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215/45/16 Up Front

4K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  evansp60 
#1 ·
Only a 23.6" tall tire. Still shorter than factory. Tire rack shows the section width as being 8.4" on the Rival S 1.5s vs 8" for stock 195 A048s
Anyone running these?

I'm looking at XXR wheels which are 16x8, and I dislike the stretched look, plus trying to put as much tire up front as I can get without going to a 15" wheel setup
Rear would be 245/40/17, which I think is also right around stock height.
 
#2 ·
ok so I'm going to try this out and let everyone know.
My thought is that this might be a good middle ground for those that don't like the look of 15's but still want more front end grip.

They also make the XXR527s in 15s in +25 so there's no reason I couldn't get a set of matching 15" up front for under $200 if I need more grip up front.
 
#3 ·
I have xxr527 16x8 and 17x8.25
Tires are R888R in 205/45/17 and 235/40/17

The xxr527 has pretty aggressive offset (+20mm), and NEEDS a 6mm spacer to clear the front calipers. Puts you at +14 offset. You WILL NEED V2 arms and -2* camber.

Now put a wider 215 tire, and you should be fine, but i highly doubt it offers much more grip, and i doubt you actually need it. Just adds weight, money, and potentially rubbing.

You also cant go too low with this setup. At least I didnt. I would hate to see what happens if the front clam eats up the wheels during a deep compression.
 
#4 ·
I have the V2 arms and the negative camber is maxed out, and I still don't have enough front end grip. If the wider front tires don't help I'll machine the arms to go to -3 degrees.
With that offset and tire will I be closer to rubbing on the inside or the outside?

I can tear apart an engine and trans, but I still for the life of me can't get offsets corrcect, came from american cars where they talked about backspace in inches.
 
#5 ·
Revisiting this topic. 215/45 R16 on a bone stock Elise with LSS wheels... Think there will be rubbing concerns?

It's hard to say because I have had 205/50's which were ~0.6" taller but the section width was ~0.5" narrower (based on a 6.5" rim, not 7", so the tire could have been wider), and the tread was ~1" narrower than the stock 195/50 Yokohama's (man those have a wide contact patch!).

The 215/45 is now 0.7" wider section width (still 0.2" less tread width) on the same diameter, which seems like a lot to ask of a little car. But is width that close of a tolerance? Or is height the bigger concern? Unfortunately I dismounted my old tires already so I can't take measurements :(

Thanks,

Keith

p.s. Please do not try to sell me on a particular tire. I am just looking for information on fitment if anyone has any experience with this size.
 
#6 ·
Revisiting this topic. 215/45 R16 on a bone stock Elise with LSS wheels... Think there will be rubbing concerns?
.
Good luck getting them to heat up properly. This is the trouble, we think going with wider rubber is the solution for more front end grip. The problem is that a wider tire won't get hot enough to operate within the proper temp range that it needs. You end up with a wide tire that is cold with no grip. I've posted more info on my blog: Tire Selection

Of course, if you are taking tire temps and able to get within the optimal range, ignore my comments.
 
#10 ·
You guys are making too big of an issue off this when other reputable lotus vendors are autox ing with wider front r compounds which are harder to bring up to Temp.
They always do. The racer-group around here think they know everything about everything (especially tires :facepalm). Tires are inexpensive in the long run, so try what you want, it's no big deal if you don't live your life a 10th of a second at a time.
 
#8 ·
My question was "will it fit." It was not "will it come up to temperature." I don't live in California, I don't even know what "canyon runs" are and, I don't normally race my car. I use my car less than 1500 miles per year on the few sunny days we have between June and September. I'm looking for a size that doesn't upset my ABS which I believe was a problem with my previous choice since the fronts were so tall. If anyone on here has ever put a 215/45-16 on a stock Elise, that would be helpful. If I don't hear from anyone, I'm going to order them this week and hopefully have them installed in the next few weeks. I hope they will fit!

Keith
 
#9 ·
I run 225/45-16 fronts and 255/40-17 rears without any problem.
I don't understand the front grip issues, if you setup your camber and toe-in properly
you should be able to balance the car quite easily. I have a neutral to rear bias on my
car without the need for extravagent modifications. I track regularly so it's been well tested.
 
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