Opinion on tire width for Mondial 8

New 16" wheels are in the mail. I've narrowed down my selection on what tire to get. Question now is what width tire to get. To keep as close to possible to the original tire size it seems there are 2 sizes to choose from. The original tires are 240/55-390. I'd like your opinions on which size you would go with, 245/50-16 or 225/50-16? The 245/50-16s are only 5mm wider than original. I don't think this should be an issue unless someone knows otherwise. Going with the 225/50-16s I loose 15mm. Is this a noticable difference? Would the steering be too heavy with the 245/50-16?

Thanks in advance.

Doug

 

5mm is less than 1/4", that small a difference will be negligable.

Different tread patterns for the same width will have different footprint widths, thus changing resistance more or less relative to each other.

 

Did you ask Sam what he has on his?

My 0.02 is that, all things being equal, the more rubber the better - especially on dry pavement. I doubt 5mm is going to do much.....go slightly bigger, I say.

 

although i have 17" the PO had 225 up front and 235 in the rear i went with 245 all around. the steering is heavier when moving below 10mph but perfect upto 120+ the 225's were twitchy above 90mph.

as soon as the rears wear out i'll be going 265.

 

265? That will fit in the wells? Wow.

 

What width are the 16's that you have on the way?

The stock later Mondial 16's are 7's in the front and 8's in the rear with 205's and 225's front and rear respectively. It's recommended to maintain the staggered widths of the later cars - 20mm delta between front and rear. The slightly wider rear helps to prevent oversteer and maintain f/r balance in a 3X8 or Mondial.

The 7 inch wheels shouldn't go beyond a 225 width and the 8's shouldn't go beyond a 245 - reco you make sure you have an 8 before having a 245 tire mounted on there. Good luck, I''m sure you'll enjoy the 16 inch wheels!

 

My Mondial came with Goodyear 245x50x16 on the rear and 205x55x16 on the front. I did replace the Goodyears because of age with Avons from the Tire Rack. The Avons seem to have a much softer ride but I really don't drive hard enough to give you any other real feedback. The rear wheels do have spacers on them and the wheels that came with my car are three piece Speedlines that look like the wheels off of a 288 GTO.My front wheels are 7 inch and the rears are 8s.Good Luck. MBG

 

Since I think you are going 7" all the way round, I'd agree that 225/55 would be a good size. Lighter steering, and with new technology rubber they will be every bit as sticky as the 245 TRX. I think I would look at the Goodyear F1s - a lot of tire for the money with good performance and ride. Hank Sound has a set, perhaps he can chime in.

 

Ditto on the reco for the Goodyear Eagle F1's - great tire, have a set on my 3.2 Mondial and they're wonderful all around tires. Plus, you get to stay somewhat original to the 16 inch wheels - most came from the factory with the old Goodyear Eagle mounted.

You could consider going with the 205 width on the front - as said elsewhere this will help maintain a lighter wheel in parking situations and the F1's are plenty sticky.

 

Superformance only make the replicas of the original Ferrari wheels for the Mondial 8 in a 7" width so I'll be using 7" all around.

I talked to my local tire guy and he agrees with you, even though Goodyear list the minimum wheel width for the 245/50 F1s at 7" he didn't recommend it. Looks like I'll be going with the 225/50-16s. They are the exact diameter of the originals so at least that works out well. Thanks.

 

Just checked the Tire Rack. They don't have the Goodyear F1s in stock. They expect them in a month or so. The Avons were my second choice. The had very similar specs and reviews to the F1s, at 2/3 the price. Anyone else have experience with the Avons? 2/3 the price with similar specs to the F1s, and in stock makes them very attractive.

 

I was thinking the same thing. Since I'm not tracking or autocrossing the car I don't need to worry about the last several % of traction.

I sent a PM to Hank and he sent back a nice long response. Thanks

 

Doug I would start with the overall tire size 1st. The stock tires of 240-55-390 is 25.75 inches in diameter so start looking at a similar tire height and then work with the width. Go to Tirerack and look at the tire specs and see what tires have the diameter to match. You can also see the tire patch dimensions so you can now get an idea of the with that you want. Also with a manual rack I would go with a slightly narrower tire in the front. I am just doing this on my 308 which had 205-70-14 as standard tires. I am going to 205-55-16 on the front and 225-50-16 on the rear. The rears are a hair smaller then the stock 14" tires. Speedometer error will be insignificant.

 

Thanks for all the help guys. I decided to go with the Goodyear F1 GS-D3, if the TireRack gets them in. They don't have a delivery date from Goodyear yet.