255/40/17 Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Positions

 

^^^looks great!

I need new tires before winter. They crappy Ventus V12's that came on the car are not going to make it thru the winter.

I like the look of the 255's and the fact that they'll protect my brand new Type S wheels.
But I think the OE size would be better for me, since I live in the NE

Decisions, decisions ....

 

255/40/18 on 18 x 9.5 +40

Miro 112. by VisualEchos, on Flickr

Summer. by VisualEchos, on Flickr

Rear shot coming soon.

I have had this combo on for a while now, and I absolutely love it. The tire is a little taller than stock, so it takes up some of the wheel gap without me lowering the car. The tire I chose is grippier, so even with a slightly taller sidewall I get better performance AND a smoother, softer ride. Couldn't be happier really.

 

The car looks great but the pictures are even better

What tires did you end up going with? I want a bit more comfort for my next set but want longevity as well.

 

i agree......

 

What lens were you using? 85mm?

 

Thanks

I went with the Conti DW. I already have a set of Winter tires, so I wanted something pure Summer.

Yes, Nikkor 85 ƒ1.4G

 

I'm in the same boat, I have some crappy Dunlop Sport junk tires that sucked last winter and I wont want to drive with this time, but I want 255's, I see enough people say Conti DWS are good in snow so I'll probably get those in 255's, I think I'd be more limited by ground clearance, if the snow is anywhere near my bumper I'm just staying home until I cave and buy an SUV again. I feel like if I got a second set of rims with snow tires it won't snow, so I gotta stay with something decent and not too wide all season, my other car had 295 wide all seasons and wouldn't move in a dusting.

 

The Conti DW's are amazing!!! I have the 265's on my car now. I have a pair of new 255's in the garage to mount when the 265's wear out. I'm getting close to having to make a change.

Just like VisualEchos, I am a big fan of having a separate winter setup. There is no such thing as an all season jacket.... So why would you trust an all season tire? I highly recommend that you find another set of rim with a smaller width and mount some winter tires on them. Beefy set-ups do not work well in the snow

 

Glad I live in a place that rarely snows. Got to love Cali, except their vehicular laws.

 

I wanted 265's so bad, I mean, impossibly bad. But the 255 was a much better solution for me, 0 other mods, car drives like a dream, some of the wheel gap is gone, no rubbing, no camber needed, nothing, just put 'em on and go. For a daily it worked great.

 

Fixed it for you!

 

I honestly have the hardest time shooting this car. Oh well, there is plenty of time to practice. Driveway shot of the 255's.

Dat A55 by VisualEchos, on Flickr

 

Haha
They're not awesome
And you're right. No 255's for me...

 

Be sure to share All your practice with us!

 

Shots look really good. What cam do you have?

 

Thanks. Nikon D800 with a Nikon 20mm prime on that shot.

 

Oh my bad baller! Haha. Good choice in camera. I'm a Nikon man myself, but I can't afford such a baller cam. Keep shooting man. Shots look very good.

 

Looking for beefy 19 in tires for traction, what is the biggest wheel and tire that will tuck with a fairly good drop with a modest fender work ?

 

It depends on the kind of traction you want. Are we talking about drag racing or road-course?

 

You're going to be around 600whp, right?

May I suggest at least a Drag Radial? Don't mess around with extreme or max performance summer tires, they're not worth it. The Drag Radials are on a different level. Handling isn't totally ruined but the sidewalls will have more give to them. The compound is so soft that the car will corner better than any street tire, grip is immense but it will feel a little sloppy because of the sidewall.

19s aren't a good idea for straight line traction. 17s would be the better choice so you can run a taller sidewall.

If you want sharp cornering and good straight line traction, an R compound will work well. The compound will be similar to a Drag Radial but with a stiffer sidewall which is better for cornering and worse for straight line. The Nitto NT01 is a decent R compound and there are several others. If you search for that model, the other R compounds will pop up. They will all be very noisy and can not be driven in the rain.

If you must go with a street tire, the Hankook RS3 has the best grip of any street tire I've ever run. They approach R compounds in traction and turn in and response is razor sharp, almost R compound level. I run them on my TL and they compromise a bit more than any other street tire. They need a little temperature to grip. The tread needs to be about 100F to begin gripping. My car lifts the inside rear tire on these tires around corners. I got a measured 91' braking distance from 60mph if that tells you anything. They're also quiet and do ok in the rain. The tread does well at avoiding hydroplaning which is the biggest concern but the rubber doesn't grip that well in the wet. This tire is very aggressive for a street tire so much so that it compromises in a few areas as I mentioned but you will still blow them away in the first few gears.

