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Stock tire size???

jpizzle

CEG'er
Joined
May 3, 2008
Messages
84
Location
louisville Ky
Anyone KNOW the for sure tire size that came stock on the 98.5? I currently have 225/50's and I think they came with 205/? Should I go back to stock size? Thanks
 
You can easily get another 1.5" of tread width per tire by changing from the stock 205/55R16 to a 225/50R16, and it will fit on the stock 6.5" wide rim. Check out the specs charts at the tire company or retailer websites.
 
While not '98.5, my '00 had a set of 225/50s on it also. Tried briefly to locate 215/50s to go back to the OEM size, but apparently that size is not exactly popular. Since my back tires are still in great shape anyway, I'll just stick with the 225/50s.

Now if I could only find a pair of Kumho Supras/712s to match the others, but apparently they're no longer in production. I don't like mismatched tire sets. :mad:
 
While not '98.5, my '00 had a set of 225/50s on it also. Tried briefly to locate 215/50s to go back to the OEM size, but apparently that size is not exactly popular. Since my back tires are still in great shape anyway, I'll just stick with the 225/50s.

Now if I could only find a pair of Kumho Supras/712s to match the others, but apparently they're no longer in production. I don't like mismatched tire sets. :mad:

It appears you can still buy new ones here: http://www.1010tires.com/tire.asp?tiremodel=Ecsta+Supra+712&tirebrand=Kumho
 
You can easily get another 1.5" of tread width per tire by changing from the stock 205/55R16 to a 225/50R16, and it will fit on the stock 6.5" wide rim.

Isn't it more like a little over 3/4"? 225mm - 205 mm = 20mm or .7874"
 
Isn't it more like a little over 3/4"? 225mm - 205 mm = 20mm or .7874"

No, the rest of the tread width difference comes from the lower aspect ratio (50 vs. 55).

Here are the comparative specs on the Dunlop Direzza DZ101 for the three sizes commonly discussed for the SVT Contour:
TireSize___ Sect. Width Tread Width O.D. Revs/Mile
215/50VR16 --- 8.7" ------- 7.6" --- 24.4" -- 861

205/55VR16 --- 8.4" ------- 6.5" --- 24.9" -- 845

225/50VR16 --- 9.2" ------- 8.2" --- 24.9" -- 841

Note that for the 205 vs. the 225, the Section Width is about 20 mm different, as you indicated (0.8"). However, the tread Width is 1.7" different. The 55 aspect ratio tire narrows down much more than the 50 aspect ratio.
 
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