24 inch Tires??

[307 Regal]

225s are super narrow so what you might be gaining in compound and price point you will be losing in section width and contact patch.

Have you considered running drag radials on all four corners? Something like this may serve you better on an 8 or 9 inch wide rim: https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Toyo&tireModel=Proxes+TQ&partnum=55R6PXTQ

This is a lengthy one but I know you can hang.

There are a number of angles I'm looking at with this prospective buy.
First off, unfortunately, I can't use drag radials for the SCCA class I'm in because of the 200 treadwear limit. Otherwise I'd keep the current tires on my 16x8 rims which are 255/50/R16 Hankook C51s.

Secondly, the tires I decided on last night (but haven't yet bought and won't for a while) actually do come in 255&245/50/R16, but what I'm wanting to do is try to keep the section width basically the same as my wheel width. From what I've been reading, 225 & *235 (*which doesn't have a good selection at all) are the sweet spot for an 8 inch rim. Supposedly when your setup is pretty much "square" the tire won't be able to lean as much. I didn't notice that much with my Hankooks, maybe because as a race tire they have a way stiffer sidewall, maybe because my lower driving skill level didn't even think to look for it or know how yet. (Aside from extreme cases when I took too much air pressure out.) But I've definitely noticed this effect with my 235&255/60/R15 Cooper Cobras on my 15x7 T-type wheels. Other than just being able to make the car wobble with a firm push, you can actually feel the rims "traveling within the tire" during quick transitions. Lots of sidewall flex. Granted it is an All-Season.

Thirdly, the first step (looking at 225/55s) will be to get a tire that performs noticeably better than my Cooper Cobras, but still something that I can commute on for long distances and in the rain. No swapping wheels at events would be another bonus. The tire I'm looking at for this is a mid-tier tire around 300 treadwear. I was looking at either Yokohama S.Drive or BFG Sport Comp-2 (the latter of which available in 245&255). They're rated at 300 and 340 respectively. The Cooper Cobras are 440 with an All-Season tread pattern, for comparison. Supposedly the BFGs are better than the Yokohamas in the wet and have a better turn-in, and are evenly matched in the dry. Additionally, I do intend for the car to still be able to get a little loose on me because I've been learning an awful lot with each unintentional slide and push. I just intend to have tires that make it happen only slightly less often than my Cobras. In other words, still be able to get decent practice with slipping but not have it as a constant burden.
The second step (looking at 225/50s) would be to step up to a "max performance" summer tire (SCCA CAM-T legal maximum treadwear (Bridgestone RE-71 etc.)) once I'm finally comfortable with my skill level. How I take step 2 depends on how step 1 turns out. If it goes well and I can stand to lose just a touch more wheel height, I'll consider getting my first serious set of tires in 225/50/R16. If step 1 is lack-luster and I can't stand having my exhaust even one more inch closer to the ground, then I'll save up for a set of 17s which can accommodate more "normal" sizes in that same "max performance" category. I'd still like to end up with ~26 inch overall wheel height in the more distant future, so either way we look at it I'm going to get 17s one day. But I'd like them to be forged aluminum in just the right dimensions, and I still don't know what that's gonna be yet. So having to buy stop-gap cast aluminum wheels would be a minor setback to that goal.

Short Version:
I hear that "square" wheel & tire combos have excellent responsiveness and I wanna try it. I'm not too worried about finishing 1st yet, but I am worried about my severe lack of budget for this season and there's no way my Cobras are gonna make it through another summer. Now's the time to transition.

 

[zdeckich]

Okay, found a pic. 225/50/16 front and 255/50/16 rear, all on 16x8's and low as hell. My dad's daily driver for 13 years.

I see your dad all the time in NRH. I love his wagon!

 

[motorheadmike]

Hey no worries, just thinking out loud. I will say this, and based upon my experience, a larger sidewall may lean/roll over more under hard cornering but rolling on the sidewall tread blocks increases the available foot print. However, in a large barge with a high centre of gravity you may find that when the smaller/narrow/square tire gives - it is gone. I'd be curious to know how the narrow/square set up responds to tire pressure tuning (larger/shorter window) when you are marking your side walls and measuring roll over.

Oh, and in my opinion, straight line acceleration and braking will suffer too.

I say go for it, you've done your research - try the experiment.

 

[307 Regal]

I could totally agree with those predictions. Supposedly "tire traction" would be the same under ideal conditions and I'd just be taking a narrower sample of the driving surface. But therein lies the problem, where a narrow tire could hit a dirt patch while a wider tire could hit the dirt patch and still grab some clean pavement at the same time. We'll see.
Honestly, the decision is currently a 60/40 split in favor of the 225s vs 245s (not 255s, because wheel well space). But if I could find the tires I'm looking at in 235 it would be a done deal.
The only regret I'll have is that it won't be an apples-to-apples experiment. Not unless I wear these out before I'm ready for grippier tires; then I can try the same model in a different size.

 

[UNGN]

A guy down here in DFW ran Equipe Rapide autocross with a GN and tiny 225/45R15's for at least one season. There should be pictures on the internet.

 

[pontiacgp]

This is a lengthy one but I know you can hang.

