When I did the 245/580 fitment I took the spring out of the coilover, then compressed the suspension until the bumpstop started to compress/tire touched the top of the fender (I do get that level of compression on track, as evidenced by the tire marks inside the fender). It is entirely possible my standards for clearance are higher than others, but IMO you need full bump travel with no fender contact to say it fits.

Ian, what does your car weigh? When I last used those shocks, Theseus was ~2030lbs, so if your car is heavier you'll see a bit of drop. I did run the car fairly low, though, since those shocks are very short on droop travel.

My car is basically stock weight.. minus ac/ps + turbo and ebay radiator. Very valid point about bump clearance. We found out the hard way that the flanges for the bumper to fender need to be bent back some too. We're on the bump stops w/ the 1.4gs these tires generate on our local crappy surface... Need to get some real bump stops in there, as we occasionally get bad behavior from the instantaneously infinite spring rates. Surprisingly we don't get any rubbing with almost no bump stop though.

(edit attached a couple pics, showing 275 a6s on TR 15x9s, jacked up probably .25 to .5 inch from savington height)

I think there is a small market for this but the tire make s sense. Some of the other cars listed can fit a larger tire like this without fender modification possibly needed on the miata. I have been sending dunlop emails like this for a while trying to petition for a 225/45/15 star spec and haven't heard back from them once. Maybe I need to get something like this going.

I'm in for these....the wider the better. ESP with the SCCA making the "street tire" classes more competitive. The ONLY tire I can run right now is the 275/35/15 A6. A same sized tire in a RS3 or R1R would get all my business.....ESPECIALLY if they started offering a contingency.

If only there was an SSM equivalent street tire class :(

Message sent. I plan on buying a set of RS-3's this spring and I'd love if they could bring a larget size to market by that time.

+1. It would be awesome to see at least a 245 street tire but we have been dealing wih supply issues for years on 225s. I just cant see them expanding options when they cant meet current demands.

But oh there is

http://www.nationalstreettirechallenge.com/

Speculating is great, but its not going to get you the tire you want. If they contact us and tell us "hey, we can't make it because we can't meet the demand already" then fine, we will move on to another manufacturer. Otherwise, I think this should continue. I am waiting for Steve to respond before I post up the new template, I will give him a couple of hours.

That was my first thought as well. It does not bode well to mis-spell "Porsche" in such a context.

Working...

I'm tired of adjusting it. You guys run with it awhile. I'm passing the baton...

Soo Il Lee, President & CEO
Hankook Tire America Corp.
1450 Valley Road
Wayne, NJ 07470

Dear Sir,

Hankook Tire is very obviously a market-driven company dedicated to its loyal consumers. And there is no doubt that the Hankook Ventus RS-3 has become a popular tire among car enthusiasts, performance oriented drivers, open track day participants, and autocross competitors. Particularly in the 225/45R15 sizing, few others can compare. It has become known among many as the best choice in performance street and occasional track day tires for smaller sporty cars.

As you may know, many wheel manufacturers are now producing 15x9 and 15x10 wheels for the booming performance aftermarket. These new wheels are feeding the ever increasing numbers of enthusiasts that are constantly improving their street cars and taking part in open road course track days on major raceways like Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, or Sebring Raceway. But the tires currently available to the drivers in 235-255mm are track-only or DOT-legal slicks made by manufacturers like Hoosier and Continental and not true dual duty tires like the Hankook Ventus RS-3 (Hankook’s Ventus Z214 competition tire only comes in sizes up to 225/45/R15). This has created a quandary for people using 15x7 and 15x8 wheels who want to move up to the larger wheel and tire combinations, but do not want to leave the Ventus RS-3’s streetable use or longevity behind. Many sadly must use a smaller tire on a narrower wheel for the street and a pure race tire on a wider wheel on the track, leaving them with ill-fitting and less than optimal street wheel and tire combination. This also makes it necessary to bring the extra wheels and tires to the track to switch every track day, and then they must be switched back to drive home.

Many drivers have expressed on various car enthusiast forums, the desire for an aggressive, streetable, dual duty tire like the venerable Hankook Ventus RS-3 in a size that would complement the many 15x9 and 15x10 wheels readily available to them. Please consider making such a tire available to enthusiasts who wish to consume these tires regularly. What is particularly desired is a Ventus RS-3 tire in the 245/40 or 255/40 range of sizes to make full use of the 9 and 10 inch wide wheels. While there is a modest selection of R-compound tires available from other tire manufacturers in the 235-255mm range, there is still no maximum performance street compound tire available.

Having surveyed among drivers at open track days, autocross events and on several enthusiast forums, here is a partial list of cars that could benefit from a RS-3 of this size:

Acura Integra (1985-2002)
Chevrolet Camaro (1967-1992)
Chevrolet Corvette (1962-1982)
Dodge Neon/Neon ACR (1995-2005)
Ford Focus/Focus SVT (1998-present)
Ford Mustang (1964-2004)
Honda Civic (1984-2005)
Lotus 7, Super 7/Caterham/Birkin/Locost (1960-present)
Mazda 323/323GTX (1985-1989)
Mazda Miata (1990-2005)
Mazda Protégé (1989-1994)
Mazda RX7 (1979-1991)
Mini Cooper/CooperS (2001-present)
Nissan 200sx (1994-1998)
Nissan 240sx (1989-1998)
Nissan 240z/260z/280z/280zx/300zx (1969-1989)
Nissan Sentra/Sentra SE-R (1982-present)
Porsche 911/911s/911sc/911 Turbo (1965-1989)
Porsche 914 (1969-1976)
Porsche 924/924s/924 Turbo (1976-1982)
Porsche 944/944s/944 Turbo (1982-1991)
Toyota Celica (1971-2005)
Toyota Corolla (1983-1987) (Often called the AE86)
Toyota MR2/MR Spyder (1984-2007)

This is but a partial list generated by talk among drivers regarding their desires and needs. We are hopeful that Hankook will grace us with a Ventus RS-3 that fills this void in the marketplace. We will be forever grateful.

With humble regards,

XXXX





cc: Kim Hyun-Kyung, Vice-President of Public Relations

We need to change the tire size to 255/40 or 245/40

Dooo eeeet!

Edit: Dundidit.

Very well written letter. I will cross post onto a few other forums I am on.

Thanks, most of the credit goes to Steve. He spent the time researching model years and using big english words that I could only hope to learn when I am his age ;)

Just glad people are interested and willing to put forth effort. Let me know if they contact you with any information btw, it would be nice if they say "yes" or "No" so we know if we need to move on to another manufacturer.

This may or may not mean anything but...:

Aww, shucks! 'Twernt nothin'.

Wait, was that an old guy joke in there?

of course not! :giggle:

totally willing to crack the paint on all my fenders pulling the hell out of them for some 255s.