Petitioning Hankook for 255/40R15 RS3
 

Not sure how much interest their will be for this here (I hope tons), but I figured I would go ahead and share it:

Hey guys, so I know many of us have been itching for larger tires to put on our 15x10s and 15x9s. Bobby and I are starting a petition/community effort to convince manufacturers that making these tires will have a market.

Specifically we are aiming to get Hankook to make a 255/40R15 Ventus RS3. We have written up a template e-mail, but we ENCOURAGE you to write your own e-mail with any unique ideas of why this tire is good that may not be included in the template. Lastly, we would really appreciate it if you voice your support in the thread, which will easily allow us to keep rough estimates of people's interest.

Website:
http://www.hankooktireusa.com/techbo...Num=3&subNum=4
Template:

There is no doubt the 225/45/15 RS-3 has become a very popular tire for those who need a great sticky tire for smaller cars. It is thought of as the fastest tire we currently have at our disposal without full blown race tires. With the huge popularity of this tire, has the company thought of creating wider versions?

The 225/45/15 is already very competitive with tires even outside of its class, but it is too small for higher HP applications. A 245/40/15, 255/40/15, or 275/35/15 could be an awesome tire for the powerful small cars or just small cars that are looking for the ultimate in grip while still having decent tread life.

Avon already makes a 245/40/15 which is stock on the caterham, but it is a rather poor choice in tire. They don't even sell them in the US. Hoosier makes 245/40/15, 255/40/15, and 275/35/15 in the a6 and r6 compound. These are quite popular competition tires, but a lot of these cars are street cars too. Many v8 swaps or turbo cars just dont have a sticky tire option for the street.

Cars that could benefit from wider 15" RS-3s:

Mini cooper
Miata
Mx5
Neon
Focus
Caterham
Ae86
180sx
Older porches
Civic
Integra
Sentra
MR2
etc...

Many wheel companies are now producing wider 15" wheels now. 15x9-15x10 wheels are readily available off the shelf from companies like Rota, XXR, 949racing, as well as any of the custom wheel producers. In custom wheels many companies support wheel sizes up to 15x12 for barely a premium over their 15x7-15x8 counterparts.

I hope that your company can help make many enthusiasts faster and safer with a larger 15" tire. Our small cars are traction limited. We should change that.

I personally,would love to see this! Count me for a trial set.

Me too! I'll take a set for mini and miata.

make sure to send them an e-mail! As we get more people on forums to respond to these thread, we hope to links out to Hankook to see the support this idea has. Hence why I encourage you guys to post a support message if you like this idea!

This is a good idea.

Trying to help here:
You should definitely proofread what you have there before pressing send or they will never take you seriously. There are misspellings, cars that don't exist by those names being referred to, and cars that are omitted entirely that would be a possible match. I would even include year model ranges if you wanted to gain credibility for the proposition. If you are going to do it, do it well.

Sent

thanks for the suggestion Steve, I didn't write the Template but I would like to get your help on this. I will PM you about it and perhaps you can help me write up a more professional one.

This and inaccurate information. Hoosier does not make a 245/40/15 or 255/40/15 in A6 or R6. They do make the 275/35/15 in both and a 245/50/15 in R6 only.

Are you guys all prepared to run 30+mm flares front and rear to run a 255/40-15 on a Miata? Getting the 245/580s on the car was not even remotely plug&play.

That size tire wont fit on a 15x9 with roll?

225s require front/rear roll and they polish the shock towers. 255s will require a big pull front/rear, if they fit at all.

Here's the 245/580 on a 15x9:
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1325207182

If they'd produce a "street" tire that needs them, yes.

Exactly my point Andrew, they will fit on 9's. Just because a 225 is faster on a 9 and a 245 is faster on a 10 doesn't mean you HAVE to have a 10. A 245 is faster than a 225 on a 9 is my guess.

I am on an NB, If I can barely fit 225/45 with a roll on a x9, then I am pretty sure I can get 255/40 with a roll and a pull. If not, then **** yes I will flare the car.

From what I know through work, I believe Toyo has the capabilities to do this right now. They have a segmented mold machine that they build certain lines of tires in. I believe they can simply add a spacer into the 225/45/15 mold to make a wider version tire. Theoretically, they could take their 225/45/15 r1r mold, put r888 tread rubber and a spacer or two in and rock and roll.
At least, thats how it was presented to me in a slideshow by toyo regional people.

Who are you talking to? I never said anything about wheel width. I am talking about the tire itself interfering with the shock tower and the fender, regardless of what you mount it on. The pic I posted is a 245/580 Hoosier on a 9" 6UL, and it fouls the fender big time. That's not even full bump, either.

I'm not dissuading you guys, I would LOVE to see a 255mm RS3 become available. Just making sure you all understand what's necessary to fit them.

Thanks for the support and just to follow up with everyone's suggetions on the template, I am working on a new one with Steve. I didn't write this one, and did not mean for it to sound like a joke or anything. expect an update to it by tomorrow night.

Subbed for the new template.

I'd be more worried about their manufacturing capacity, this needs big improvement. They couldn't supply 225/45/15 RS3s for shit. Tirerack said they were getting 8 tires at a time, and shipping them out soon as they got them.

I run 275 A6s on 15x9s and don't have more than the roll and pull that a regular fender roller offers, probably depends a lot on how low you go... After buying savington's old Koni's and GCs, I can tell you I prefer to have the car quite a bit higher off the ground he does :)