What is with low profile tires?

[sasto]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

holy crap, is that coming back?
Now it is all about the big rims, seems kinda silly to me but I am old.

I had a hard time going from steel rims on my old Firebird to alloy. Then dang...they threw in tires that were radial.

"baggy pants bother me more than big rims"

 

[sasto]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

i knew there would be at least one here that had 'em. LOL can hardly notice them in that pic though, the pretty girls distract you.

The Admiral will like reading this, Thanks, avenger

The other one is my sis............ but I am from WV. :facepalm:

 

[DaNinja]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

I put 20" wheels on the old Dodge with 275 Goodyears like the new Rams were coming out with. The look and stance works and I figured it would give room for a bigger brake package. Well...I've discovered that is pretty much a self-dictated requirement since the new, bigger rims are destroying my stock brakes. I'm thinking of going back to stock wheels and tires when I get new tires this year.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

Well...I've discovered that is pretty much a self-dictated requirement since the new, bigger rims are destroying my stock brakes.

If you didn't change the overall diameter of the tire, the stock brakes should be fine. If you changed the offset of the wheel(likely), you may have caused other problems.

That's why changing rims from what came from the factory is a crap shoot. I changed rims on a Suburban from the stock steel to aluminum(same exact tires) and it had a pretty bad shimmy. On my Lexus GS300 people have started changing to lower profile with varying results.

Personally, I like paying $100/tire instead of over $200/tire.

 

[642mx]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

Yep! You've got to clear those big brakes the newer cars come with.

Here is a good pic of the brakes on our new ride...

Those are 18" rims with 50 series tires. The side wall is actually pretty tall compared to some sports cars.

 

[QC]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

What's even more of a pain in the arse is staggered tires. Maaaaannnn, it really makes shopping hard. Helping a friend of my wife's get tires for a 2006 325i. They are 225 45 17's in the front and 255's 40 17 in the rear. Who do you know drives hard enough to see the benefit of these? Maybe there are clearance issues, but jeez. Annnnnnd, they came with run flats. She doesn't have any money and she wants the run flats. They're flippin; $250 each (less on the fronts and more on the rears). I finally found her a set of regular ones for $300 and she keeps talking about the run flats. "Do you have $1100 for tires?" "No." "Then shut up . . . " :facepalm:

 

[bruceb58]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

My neighbor has a 5 series BMW wagon/SUV. The tires on that car run around $500 each and last less than 20K.

It gets even better. Another friend's Mercedes all wheel drive SUV has the upgraded low profile wheels/tires. Snow cables/chains are not recomended by Mercedes so you can't take your all wheel drive Mercedes up into the mountains if chains are required.

 

[puddle jumper]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

I was told by the tire guy at my work that the low profile tire came about due to the rubber trees getting cut down to plant other crops.

I to opted out for 17's over 20's on my tow vehicle to increase my trucks payload. Still not cheep for good 10ply side wall.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

Oddly enough, there are places in Memphis where you can LEASE wheels like these. Not the car, the wheels.:facepalm:

 

[lncoop]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

The Admiral will like reading this, Thanks, avenger

The other one is my sis............ but I am from WV. :facepalm:

Well, that splains a lot (says the Arkie).

 

[lncoop]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

Oddly enough, there are places in Memphis where you can LEASE wheels like these. Not the car, the wheels.:facepalm:

Here too. Rent 'n Roll I believe it's called. Guess priorities vary.

 

[bassman284]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

Well...it gets worst lol...http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1594874

Some seriously sick stuff on the site.

 

[hostage]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

Well I completely understand for a sports car that has large brakes and needs the better support of a low profile tires at high speed turns. I would say it looks really nice on a Porsche, Corvette, Camero, and etc.

Though just hearing my g/f gripe about her experiences is worst of all. We live in Rochester, NY where the weather is bad in the winter and the ice/snow/salt tears up the road and leaves NOT potholes, but craters/sink holes. She feels everyone of them, in my MDX/tow vehicle I don't even notice them.

