to see what they can do. You are looking at $800-1000 for a good set of four. But if you want to pay less, they may be able to get you in the $600 range.

Hopefully someone else will chime in here to help you out. I've seen others post about lessor expensive tires but can't recall what brand. Unfortunately, the OEM wheels have limited tire options that will fit.

 

Sorry, my friend, but you will need to stay within reason of the OEM tire specs based upon wheel diameter. Probably the most important criteria will be tire diameter, or the height of the tire. Generally speaking, I really wouldn't call these low profile tires, but you need to stay no taller than 25" up front and 26" in the back or you'll rub rubber on some bad places.

Since you live in TX, look at Ultra High Performance Summer tires. No need to go Max or Extreme performance, based upon your drive style.

The OEM sizes are 225/40R18 up front and 255/35R19 in the rear. You can go as wide as 255/35R18 fronts and 285/30R19 rears if you chose, without any significant clearance issues, but for quite a bit more money. Note that some tires have rotation-specific tread while other treads are asymmetrical, your call. Buying an asymmetrical tread tire that can be mounted on either side of the car can make life easier in the event of a flat out in the middle of no-where. Personally, I like the Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sports ... a nice inexpensive, asymmetrical, quiet and comfortable riding tire. Also look at General Tire and Kumho if money is the driver.

In any event, you can anticipate spending at least $700 and up to $1,500 for four new shoes shipped, plus mounting costs. A lot of folks on the Forum buy on-line from TireRack.com ... a real user-friendly site and store .. with great selection and customer service. Have them delivered to and mounted by a local shop you can trust for $25-$50 a tire.

Good luck. Use the Forum Search for more info.

 

[quote=dwightdmagee] .......
Buying an asymmetrical tread tire that can be mounted on either side of the car can make life easier in the event of a flat out in the middle of no-where. Personally,.......... quote]
How does this help with no spare?

 

I don't know how critical your need is, but another option to consider is keeping an eye on the forum for a used set. If you can wait a while, some pretty good deals come up on here from time to time.

 

[QUOTE=onehundred80]Running asymmetrical tires just removes one of the variables when trying to locate a match when in a pinch. Not having a spare in the trunk sux bad enough, having 18" and 19" rims makes matters worse, but I'd hate to spend $300 out in Timbuktu on a left-handed tire knowing I'd have to replace it again when I got home.

That's all.

 

[quote=dwightdmagee]Directional tires are identical to each other. They are mounted on the rims according to the side of the car they are going on. The lettering etc on the side walls is identical, but the arrows point in the same direction. Imagine the logistics of making and stocking left and right handed tires.
Even a used directional tire can be mounted to a rim so that it rotates in the correct direction.

Supposing you could only buy left and right tires and you could only buy a wrong handed tire, you could swap all the good tires to the opposite side of the car, mount the tire you just purchased and drive home in reverse.
PS, I think you typed without thinking about what you said, but there again at 91 maybe you did. God knows I have enough trouble at 69.

 

I was not aware that the sidewalls on directional tires could be mounted in or out! Thank you, 180. I've learned something today!

As a matter of fact, these new-fangled tubeless tires are amazing. I guess that nuts and bolts have given way to Bluetooth, whatever that is.

 

Thanks for all your replies. All I'm wondering is if the current, expensive wheels that were on my car when I bought it are the reason I have to buy low-profile tires, or if I'd have buy the same type of tires no matter what kind of wheels are on the car. In other words, do the original wheels require low-profile tires?

Unlike a lot of people here, I'm not crazy about my Crossfire because I was naive when I bought it and didn't realize it would be such a money drain. Once I get the loan paid down to blue book value, I plan to get rid of it. I had no idea this car would be so expensive. I'm sure this is typical of women - we don't know enough about cars to even ask the right questions.

The wheels that are on the car cost $600 each new. The tires are crazy expensive and have to be replaced about once a year. I never bargained for this when I bought this car. Yes, it's a hot, sexy car - but all I can see right now is what a ridiculous drain it is on my finances. So that's why I'm asking if the original tires would also be the low-profile tires. If not, I may sell the wheels so that at least I don't have to deal with spending $1,000 on tires every year.

 

The regular tires should be good for at least 40,000 miles depending on your driving habits. From your description I do not think anyone can say if you really need low profile tires or if you are being mislead. If is true and they require expensive short lived tires then I would suggest selling them and buying the OEM wheels and fitting OEM equivalent tires. you may find the wheels on ebay at a reasonable in cost. I would suggest that you have them checked over by someone knowledgeable before you commit to their purchase if possible.
Low profile tires give a poor ride so that should be a positive aspect when you get back to the OEM sizes which are relatively low profile. For an even better ride fit smaller wheels 17" and 18" and go for tires with higher sidewalls, there are more tires available in these sizes and the prices are cheaper. Starting from scratch, after selling your current wheels, this may be a better way to go for you. If you could post the tire sizes that are given on the tire side walls then we may be able to give a more accurate answer to your problem as it stands now.

 

Odds are the aftermarket wheels fitted to your car when you bought it are very close in size to the factory wheels, meaning the tire requirements are most likely not all that different.

If you look on the sidewall of the tire it will have a number along the lines of what you've seen posted here - something like 225/40R18 up front and 255/35R19 in the rear. You can decode this number like this:

Looking at the first number, 225/40R18, it breaks down to:

• 225 - this is the overall width of the tire, measured in millimeters. In this case, 225 millimeters (22.5 centimeters or 8.58 inches wide
• 40 - this number relates to the sidewall height of the tire (think distance from the wheel to the ground) and is technically called the aspect ratio. In this case, it tells you that the sidewall height is 40% of the overall width of the tire. So 40% of 225 = 90 millimeters or 3.54 inches tall.
• the "R" just means it's a radial tire (a type of construction method common to all modern passenger car tires)
• 18 - this is the size of wheel the tire fits, in this case a wheel with a diameter of 18"

Using this same decoding method you immediately see that the rear tire fits on a 19" wheel rather than an 18" and that the rear tire is 30 millimeters (or 1.18") wider than the front tire (255 vs 225 width). But while the aspect ratio of the rear tire is 35 compared to the front's 40, you're looking at very similar sidewall height when you do the math. 40% of 225 is 90, 35% of 255 is 89.25.

Aspect ratios of 35 and 40 are pretty low profile when compared to traditional family sedans, but not too bad when compared to a lot of very high performance sports cars. Lower profile tires tend to be more expensive than higher profile tires, and tires that fit larger wheel sizes are more expensive as well.

If you go to Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels you can browse tires based on size and compare prices, performance etc.

 

whatever tires you decide to buy, DO NOT put the oem conti's back on the car
I absolutely hate continentals, they are hard unresponsive tires.
Ive rolled through a set in 21,000 miles. the last set i had on my 240 maybe lasted 2,000.

The nitto invo is a promising new tire, we just put a set on our c6 z06 and they are holding up nicely, soft compund, takes power and is a very responsive tire

 

Hey, you guys!

Be careful with any advice to the lady to stray too far from OEM wheels and tires. Overall tire/rim size is limited by clearance issues, particularly up front. Regardless of wheel size, any tire as an assembly much taller than 25.5" and wider than 255mm runs the risk of rubbing rubber on some bad places up front.

If you go much fatter and taller, you WILL rub the rearward fender-well (not too problematic) and you WILL rub the upper nut of what I think is called the control arm (could be disastrous) at full turn lock.

Be careful. If you are seriously considering fooling with different wheel and tire configurations in search of economies, there is a handy tire/rim comparison calculator on the Rims-n-Tires.com web site. A real nice tool. Use it or lose it.

Regards.