I'm looking for tyres to replace the rears on the TT and it seems that 265/40 17's are a bit hard to come by nowdays. I can't even get Potenza's in that size any more. My question for the wheel/tyre gurus out there: Will a 275 fit on the rear on a wheel marked 17 x 9J 40? All help appreciated Cheers Andrew
Use 255's..... They are readily available at a reasonable price & won't affect your speedo I've used 265 & 275's and the only difference I noticed over the 255's was the huge chunk of extra change I had to hand over
Strictly speaking, the 275's may not be quite legal, but that depends on the tyre placard. Dia of the stock 225x50x16 is 631.4mm Dia of 265x40x17 is 643.8mm Dia of 275x40x17 is 651.8mm Speedo with 275's will be out by 3.2% NSW VSI 9 states : The outside diameter of the wheel and tyre combination must be no more than 15mm over the largest diameter wheel and tyre combination specified for the vehicle and not more than 15mm below the smallest diameter wheel and tyre combination specified for the vehicle. Miata tyre calculator here NSW Vehicle Standards Information VSI 9 here Rules are pretty much the same in all states But then there are many other things that may be borderline and can be picked up by an overzealous cop
Thanks guys It looks like a 275/35 will fit the bill as far as circumference goes. I just wanted to be fairly sure that it will fit on the car with that wheel. @zx299: The 265's sidewall is pretty vertical and I'm not a fan of the streched look at all (even partially), so 255s are out of the equation, I'm afraid. I'll order the 275/35's and see what happens (scrape wise) Cheers Andrew
What tyre's are you going to get in a 275/35/17??? I have only been able to find a 40 series profile for 17"s
I run 255/40 on a 17 x 9.5 rim and they sit vertical not stretched. Running Kumho KU36 the sidewall is very soft
Maybe your 9 inches are bigger than my 9 inches . I would hardly call a 255 tyre on a 9 inch wheel the "stretch look", which I also dislike and don't get how some think it is cool. I've always put 255s on my 9 inch wheels, couple of pics below. This link has a rim width calculator that shows the ideal wheel width for given tyre sizes. For 255-40x17 it's 8.5"-10", for a 275-35x17 it's 9"-10.5", which means the tyres you want to buy will be on the edge of being too wide for the wheel. However, it's your call. But yeah, going from 40 profile to 35 will fix the circumference issue, probably at a $ cost though.
I run 255/40/17 Yokohama's Advans Sports because the tyre wall is stiffer than the Kumos & Adrenlin which on a ZX300 TT make the rear end more shore footed.Only problem is they cost more $ each.
Hmmm, lots to think about now. I'll go back to the tyre guy on monday morning and have another chat. Lucky for me, he's extremely patient and asks lots of questions. Thanks to everyone. you guys have helped a heap. Cheers Andrew