Also we checked out her tires yesterday and the front tires were pretty much balded, were a tidbit more worn in the inside than the outside. I guess we will never buy Continental DWS tires EVER again or buy from Tire Rack. I think I will stay local so I don't have to go through this crap again.

 

[jtmarten]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

What's even more of a pain in the arse is staggered tires. Maaaaannnn, it really makes shopping hard. Helping a friend of my wife's get tires for a 2006 325i. They are 225 45 17's in the front and 255's 40 17 in the rear. Who do you know drives hard enough to see the benefit of these? Maybe there are clearance issues, but jeez. Annnnnnd, they came with run flats. She doesn't have any money and she wants the run flats. They're flippin; $250 each (less on the fronts and more on the rears). I finally found her a set of regular ones for $300 and she keeps talking about the run flats. "Do you have $1100 for tires?" "No." "Then shut up . . . " :facepalm:

LOL, especially if the 3-series has as much neg rear camber as my 540i sport (which I doubt). With 2.0-2.5* neg, I can shred a pair of rear tires in less than 10K miles without being hard on them. I run 18" 235's up front, 265's rear in the warm months. Since I don't track it, I've had as much of the neg camber pulled out to increase tire wear, I now get about 25K from the rears.
Rotating is what really sucks (sucks the bank acct balance!) with a staggered setup. Dismount/swap/remount/balance=$$$
Why would she want run flats if she has a spare in the trunk?? AAA is much cheaper!

 

[WIMUSKY]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

Oddly enough, there are places in Memphis where you can LEASE wheels like these. Not the car, the wheels.:facepalm:

I must say, that is butt ugly........ As far as low profile on trucks, I guess a big factor is where you live. Up north in the woods and snow they would suck. Low profile and traction usually don't go hand in hand. You would have to have 2 sets of tires, winter and summer. On a car they're great for increased handling. I had a '89 Firebird with low profiles. Boy could that thing corner. Granted, the suspension played a big roll too. Truck, not so much.....

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

The wifes SUV has 60,000 miles on the same 40,000 mile warranteed factory tires when bought. Will probably buy new in the Fall. Also haven't had to have the brakes replaced yet.

 

[korygrandy]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

I have 22's on my tow vehicle. I take them off in the winter because it's hard to drive with them on in snow and I don't want them to rust. The tires are about $275 a piece for Toyo's...not too shabby in my opinion. When you have 2 pairs of shoes they last longer than 1 pair of shoes. Plus...I want to turn heads when I drive, I want people to say Hey man I passed you the other day on Hwy 35 or hey man I saw you were eating at Arby's yesterday. It's about recognition and turning heads for me. I don't want the same stock vehicle everyone else has...that's boring.

 

[jkust]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

I have 22's on my tow vehicle. I take them off in the winter because it's hard to drive with them on in snow and I don't want them to rust. The tires are about $275 a piece for Toyo's...not too shabby in my opinion. When you have 2 pairs of shoes they last longer than 1 pair of shoes. Plus...I want to turn heads when I drive, I want people to say Hey man I passed you the other day on Hwy 35 or hey man I saw you were eating at Arby's yesterday. It's about recognition and turning heads for me. I don't want the same stock vehicle everyone else has...that's boring.

I've never actually seen anyone say/type that. I like to stay under the radar and don't want to get noticed when I drive. My wife has chrome rims on her new midsized suv (our tow vehicle) and that is even a little blingy for me. Don't get me wrong, I like the look of a nice vehicle and some addons but don't like drawing attention on the road. I like to get noticed on the water and ramps with the boat but not in the car. Probably why my last speeding ticket was in 1993 but am a lead foot.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

hey man I saw you were eating at Arby's yesterday. It's about recognition and turning heads for me.

I don't know if I wanted people knowing I ate at Arby's.

I guess I never got into having to impress people by what my car looked like. Guess that's just me.

 

[Redneck_Randy]

Re: What is with low profile tires?

Cars or trucks with tires and rims like that are called Donks