Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires 225/50R16 size for SVTs.....

Sorry that this topic is a repeat, but I'm getting mixed reviews from my questions with various companies. Luke@tirerack, maybe you can help...

Anyway, I've read that people are putting 225/50R16 on their cars with no problems. But my local tire rep said that they would rub big time. Here are some widths of tires that fit in that category (225/50):

Bridgestone RE730 7.9"
Firehawk SZ50 EP 7"
Goodyear HP Ultra Plus 8.3"
BFG g-force KDW 7.2"

Note: widths taken from www.tirerack.com , what a great site Luke!!!!!!

It would seem that the 7.2" and less would fit no problem, since the 215/50R16 BFG KDWs are 7.2" wide.

Any ideas why the tire rep would want to keep me away from 225? What's the maximum width in inches that we can put on stock E0 rims with no fender mods, and no rubbing?

Thanks in advance for your input.

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Ryan W.
1998 T-Red SVT E0 #634 (KKM)
Austin/Cedar Park, Texas

[This message has been edited by ryanwoodsvt (edited February 23, 2001).]

I've been there,a lot of people told me that they will fit, and a lot of people told me they won't,I've spent a month trying to figure out if a 225 size tire will fit my SVT , I'm now running 225/50/16 Bridgestone Potenza's RE730 with no rubbing , I decided to go to the 225's because i saw in person three SVT's running them plus theres a lot of people in the forums that are using 225's, the only problem area that you might want to look at before you buy 225's is the clearance of your rear tires and your rear strut, i had about a half inch of clearance with my stock 215/50/16 KDW's and now with the 225's its down to a quarter inch, but like i said there is no rubbing and the tires look awesome, by the way the three SVT's i saw in person with the 225/50/16 all had diffent brands of tires

1)Yokohama AVS sport 225/50/16
2)BFGoodrich g-force KDW 225/50/16
3)Michelin pilot sport 225/50/16
and i'm running the Bridgestone Potenza,s RE730 225/50/16

Thanks for the input. The RE730s are what I was looking at, how do you like them?


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Ryan W.
1998 T-Red SVT E0 #634 (KKM)
Austin/Cedar Park, Texas

What can i say ,they are awesome there's a lot less road noise then my old KDW's and they seem to handle better and they have a longer thread life , but i've have yet to push them to hard because i only had them on for a week , and for a $110.00 i would highly recommend them and i love how they look on the SVT

Ryan,

I'm one of the guys that are running 225's on an SVT. I may have been one of the pioneers for this size on our cars. (And I did not end up with arrows in my back.) When the original GSC's wore out at 40,000 miles, I replaced them with larger 225/50R16 Continental 4000H's. They fit perfectly but finally needed replacement. They lasted nearly 60,000 miles. This past week I mounted a set of BF Goodrich g-Force KDWS's, also in the 225/50R16 size. Although the sidewall says that they are the same size, the KDWS's are actually slightly wider but they still fit fine. They are not anywhere near the fender lip. The rears are close to the strut and to the lower suspension arm, but there is still clearance. I would not want something any wider though. The fronts have plenty of room.

Jim Johnson
98 SVT

Main thing you're finding out is that a 225
isn't always as wide as the next company's
225 -- the actual width varies with some nice
and skinny and some fatter.

Some places may just not want to help you
track down the skinnier 225s that will fit.
I'm personally pretty interested in this...

T.

I ran P225-50-16 Yokahama Guardex 600's on my car this winter for snow tires...heres the facts so listen up...everyone! NO RUBBING! and the tires in the snow...GREAT!!! I can't believe that these tire experts don't check these things out before they put there reps on the line. Its a pretty common thing that most of us want something a little bigger for tires, so it make sense to explore that area. The clearance was checked in the air and on the ground, NO PROBLEM!!! So those of you out there who want the P225's GO FOR IT! It does make a difference in how it looks.

Roger R
2000 Contour SVT
#1253 of 2150