Realistically the Drag Radials are the only tire that's going to have a chance of hooking decently from a dead stop. They need heat just like the others to work best but they actually hook decently without a burnout.

I can get into much more detail once I know the type of tire you're looking for.

One thing to keep in mind is tire construction and especially compound are much, much more important for traction than width.

 

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....22V2&tab=Sizes

these look good might have to get some drag radials for the front stock 17 inch wheels to play with
Will a 275 35 19 fit with the rigth wheel

 

With the perfect wheel-size/camber set-up, and the perfect tire, a 275 would fit, but you'd have to change all things to suit that. Better to get a 255 and change the rest of it to suit your needs.

 

Those are about the best you'll ever get in a street tire with few downsides besides wear. I love them, I'm addicted to them. As much as I liked the 3 sets of Nitto NT05s I ran, in dry traction there's nothing that really compares to the RS3. As I said, the hydroplaning resistance is fine but the compound isn't great in the wet, worse than a lot of tires. I've gone to pass someone at 45mph in the wet at half throttle and had traction control kicking in. Could have been the road too. Cold performance isn't too good either. Traction is ok in the winter but you have to drive for a while before it's decent.

The downsides sound kind of bad but for the amount of dry traction they have I think it's a good compromise. This tire is a really good balance right between a max performance summer tire and an R compound. That's the bad thing about tires unfortunately. There will always be a downside when one excels in one area. Some manage the downsides pretty well but you can never have it all. I think these fill the void between an R compound and street tire with people like us that don't mind sacrificing a little in other areas for dry traction and will drive accordingly when they're cold and in the wet.

 

anyone running a 18x9.5 20 or 22 offset with a 245??

 

+1 I run these on my Integra and the are excellent tires for the price! Idk how they are for extend periods(track time) but for autocross and quick runs they are great. They get up to temp quickly with a good grip.

 

A new shot of my car after the BC Racing coil-over drop.

Stock. by Andrew Thompson, on Flickr

 

you need sidewall, however I don't think my Supra rear 335/30/19 setup will fit the TL lol. it normally runs 305 or 315 in the rear. With the TL, i would stick with 40 series sidewall at a minimum.

 

Everyone is all about the rears, but damn those fronts on the Supra are huge! I love that look!!!

 

Thanks, the fronts are 275/35/19

 

I LOVE the MKIV Supras. I'm old enough to remember when BPU and BPU+, etc came to be.

One question , why didn't you go with NT05s in the front? Not only better traction but matching. I definitely think they're one of the best looking, most aggressive looking street tires on the market.

I agree that a 40 series is as short as you want to go on the TL with the width we can fit. Even with my 255/40 which are two sizes wider than stock, they're just a tiny bit shorter than stock. Most would never know the difference but it's still there. A 265/40 would be right there with stock height but I believe here are compromises to be made with that width.

How does the Supra run?

 

The nitto was a test run to see if I can properly run 335/30 without major body mods, realistically 325/30 or 325/25 would fit. I am running the same Pirelli 305/30 right now on the rear, eventually I'll do a new tire setup once I decided if I want to do body mods or not. I pretty gave up on traction below 60mph on the supra, I really need a 17 inch rear and some mlMickey Thompson if I want traction, the car is a small 63mm turbo with 569whp and 549trq. It runs great and does not really need anything and has been that way for a long time, I just lose interest sometimes so it just sits. I did about 900 miles last year and about 300 miles so far this year.

Regarding the TL, I think a 265/40 would be too much, after all its a FWD car. 245/40 or 245/45 is a good square setup and still remains comfortable for daily driving.

 

Stupid new account restriction won't let me edit anything so I apologize for the errors.

 

omg omg omg :d

 

Im running 19x9.5+25 with 245's... Only running - 2.6 camber. It's a lot of rolling, shaving and pulling to fit. But it looks good.

 

Holy. Shit. You are a god.

 

LOL. I can't go as low as I'd like since i dont want to run anymore camber.

 

After looking at the car like this for a while now, I think I like the 255/40 over the 265/35. The sidewall was just a tiny bit thick before I dropped it, but now that the level is correct, I think they look the business.

BC3

Click the link for direct 1920 size.

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/450/1...63eb02bb_o.png

 

^Pic is Beautiful!


Love the color as Well!

 

just a stock factory size with Michelin Pilot Super Sport.