225/50/14 Rub?

[ksbeta]

I've been reading everything I can on the site with regards to this size, but haven't seen a definitive answer yet. Could use some help, if someone is running these. Have an opportunity to purchase an unused set of TOYO RA1 tires in 225/50R/14. This is appealing to me since I have two 14" wheelsets in the garage, and no good rubber (haven't found the cahones to buy a 15" wheel yet).

The car will have Tokico springs and Illumina struts. They're going on next week, so I don't have any experience yet with this height/setup.

Can anyone hazard a guess how much rub I'm going to have? I'm worried that it'll just be way too wide. The car came with 215/60/14 installed (though I never got to run them), but my math, however poor, shows that the 225/50/14 would actually be 1.27" narrower (24.13" vs. 22.86") in diameter.

Any insight would be appreciated; you could potentially save me money and a headache.

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[Marty Rogan]

I have not run that exact size, but I did run RA1's in 225/50/15 on zero offset Rewinds with no rubbing. It also depends on if you have the stock front valance or an air dam on the front. If you have an air dam, it should be no problem. If you have the stock valance, you may have to roll the front lip of the fender a little bit.

RA1's are a great track tire. I would not run on the street though. They have a 140 tread wear rating and the street would wear them out in no time at all.

Hope that helps.

Marty

[ksbeta]

Marty - Thanks!

Looks like the offset of my wheels will also factor into it; I need to measure those tonight.

The car does have the stock front valence. And while I hope to get it on the track, it's more realistic that the bulk of the driving at first will be on the road (can't wait to get it out to Skyline Drive in the spring).

Perhaps these aren't the right solution for me. I need to man-up and buy some 15" wheels.

Thanks again Marty.

[John Coffey]

A 225/50-14 on a 7" wide wheel will probably not rub if the wheel is zero offset (3.5" backspace). You might have to roll the rear fender lip. Also, most DOT-R tires (RA1, V710, A6, etc.) are wider then the numbers on the tire indicate. A Hoosier 225/50-14 is actually 230mm across the tread. Companies that make the DOT-R tires tend to cheat a bit to give their tires a competitive advantage.

And the RA1s last reasonably well on the street. I ran a set of 225/50-16s on my Contour SVT and got 14,000 miles on them, including a couple dozen track days, On light car like a S30 the should last a while.

Edited November 19, 2012 by John Coffey

[ksbeta]

John, Thank you for the insight. I'll really need to measure the wheel, but I suspect they have a negative offset. Someday I'll figure this wheel & tire thing out.

These are the wheels. If you really squint, you might be able to see why I'm replacing the tires.

[5thhorsemann]

FWIW, I'm running P235/60R 14's (0 offset) with a stock vallance and stock ride height. I only get rubbing up front with the wheels turned all the way to the right when backing up. there was a slight rub in the back on big bumps before I installed the new struts and Cosmo Racing springs (super stiff ride). I can adjust the ride height down about 1.5 inches before I get any rubbing in forward driving, but I like the car sitting up high for street use.

[ksbeta]

Thanks 5thhosemann. Any chance you have a photo of those on the car? I'd like to see that size on there.