Going to be adding a turbo soon to my 1995 NA but need to replace the tires now as they are 15 years old (recently got this car from PO), and might as well do the wheels at the same time. Looking to have 200-250rwhp, entirely street driven, some rain but not often, CA weather. Here's my rough order of priorities:

1. Looks/stance (wide tread)
2. Noise
3. Grip
4. Ride comfort
5. Cost
7. Tread life
6. Trackability

With that said, I'm looking at 15x8 ET25 paired with Continental Extreme Contact Sport 225/45R15. Given that I care little about tread life (<5k miles/year) I'm also considering 200tw options as well, but I understand those increase noise and discomfort.

Downside is that Ill probably need a substantial fender roll.

Opinions? Thoughts?

 

I just went down the rim/tire combo rathole.

if you are street driving and want to run a 225, then run a 15x9 if you have coilovers.

if your car isn’t going to see a lot of track time, then a 205 on a 15x8 is a better option and cheaper.

 

Why 15x9 vs 15x8? I was under the impression the wider rim would make for a harsher ride, but does make for a better track setup. I'll add that I do not like the stretched tire look. I do have Tokiko coilovers.

 

You mentioned you wanted the wider look. Wider rim = wider look. As far as ride quality, the straighter the sidewall the stiffer it is. Match the section width to rim width

 

There is two logics about wheel sizing. There is a slight benefit to running a wider wheel width that is out of spec to minimize the sidewall deflection. I have two sets of 15X8 RPF1's one with 225 rival S and the other with 205 ECs. They both work well. The 8" wheel is lighter than a 9 and does ride a little better than a stretched combo. Wider is sexier though.

 

I don't think it's going to need a roll for that tire and wheel combo. I am so glad you did not specify an et0 wheel. The 225s on an 8 will be just fine on the street and it will protect the edge of the rim better than on a 9 inch wheel. You are not chasing fractions of a second on the track so I wouldn't worry about everything being optimal for that. 8-in wheel will also be a little bit lighter than the 9 inch and will help with acceleration and braking.

The most important place to spend your money is going to be on properly valved shocks or you are going to hate driving your car.

 

I think you'll find the Continental Extreme Contact Sport is not available in a 225.

 

Ah shoot i think you're right. Turns out i was looking at the extreme contact force which is a 200tw tire.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/continental-extremecontact-force

 

Got it. I have both the ECS and the ECF in 205 width on my 115whp 1.6. For an endurance race tire the ECF come up to temp quickly on track but in my experience they're a bit wanting in wet/cold traction for a street tire - below 40 degrees or in the rain my little 1.6 becomes a drift machine.

If you'll drive in temps under 45 degrees or heavy rain I might consider the 205 Bridgestone RE71RS over the 225 ECF if the 205 Conti ECS (the best 15" street/rain tire) doesn't offer the dry grip you're after. Unfortunately the 225 RE71RS is a 50-sidewall instead of a 45.