The wheel sizes I went with:
19” x 9”, ET48; factory size 20″x 8″, ET57
19” x 10.5”, ET45; factory size 20″x 10″, ET45
For tire sizes, I decided to go with 245/40/19 on the front and 275/35/19 on the rear. So, I upsized the width on both the front and rear by 10 from the factory 235/265 sizing. The 245/40/19 front is a bit taller in overall diameter compared to the original 235/35/20 with a significantly fatter sidewall. With my chosen tire sizing, the front and rear overall diameters and sidewall heights are very similar. The factory sizing has the rear diameter larger than the front diameter. For the front, I had the option of doing a 245/35/19 tires, but I wanted the fatter sidewall. Notice that my new rear tire sizing is about 3% shorter in overall diameter compared to the factory size; so, that should translate effectively into 3% shorter gearing and better acceleration. There was no 275/40/19 size in the Bridgestone Potenza RE-71RS tires, so it wasn’t even an option to consider, but I would have gone with the 35-aspect ratio regardless for the better acceleration. 18” wheels and tires are very popular for dedicated track cars, but you can see the reduction in overall diameters which means a reduction in ride height. That’s no bueno for my street use. The 18″ wheel and tire setup would certainly be lighter and have faster acceleration from the smaller tire diameters.
I pulled the original tires off at 8,058 miles. The rear tire wear looked pretty good with the -2.5 deg of camber and 2mm or toe-in. We shall see how the Potenzas like this alignment.
Old tire vs new tire on the front. Again, the wear looks pretty even with -3 deg of camber and 9.5 deg of caster. The front tire wear is basically even with the rear wear too.
I went with a 10.5” wide rear wheel to avoid any clearance issues with the rear tie-rod. 10.5” wheel width works well with the 275 wide tire too.
If one were to go with a 19” x 11” rear wheel, an aftermarket rear tie-rod like I have installed is mandatory. With the 10.5” width, it would maybe be okay with the factory part.
