What is the most available performance tire size?

With the growth (like a plague IMHO) of mega-rim micro sidewalls tire sizes by the OEMs, and the need to clear big rotors, what is the most available performance tire size?

In the end GRM is about bang for the buck so if you can't put but one tire, from one manufacturer on your car it quickly adds up to challenge money for rubber.

So what is the most available performance rubber tire size of 2016?

I'd think 205/50 15 is still probably king, just as far as gross numbers.

What do you mean by most available? The one size that has the most sticky options? The one sticky/size that is most always available?

245 or 255/40/17 is pretty available.

255/265 /35/18 has a lot of options as well.

But for a smaller car there are still good options in 205/50 225/45

z31maniac wrote: What do you mean by most available? The one size that has the most sticky options? The one sticky/size that is most always available? But for a smaller car there are still good options in 205/50 225/45

yes and yes, smaller tire have a rim size?

Flight Service wrote:

z31maniac wrote: What do you mean by most available? The one size that has the most sticky options? The one sticky/size that is most always available? But for a smaller car there are still good options in 205/50 225/45

yes and yes, smaller tire have a rim size?

Those would be on 15s. 205/55R16 and 225/50R16 have some decent choices too.

Honestly, if there is a certain category of tires you're looking at, Extreme Performance Summer tires for instance.

I just go to tire rack, shop by brand, and see what sizes they have available in the class of tires you want.

Conti, Pirelli, Michelin, etc will tend toward less Auto-X oriented tires and larger more expensive sizes for newer cars.

The Auto-X focused tires (R1R, RS-3, RE71R, etc) will have a lot more offerings that fit in with ST classed cars.........lots of 245/255/265/275/285 to match the tire width limits for the classes.

In reply to z31maniac:

This is more of a state of the sport question. The new tires that Porsche is putting out is almost non-existent in tire manufacturer or spec choices (OEM only choices)

There are a few of the smaller sizes that have went away (choices in 14"? Good luck) 15" is still around.

so when you are designing a car you start at the tires and go in. So what is the tire? Helps to know where one would start that is commonly available, with good options.

Or we can just mount BMW i3 tires on everything and go from there...

I have 14's on my car now and street performance tires are gone. The only possible choice is to run track tires illegally or buy new rims.

I am curious if 15's will have the same fate as 14's though, so maybe 16's are a safer choice? Not a fan of the big rims on old car trend though.

I suspect the rather wide variation of rim width and tire sizes these days are a bit of a nightmare for tire manufacturers. All the super low profile tires making it even worse since you cannot "cheat" the size much, if at all.

I don't know about individual sizes, but in terms of wheel diameter, 18s have the best selection of performance tires.

So I'll put my bet on (255/265)/35/18

In the auto-x oriented street tires, they seem to keep making sizes as long as people keep buying them. IIRC, the ZII Star Spec still comes in the 185/60R14 stock Miata size.

235/45/17 and 255/40/17 for my Nissan have been readily available everywhere with the "good" performance options also available.

I run 255/35/18 on 9.5 wide RPF1s on my BRZ.

Streetwiseguy wrote: I'd think 205/50 15 is still probably king, just as far as gross numbers.

IMO they are nearly obsolete, and mainly only still exist because of the amount of NA miatas. Something in 18'' is likely the most common now.

Aircooled, you can the Z11 Star Specs in 14" sizes. As well as the Falkens.

IMO they are nearly obsolete, and mainly only still exist because of the amount of NA miatas.

There a ton of people using 205/50/15 on a ton of small cars. I've owned a bunch of different sets of 205/50/15s but the one miata i had i ran 195/50/15.

I can always find a suitable selection of extreme performance summer tires and slicks in 205/50/15 and 275/35/18. So if at all possible, I stick to wheels that will mount those just fine, even if it means I don't have the biggest brakes on the block.

Travis_K wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: I'd think 205/50 15 is still probably king, just as far as gross numbers.

IMO they are nearly obsolete, and mainly only still exist because of the amount of NA miatas. Something in 18'' is likely the most common now.

I disagree. If you go to a track day, chances are you will find rich boys with their toys on big expensive rubber, but if you hit an actual race, at least in my part of the world, its Civics and integras and Neons and miatas and old Rx7's and so on, and almost every one of them runs a 15.

American Racer just introduced their 200tw street radial. The size they started with is a 205/50 15.

It's not just small-diameter tires that are getting harder to find. Wider 17" stuff is disappearing, too. Used to be you could find good 275/40-17s or 315/35-17s all day, but there's not much top tier rubber in that size these days. Now if you want a top-shelf 17, it had better be narrow and short.