pinito

I am looking to buy new tires for my 8.5" OEM 18" wheels (gunmetal). I originally put Pirelli Pzero Nero M&S on them in the recommended 235/40/18 size - big mistake - no rim protection. I am now looking to replace with 245/40/18s (I have seen several threads indicating this is OK), 255s are too wide for my taste.

My questions:

What tires you have purchased in this size for these rims?
All season or summer?
How is the rim protection with the tires you chose?
Other thoughts on your choice?

I wanted to put another set of Pirelli P Zero Nero M&S but after seeing the specs I feel the 245s will still not provide adequate protection. The 235 section width is 9.5" while the 245 section width is 9.6" (I could not believe it at first but Tire Rack confirmed). This is only 2.5mm, which will let my rim stick out too much.

I am considering:

Michelin Pilot Sport A/S - pricey (heard they wear fast - can anyone confirm?)
Bridgestone RE750 - heard it is noisy - any experience
Falken Ziex512 - great reviews but don't know much about it

Any help will be appreciated! Thanks in advance.

db252

pinito-

I have these wheels and they are wearing Toyo Proxes 4's in the 245/40/18's. This is a ultra high performance all-season tire that I am very impressed with and was motivated to buy at friends of mine experience. Rim protection??..........Lets just say I am very aware of curbs. The 245's help and it is noticeable over the 235's but I would not say that they are protected much better. The tire does stick out slightly past the rim. Even if you did put 255's on, the chances of damaging your rim while brushing a curb is still high. Rubber and air will always move but the rims won't.

Lore

I'm using Bridgestone Potenza RE750s on my 18x8.5 rims. I bought them in the 234/40/18 size. I am VERY aware of curbs as well (as db252 mentioned). They're a little noisier than the stock tires - you can kind of hear a low rumble as you drive - but it's nothing that's unbearable.

Performance wise, they seem to stick pretty well.

MasterShake

iTrader: (1)

I don't even have A-Spec rims much less the 8.5" ones and I've read and posted in this thread, so HA!







sorry for the useless repy....I had to do it.

db252

Wha?

pinito

Thanks for the input guys. Any others?

SBTL

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my OEM Yoko AVS ES 100’s lasted only 6000 miles. I won’t be buying those again. I chose the Bridgestone Potenza RE750 245/40/18 at Costco over the Falken Azenis ST115 245/40/18. Both have higher treadwear ratings (>340) compared to the Yoko’s (I think it was 240). I chose the Bridgestone’s because I wanted a road hazard warranty with a local merchant. The Falken’s were much less expensive online at tires.com (Discount Tire) but when I priced them locally they were as much as the Bridgestone’s. Since Acura is replacing my 04 A-SPEC 18x8.5” wheels with the 05 18x8 wheels which haven’t arrived yet (related to trashed rims with too narrow 235/40/18 tires), I can’t give you a report. I’m hoping that the narrower wheel with the wider tires will give me some good rim protection. The reviews on the Bridgestone’s at tirerack.com were good but they don’t sell Falken’s. I’ll report back when I have them installed, probably in a week or so.

jchcmax

I don't have ASpec wheels but I do have SSR Competition 18x8.5
with Falken 451, 245/40/18


What tires you have purchased in this size for these rims? Falken 451
All season or summer? "AA" traction, Z rated, more likely summer
How is the rim protection with the tires you chose? Good protection, it's just a little over the lip.
Other thoughts on your choice? Ride's stiff!!!!!!!! Maybe I need to wear them in more so they'll soften up.

dcarlinf1

I think tire rack gave you some bad info.

235 means 235 millimeters (9.25 inches)
245 means 245 millimeters (9.64 inches)

The difference is actually 10 millimeters (not 2.5) or 0.39 inches. It doesn't matter whether you get Pirelli's or Michelins or anything else. All 245's are going to be the same width. But, they won't protect your rims any better than 235's really. I run 245 Pirelli's on my 18x8.5 rims. You just need to be careful around the curbs regardless. I may go with 255's next time. But, not to protect the rims. It would be so that I can get more rubber on the road for traction.

pinito

Thanks, but now I am confused. What is the section width? Bridgestones in 245 have a section width of 9.8" wheras the Pirellis in the sake size have one of 9.6". Wouldn't a tire with a wider section width protect the rim better?

dcarlinf1

I'm not sure what the section width is. Maybe a wider section width WILL protect the rims better. I believe the 235/245 numbers are actually the tread width. Sorry, I don't know anything about section width. I'm sure someonce here can answer that part.

Lore

Regardless of what terminology the tire manufacturer/retailer is using, what you want is the most tire "bulge" you can find. The 235 or 245 numbers are simply the amount of tread available - and then there's the bulge measurement, which is essentially the overhang that will protect the sides of your rims.

Lore

Costco will install 18" tires for you? None of the Costcos here will do that for me. They claim the 18" wheels are too big.

By the way, I've owned my RE750s for about 8500 miles and they still have about 7/32 left (assuming new is about 10/32)

brahtw8

Unfortunately, tires do vary by manufacturer. Neither tire is going to be exactly 245 in width.

I have Dunlop D40M2 225s that are considerably wider than my Blizzak LM22 225s. They are equal to if not greater in width than my Yokohama 235s.

I have also seen actual tire dimension data vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.

pinito

Per Tire Rack tech center: section width is the measurement across the tire from the widest point of its outer sidewall to the widest point of its inner sidewall when mounted and measured on a specified width wheel.

Therefore, a larger section width will result in wider bulge but as we have determined this varies within a size by manufacturer.

SBTL

I decided to get Falken ST115's after all but Costco would have installed the Bridgestones because my A-SPEC 18x8 wheels are OEM

bigbooboo

Toyo Proxes 4's in the 245/40/18's here. I got them at edge racing and will the have acura dealer put them on. How did someone here get Acura to replace the rims? Any way good luck on picking a tire, there are lots of good ones out there. KC

ARX-01b

iTrader: (1)

I have the Falken Ziex 512 in a 245. Extremely happy with the tire. For $90 a tire you can't go wrong. If I can find the right deal I am going to try and do 265/40/18'd nrxt go round.

Lore

Oh, that wasn't the issue. They claimed not to have the machinery or expertise to mount/dismount 18" tires.

insmanblue

Well I have the rims that you are talking about. I even have the 255s and I scraped my front rim the other night. The Michelins have a rim protector but it didn't help me. Since you are concerned about rim rash as you should be I would get the narrower 05 rims with the 8" widths and the widest tires and then you would have a better chance of some real rims protection.

tgt

iTrader: (1)

18x8.5" Gunmetal A-spec's with 245/40/18" Falken ZE-512's here. Definately better than 235's (as others have said), but if you hid a curd, you're going to mess up your wheel, no doubt about it (even with the rim protector on these tires).....

-Travis

brahtw8

Gotta watch out for the curd in Wisconsin.

tgt

iTrader: (1)

Indeed.....squeaky fresh, or fried....fattening just the same.

OK, Obviously I meant CURB! :blaze:

EmuMessenger

Are the 8.5's still available?

Aside from the protection issue, are there any other problems?

cM3go

You'd be hard pressed to find them, but I'm sure there are still available somewhere.

brahtw8

Mine will likely be for sale within the next two years.

Pro Stock John

I'd maybe have some interest in gunmetal aspecs... i'm in chicago.

pinito

tgt

iTrader: (1)

Agreed, aside from availability there aren't any issues with the wheels.

-Travis

pinito

Has anyone installed the 245 Zero Nero on these rims?