Question about stretching tires

[rabbitude]

I had a question about the downside to stretching a tire. On the rear of my car I am running a 215/45/16 tire on a wheel that is 9 inches wide. The tire is stretched pretty good to get it on the wheel. How does this effect the performance of the tire. My problem is my car is super tail happy. I have a 21mm front sway bar and a 19mm rear bar. From what I'm told the car should be pretty well balanced with this setup so I'm wondering if the rear tires are causing my extreme oversteer.

[5KWattson]

I had a question about the downside to stretching a tire. On the rear of my car I am running a 215/45/16 tire on a wheel that is 9 inches wide. The tire is stretched pretty good to get it on the wheel. How does this effect the performance of the tire. My problem is my car is super tail happy. I have a 21mm front sway bar and a 19mm rear bar. From what I'm told the car should be pretty well balanced with this setup so I'm wondering if the rear tires are causing my extreme oversteer.

Your life? Stretching tires lessens the weight capicity of he tire and also builds up heat...heat causes blow outs. If it wasn't such a drastic stretch I'd say go for it but 9" rim with 215's is A bit much. That's just my take on it

[lennon]

people in the VW world and other scenes run stretch like that all the time. that is not super-stretched. are you running the same size tire on the front with smaller rims?

[BoxDriver86]

I ran 215/45 on a 16x9 daily for years without issue. In the past, drift cars used stretched tires because they thought they would break loose easier. I'm not sure how accurate that is, and I can't confirm whether or not it would affect your tail happiness. My 16x9s were on a FWD car.

[Van Westervelt]

I ran 215/40-17's on 8.5 wide for years and tens of thousands of miles with 3k road trips etc. Never a blow out or excess temps etc. Was moreso baby stretch in the tire stretching world. :)

Do as you will.

[5KWattson]

I ran 215/40-17's on 8.5 wide for years and tens of thousands of miles with 3k road trips etc. Never a blow out or excess temps etc. Was moreso baby stretch in the tire stretching world. :)

Do as you will.

Well I am just going on what I heard from a few tire shop's but since I have no real life expirence with it. Do as you like I will agree. Giving there are ppl with past use of stretch tires

[Van Westervelt]

Well I am just going on what I heard from a few tire shop's but since I have no real life expirence with it.

If you dont know, dont act like you know. Biggest problem with the internet.

And trusting a tire jockey? Shame on you. Same guys that insist that spacers are of the devil and swear them off like a $5 hooker.

[Van Westervelt]

OP-

More details about your susp setup? Thats a pretty big rear bar vs your front.

[87e30]

And front tire/wheel sizes...

[Cronus]

mighteywhitey on here is stretching 165's on a 8" wheel. He's made several roadtrips with out any sort of issue.

The only time ive ever heard of blow outs on stretched tires is during drifting. which happens whether the tire is "properly" mounted or not.

[Mystikal]

I've been on track with my 18x8/18x9 215/35 all around setup on my M3. I drove it quite hard, mostly 8-9/10ths but a lap or two at 10/10ths. No issues at all. I then swtiched to 17x8 235/40 all around (my track setup) and the dynamic balance did not change.

I'd say look at your suspension/alignment setup, it's not the tires.

[619E30]

I don't get why people like to stretch their tires, it looks stupid, but that's just me.

[rafiki]

i ran 215's on a 9 for a long time, with no issues. I didnt see, but did anyone ask you what kind of tires? proper inflation? too much air?

[ck_taft325is]

A little bit of stretch is no biggy. I ran 195's on 9" when I first got my daily driver. Only issue is obviously the "curbing" issue. While I thought 195's on 9" was a bit much, I still use 205-215's on 9" for my daily driving status. It's all about personal preference. If you can't respect it, just remember that says a lot about you. It's not your car, so why do you give a crap?

I think over sized tires on e30's look stupid as hell, but I can respect a well put together car running 'em. I don't/try very hard not to complain.

[rabbitude]

Yeah the tires are getting pretty worn and I will probably switch to a 225 or maybe even a 235/40 I just need to make sure they clear. As for the suspension setup I have H&R race springs and billies, UUC camber plates, a cabrio front sway bar and an IE 19mm rear bar. I have had other E30's with a similar setup but this one is way tail happier than any of my other E30's. Im not gonna lie, it is fun, but the car would be alot faster with a little more nuetral balance. I'll try and adjust the rear sway bar and maybe take a little PSI out of the rear tires and see if that works. It sounds like the stretched tire is not causing the problem. Thanks for all the input.