Tire help please

[Arch]

I have a MK3.1 running Sumi’s. Rear 315/35 17, Front 245/45 17. They have served me well as cruising tires. The fronts are 11 years old, +- 30,000 miles, are hard and likely dangerous. Rears are 5 years old. Time to upgrade. Toyo R888R’s, or Nitto NT05’s, or???
Problem is, I can’t find matching front and rear’s in those sizes. In one older thread, Jeff Kleiner mentioned using 255/40s on the front.
Question: Can I change front tire size and still make this work? Or does someone have a source for matching tires in my sizes?
Thanks, Arch

[GoDadGo]

I have a MK3.1 running Sumi’s. Rear 315/35 17, Front 245/45 17. They have served me well as cruising tires. The fronts are 11 years old, +- 30,000 miles, are hard and likely dangerous. Rears are 5 years old. Time to upgrade. Toyo R888R’s, or Nitto NT05’s, or???
Problem is, I can’t find matching front and rear’s in those sizes. In one older thread, Jeff Kleiner mentioned using 255/40s on the front.
Question: Can I change front tire size and still make this work? Or does someone have a source for matching tires in my sizes?
Thanks, Arch

Arch,

The 255/40-17 will work out nicely with the 315/35-17 and are just a tad shorter than the rears so they look great and fit well.
Also, I've been buying tires from Discount Tire forever (40 Years) and they've never let me down.

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/

Good Luck & I Hope This Helps!

Steve

[Jeff Kleiner]

Hey Arch,
Long time no see! I actually prefer 255/40-17 on a 9” rim. The 245/45-17 is a little “stretched” on a 9 incher. If you’ve been satisfied with the Sumis I suggest that you consider a set of Nitto 555G2 for a cruising tire. They are better than the Sumitomos by an order of magnitude in the dry and will tolerate cool &/or wet well. The NT-05 is a step up from the 555G2 in ultimate performance but don’t do particularly well in cool or wet and the R888R are a big step up from the NT-05; they grab like a cat on carpet in the warm and dry but aren’t suitable for cool or wet. They’ll be used up by 5,000 miles as well.

Cheers,
Jeff

[BradCraig]

Hey Arch,
Long time no see! I actually prefer 255/40-17 on a 9” rim. The 245/45-17 is a little “stretched” on a 9 incher. If you’ve been satisfied with the Sumis I suggest that you consider a set of Nitto 555G2 for a cruising tire. They are better than the Sumitomos by an order of magnitude in the dry and will tolerate cool &/or wet well. The NT-05 is a step up from the 555G2 in ultimate performance but don’t do particularly well in cool or wet and the R888R are a big step up from the NT-05; they grab like a cat on carpet in the warm and dry but aren’t suitable for cool or wet. They’ll be used up by 5,000 miles as well.

Cheers,
Jeff

My R88R's pick up rocks from the next county....And will be used up before 5k!

[Papa]

The Nitto 555 G2 tires are nice. Summit Racing caries them in a huge range of sizes:

https://www.summitracing.com/search/product-line/nitto-nt-555-g2-tires/part-type/tires?fr=part-type&SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending

I had them on my 17" wheels, and when I bought the 18" wheels, I went with Michelin Pilot Sports -- also a very good tire for street use with a real tread wear warranty!

[Arch]

Jeff,
I am reasonably sure the front Team III’s are 8 inch. Will the 255/40’s still work?
Arch

[Jeff Kleiner]

Jeff,
I am reasonably sure the front Team III’s are 8 inch. Will the 255/40’s still work?
Arch

Nitto recommends a 7.5" minimum rim width for 245/45 and an 8.5" minimum for 255/40.

Jeff

[caesarmascetti]

I have a MK3.1 running Sumi’s. Rear 315/35 17, Front 245/45 17. They have served me well as cruising tires. The fronts are 11 years old, +- 30,000 miles, are hard and likely dangerous. Rears are 5 years old. Time to upgrade. Toyo R888R’s, or Nitto NT05’s, or???
Problem is, I can’t find matching front and rear’s in those sizes. In one older thread, Jeff Kleiner mentioned using 255/40s on the front.
Question: Can I change front tire size and still make this work? Or does someone have a source for matching tires in my sizes?
Thanks, Arch


Replaced my Kumhos with the Nitto 555 G2 made a huge difference in ride quality and they are much better in cold weather

[Arch]

This community has never let me down. Thanks all for the help and ideas. Seems Nitto 555 G2’s will work for me.
Jeff, it has been too long. Maybe our paths will cross later this year. Hope so,
Arch

[Avalanche325]

R888s are equivalent to an NT01. Basically a track tire that you can drive to the track. 100TW. So about 5k miles.

NT05 is a 200TW. A street tire that you can use on the track. 200TW is a really good all around tire for a high performance car. 10 - 12k miles. Sounds low, but that is 2+ years of average FFR miles.

555G2 is a good street only tire, only not for a big HP car.

[AdamIsAdam]

I went with NT01 in the sizes you originally had.