Rear Tires

Yes. You wouldn’t believe the things I’ve done to mount stretched tires. That I do believe is way more dangerous.

a 295/45 isn’t nearly as sidewall compliant as a big bloated off road tire mud truck tire squeezed on a narrow wheel. That’s been done forever.

As to your story about the dtr, I’ll just say there are some drivers on the road that shouldn’t be.
 
I run the Nitto 295/45 on stock rim.
Had a blowout last week going 85 on freeway. Held up well till I pulled over.
No warranty on Japanese tires.



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BLACKMARAUDER04 said:
I run the Nitto 295/45 on stock rim.
Had a blowout last week going 85 on freeway. Held up well till I pulled over.
No warranty on Japanese tires.



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Click to expand...

Oh wow. Ok, it seems to that a 295 tire is fine on a widened wheel or stock size it’s all on the person.


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I've done a ton of calcs on this, and posted here before and gotten a lot of good input. I've always kept the stock 235/50-18's on the front, but next time was considering going to either the 245/45-18 (.3" wider than OEM and .57" shorter), or to the 255/45-18's, which are .79 wider and .22" lower than OEM.

The trouble is when going to the back, as I don't want to exceed 6% tire differential front to rear. For years I used the excellent Nitto 555 265/50-18's, which are just .2" shorter but a full .81" wider (13/16") than OEM, and they gave me a nice front to back ratio of only 4.32%, which was less than the factory 5%, but they aren't available any more.

I'd like to consider the .4" taller and .4" wider than OEM 255/55-18's for the rear, but with the factory front that would take me to a 6.5% front to back differential. That would be a .06" height increase over the unavailable 265/50-18's, while decreasing width by .39".

SO QUESTION: has anyone with a setup of OEM fronts to 255/55-18 rears had any issues with TC with that 6.5% front to back differential? Keep in mind that differential would increase if I ever went with one of those lower fronts, to 8.6% with the 245/45-18's, and 7.4% with the 255/45-18's, so I'd pretty much be staying with the OEM fronts if I go to 255/55-18 in the rear.

(One consideration to go with the OEM rears; I could go to the 255/45-18 fronts and just keep the ratio under 6%, barely. Going to the 245/45-18's would take that ratio over 7%...)

Thanks for any info as always.
 
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RubberCtyRauder said:
If you have traction control and exceed 6% dia. Difference front to back, it will activate...can run a 285-50-18 depending on front size.
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That would be nice, but not according to your statement about 6% being max, which I've heard before (OEM differential is 5%). 285/50-18 rear with the OEM 235/50-18 front is a 6.95% differential. (29.2"-27.3" = 1.9"/27.3")

That's greater than the differential I'm asking about in the previous post between the front OEM's and rear 255/55-18's, which is 6.5%. I'd LIKE to be able to go with those .4" wider and .4" taller rears, but then I'd have to stay with the OEM fronts permanently (assuming 6.5% is OK...?) But hell, maybe you're right and with the setup you suggest you could get by with just under 7%?
 
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BackNBlack said:
The BEST All Season, High Performance tire for a MARAUDER...STOCK Wheels

Comes in 255/45/18 Front
255/55/18 Rear

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Continental&tireModel=ExtremeContact+DWS+06
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That would give a 7.4% front to back differential, which if you have TC could be a problem. I like the idea of those fronts and the OEM rears, which would give a 5.9% ratio., or those rears and the OEM fronts which would be the 6.5% I'm considering. As for the best, the Nitto's I've had have been outstanding, handling and wearing better than the BF Goodrich T/A's that cost more at the time, but I can't get the 555 rears anymore so am looking at the Motivo's.

The question I really need answered is what's the cutoff on the differential. Some say 6%, but then are running 1 to 1.5% higher. They may not have TC though.

(Update: I said before the ratio of front to back for our OEM tires was 5%, but it's brand specific; with Nitto Motivos it's 4.3%. I wrote down the 5% years ago with the 555's. Checking the 255/55ZR18's on the Nitto site, they work out to a 5.9 front to back ratio on the Motivos to OEM fronts, so that should be good to go.)
 
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RubberCtyRauder said:
Member Adam runs a 285-50-18 rear..not sure of front he runs...some say 7% difference
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235/50/18 in front.

Svashtar said:
Yeah, 7% if he has the OEM fronts. I'd be curious if that gives him any TC issues. (?)
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Mine is a 2003, so like BackNBlack said above, I also don't have TC. And yes, the car is tuned for speedometer calibration.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine, and I write the checks... :D

gbZFI2R.jpg
 
a_d_a_m said:
235/50/18 in front.

Mine is a 2003, so like BackNBlack said above, I also don't have TC. And yes, the car is tuned for speedometer calibration.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine, and I write the checks... :D

gbZFI2R.jpg
Click to expand...

Awesome car! What brand tires are on the rear?


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Mrauder83 said:
Awesome car! What brand tires are on the rear?
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Nitto NT404. They are since discontinued.
The only game in town with these is the Continental CrossContact UHP, which I actually ran those from 2009-2016 and liked them just fine. Bought the Nittos because Conti wasn't making the 285s anymore. Now they are. Pricey, though!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Continental-CrossContact-UHP-285-50R18-109W-Performance-4WD-SUV-Summer-Tire/312998673897

These Pirellis are probably old stock, but still 'available' at a higher price point:
https://www.performanceplustire.com...VG0EM3VYA0--3sc6HuTp2eyX_TJGjEjQaAvAUEALw_wcB

Svashtar said:
Yes, it looks fantastic. [emoji1360] Seems not having TC definitely has advantages.
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Mrauder83 said:
I agree!
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Thanks, y'all.
 
a_d_a_m said:
Nitto NT404. They are since discontinued.
The only game in town with these is the Continental CrossContact UHP, which I actually ran those from 2009-2016 and liked them just fine. Bought the Nittos because Conti wasn't making the 285s anymore. Now they are. Pricey, though!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Continental-CrossContact-UHP-285-50R18-109W-Performance-4WD-SUV-Summer-Tire/312998673897

These Pirellis are probably old stock, but still 'available' at a higher price point:
https://www.performanceplustire.com...VG0EM3VYA0--3sc6HuTp2eyX_TJGjEjQaAvAUEALw_wcB


Thanks, y'all.
Click to expand...

Gotcha! Thanks for the info.


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I went with the Nitto Motivos in the rear, 255/55-18 to go with the older but still in great shape Nitto 555’s in front. They’re .4” wider and .4” taller than OEM, with an extra 150 or so pound load rating IIRC. I actually heard great things about the Cooper Zeon Rs3-G1, but didn’t want to mix brands.

The Coopers are sticker, I think their UTQGL rating is something like 500AAA with a 45K mileage, while the Motivos are 560AA and 60k.

When the 555 fronts go I might switch to the Coopers; unfortunately I’m way different on mileage wear front to back. If I were just starting fresh I’d get a set of the Cooper Zeons, just for best performance and comparable to what I’ve had.

I’ll see how the non-directional Motivos do though; they might be a good compromise. I still miss the 555’s though...!


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