There are a number of angles I'm looking at with this prospective buy.
First off, unfortunately, I can't use drag radials for the SCCA class I'm in because of the 200 treadwear limit. Otherwise I'd keep the current tires on my 16x8 rims which are 255/50/R16 Hankook C51s.

Secondly, the tires I decided on last night (but haven't yet bought and won't for a while) actually do come in 255&245/50/R16, but what I'm wanting to do is try to keep the section width basically the same as my wheel width. From what I've been reading, 225 & *235 (*which doesn't have a good selection at all) are the sweet spot for an 8 inch rim. Supposedly when your setup is pretty much "square" the tire won't be able to lean as much. I didn't notice that much with my Hankooks, maybe because as a race tire they have a way stiffer sidewall, maybe because my lower driving skill level didn't even think to look for it or know how yet. (Aside from extreme cases when I took too much air pressure out.) But I've definitely noticed this effect with my 235&255/60/R15 Cooper Cobras on my 15x7 T-type wheels. Other than just being able to make the car wobble with a firm push, you can actually feel the rims "traveling within the tire" during quick transitions. Lots of sidewall flex. Granted it is an All-Season.

Thirdly, the first step (looking at 225/55s) will be to get a tire that performs noticeably better than my Cooper Cobras, but still something that I can commute on for long distances and in the rain. No swapping wheels at events would be another bonus. The tire I'm looking at for this is a mid-tier tire around 300 treadwear. I was looking at either Yokohama S.Drive or BFG Sport Comp-2 (the latter of which available in 245&255). They're rated at 300 and 340 respectively. The Cooper Cobras are 440 with an All-Season tread pattern, for comparison. Supposedly the BFGs are better than the Yokohamas in the wet and have a better turn-in, and are evenly matched in the dry. Additionally, I do intend for the car to still be able to get a little loose on me because I've been learning an awful lot with each unintentional slide and push. I just intend to have tires that make it happen only slightly less often than my Cobras. In other words, still be able to get decent practice with slipping but not have it as a constant burden.
The second step (looking at 225/50s) would be to step up to a "max performance" summer tire (SCCA CAM-T legal maximum treadwear (Bridgestone RE-71 etc.)) once I'm finally comfortable with my skill level. How I take step 2 depends on how step 1 turns out. If it goes well and I can stand to lose just a touch more wheel height, I'll consider getting my first serious set of tires in 225/50/R16. If step 1 is lack-luster and I can't stand having my exhaust even one more inch closer to the ground, then I'll save up for a set of 17s which can accommodate more "normal" sizes in that same "max performance" category. I'd still like to end up with ~26 inch overall wheel height in the more distant future, so either way we look at it I'm going to get 17s one day. But I'd like them to be forged aluminum in just the right dimensions, and I still don't know what that's gonna be yet. So having to buy stop-gap cast aluminum wheels would be a minor setback to that goal.

Short Version:
I hear that "square" wheel & tire combos have excellent responsiveness and I wanna try it. I'm not too worried about finishing 1st yet, but I am worried about my severe lack of budget for this season and there's no way my Cobras are gonna make it through another summer. Now's the time to transition.

I ran the BFG Comp-2 on my GP, they were 245-50-16 and they were great in braking and cornering. I have a -.75° camber setting which helps with corning. In the rain they were not the best until you got a little heat into the tires.

 

[307 Regal]

A guy down here in DFW ran Equipe Rapide autocross with a GN and tiny 225/45R15's for at least one season. There should be pictures on the internet.

I donʻt suppose you could weigh in on the 225 vs 245 debate, could you? Didnʻt you run those BFGs in a 245 or 255 at some point? Sidewall-wise how stiff was the car when you pushed on the side?

 

[UNGN]

I have 255/50R16's on GTA's on both my T-type and 2+2. We run sport comp 2's and they are very predictable, if not as sticky as a 200 treadwear tire. We did a track day with my son in the 2+2 and me trying to keep pace in my '13 mustang GT with 19X10's and 275/40 continental summer performance tires and he could walk away from me.

 

[UNGN]

Buickmike231 is the guy on Turbobuick.com Autocrossing with 225/45 Rivals on stock sized 15" wheels. I wouldn't recommend track events with that small of a tire, but he had pretty good results autocrossing with them.

 

[UNGN]

With the right backspacing, 255's fit in front on a lowered regal without rubbing with a rolled outer fender lip and a reshaped inner fender...maybe not be ideal of autocross, where stiff sidewalls work better (and to get stiff sidewalls with a 255 tire you need about a 10" wide rim), but for open track, 255's put a lot of rubber on the road and gives you a lot of confidence for taking corners faster.

When a 255/50 on a 8" wheel rolls over during high lateral G's, it makes the contact patch larger, so there is nice cushion between sticking and not sticking. An ideal Autocross setup generally has a high sticking threshold, but will kill you on a track because when you lose traction, you never get it back until you hit something. In a parking lot, spinning out is not a big deal. Spinning out at 90 mph on a track day is a bigger deal.

For Light, Cheap wheels I like GTA "rears" Nobody wants these because they rub the frame, but with big brakes in front, they are nearly perfect backspacing and with 1.25" wheel adapters in back, they are nearly perfect... and they only weight about 15 lbs each, which is crazy light for a cheap 16X8 wheel.