18' tire options?

[wareaglescott]

If you have the 18" wheels can you list your tire type and sizes please?

Thanks

[edwardb]

Options I found during my research:

These are the tires Factory Five had on their 20th anniversary prototype Roadster and I've seen them use on other FF vehicles. These are R comp tires (100 treadwear) so real sticky but pretty limited miles. $1000-$1100 for a set.
Toyo Proxes R888 255/35ZR18
Toyo Proxes R888 315/30ZR18

Saw these on the forum as an option for 18's. 200 treadwear rated. Don't know much about them. $1200+ for a set.
Falken Azenis RT615K 315/30R18
Falken Azenis RT615K 245/40R18 OR
Falken Azenis RT615K 255/40R18

These are what I chose. Also 200 treadwear rated. Very highly rated tire. Popular with the auto-x crowd. Little over $1100 for a set. May not be easy to find. They seem to be in limited supply. I went with the 245's for the front, and they seem to fit fine. Tires are right at the body wheel well lip. 275's might be an option, but I didn't go for them.
BFGoodrich Rival S 315/30ZR18
BFGoodrich Rival S 245/40ZR18 OR
BFGoodrich Rival S 275/35ZR18

Nitto NT-01's would be another choice for the 315's, but also R comps, and I just didn't want to go that way. Possibilities for various Michelin and Pirellis, but at over $1,500 per set I didn't get any details.

[Sanford]

I have the Rivals 275 and 315 18's ride better than the Kumho XS I had.

[Duke]

Funny, I was just figuring out what size Avon's and Hoosier R7's for my 15's and 17's.

For 18's, Rivals are the best. Lots of feedback from the guys running them on the Optima street car challenge series. That series is minimum 200 treadwear though and the tire apparently performs better for a lot of guys then the R888's. Most of those cars are +800-1000lbs on us though. BFG didn't have their production setup last year and got a lot of bad feedback for not having inventory and taking sometimes up to 9m to fill orders. I think most of that has been resolved though.

Two other brands to think about are Trofeo R's and Pilot sport cut 2's. Issue with these are they are not in 315 for rear, only 295. Something to think about though as another option.

[Sanford]

My 315's are wide for the 10.5" wheels I have, wish they were 11's or so. 295's fit square on a 10.5"

[edwardb]

For reference, specs on the FF 18-inch wheels: Front 18 x 9, recommended tire size 255/35 ZR18, Rear: 18 x 11, recommended tire size 315/30 ZR18. They are huuuuge, as a certain presidential candidate might say... These are the Rivals on the FF rims:

245 fronts:
http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Wheels%20and%20Tires/th_IMG_4126_zps8qbvd53a.jpg (http://s867.photobucket.com/user/edwardb123/media/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Wheels%20and%20Tires/IMG_4126_zps8qbvd53a.jpg.html)

315 rears:
http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Wheels%20and%20Tires/th_IMG_4127_zps6ynwdkck.jpg (http://s867.photobucket.com/user/edwardb123/media/Factory%20Five%2020th%20Anniversary%20Mark%204%20R oadster/Wheels%20and%20Tires/IMG_4127_zps6ynwdkck.jpg.html)

[wareaglescott]

thanks everyone!

Did I read somewhere there is something unique about how these get mounted? Something about the valve stem or something?

[wareaglescott]

Turns out the BFG rival S where not available for my local dealers or tire rack at this time for the rear tire. Tire rack was advertising 9/16/16 availability.
I ended up ordering the Falken Azenis RT615K 245/40/18 & 315/30/18.
The reviews I read seemed positive.
Quite honestly I doubt I ever will drive the car beyond 85% of its ability if that so I think I will be happy with these.
Thanks for the input in the thread.

[Jazzman]

I like your choice. Those look like very nice tires. Cool tread pattern too! It doesn't make any difference for your decision, but for anyone else still looking for 18" tires, I chose the Nitto Invo Performance Sport Tires. I liked the treadwear and traction ratings. A bit better wear, but still very sticky. The only downside is that they do not make a 315 for the rear. The widest they make is a 295. It is not a huge difference, but it is a difference. They fit well on the 18x11 rims, and look good. The side wall is perfectly vertical, not spayed outward like so many other tires that are too wide for their wheels. At least this gives everyone at least one more choice.

[edwardb]

thanks everyone!

Did I read somewhere there is something unique about how these get mounted? Something about the valve stem or something?

I said something about the valve stems in my current build thread. I think I read about it another place or two as well. This is what I said -- Factory Five no longer provides valve stems with the wheels, and the tire store had an issue getting either standard or bolt-in stems to fit. Jay at FF knew exactly what valve stem to use (standard TR413 rubber pull-through) and gave me instructions to pass to the installer. They were able to complete the installation.

Update: That was about four months ago. Tires have since been mounted on the chassis, go-kart completed, etc. Holding air fine. So all is good. I did put some shiny covers and caps on the stems. Got to have my bling.

[David Hodgkins]

.../Update: That was about four months ago. Tires have since been mounted on the chassis, go-kart completed, etc. Holding air fine. So all is good. I did put some shiny covers and caps on the stems. Got to have my bling.

Just watch out with the bling. Those caps are really shiny and you don't want to overdo it!!

;)

[edwardb]

Just watch out with the bling. Those caps are really shiny and you don't want to overdo it!!

;)

You're right. Wouldn't want to overdo it. That's why I didn't engine turn them. :rolleyes:

[JRL16]

Went with the Falken. Good looking tire with nice tread pattern. Installer scratched one of the rear rims so he agreed to replace it. Save yourself some hassles and let them know more than three times how careful they need to be.

[wareaglescott]

Went with the Falken. Good looking tire with nice tread pattern. Installer scratched one of the rear rims so he agreed to replace it. Save yourself some hassles and let them know more than three times how careful they need to be.

Glad you said that. I think I may give the interior of the rims the blue tape treatment before dropping them off. I am a fan of the blue tape. It is covering about 1/3 of my car and parts at this point! haha

[JRL16]

Tape wouldn't have saved my wheel. It's that bad. Looks like an ice pick was taken to it!