Tire selection(StarQuest wheels)

Hey guys,

I bought a set of 16X7 front and 16X8 rear StarQuest wheels yesterday. They have a little lip damage on one of them and some pitting here and there but I got a good deal and the seller delivered them to me personally so I am happy. These are going on my 1990 Mitsubishi van and the wheels transformed the look of the van greatly. The thing is the tires on the rims now are not road worthy so I need to get new ones. The sizes on them now are 205/55-16 front and 255/50-16 rear. They looked great on the van, but I am not married to the staggered size tires even though the rims are staggered width and offset. The tires looked great on the van as they were, but I am not really sure I need such a steam roller on the ear of a maybe 100 hp van. Any suggestiosn on the size of the tires,and what brand to buy? Looking at Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct left me many options, but I don't know what to do. Is running different tread patterns/tire front and rear a bad idea? I want to spend in the maybe $80-$90 per tire range if I can. Maybe even a good set of used tires would be an option. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am looking for the same thing. I was planning on doing 205/55/16 Dunlop SP8000 from tirerack on all four wheels. They are cheap and have a $40 rebate.

Anyone else?

What about running a 225/50/16 on all four wheels? 205’s might look too stretched on the 8” rim depending on the brand.

If you are looking for an inexpensive tire the Kuhmo Ecsta AST’s are $76 each in that size.

7" fronts Greg.

Kuhmo's rim width range for the 225/50/16 is 6-8" and the design rim width is 7".

225/50s front, 245/50s rear... those cars look great with a bit of tire induced rake.

I know a guy who's a StarQuest fanatic, I'll see if he's got any input.

Remember these aren't going on a StarQuest though.

I wouldnt put a 205 on an 8" rim either.

If it were me i'd go for a shorter tire than what some others here are suggesting, but i'd keep the stagger so the width of the tire sort of complements the width of the rim, rather than drawing attention to how it doesn't look right.

Id go for a 205/50 on the front and a 225/50 in the back. If it were my van i'd probably end up screwing with the coils to make it look 'just so' to me, but im picky about that stuff.

Also, can you post a pic of the van as it sits with the existing tires?

I may get some blocks for the rear to lower it and some drop spindles for front. Pics are in my garage in my profile.

Just found a brand new set of Yokohama Avid's for sale on my local CL in the 205/55-16 size for $350. I know it was said in an earlier post that you wouldn't mount a 205 on the rear 8" rims, but can it be done safely? I know these tires will fit the fronts as that is the factory size, but on the 8" wide rims out back it may be too little width tire. Any help?

Oh yeah Vigo the front uses torsion bars, and leaf springs in back.

Chris

awfully thin for an 8inch rim

I wouldn't. That will also have the effect of making your rears smaller diameter than the fronts, leading to a nose-up stance and goofy/unsafe handling.

I bought a set of Dunlop 5000s from www.tirebuyer.com at a great price. Shipping was included at that time. Its a passable tire and was a great value.

Torsion bars! I too have joined this torsion bar cool kids set with my 1985 CRX HF.

Anyway, i STILL wouldnt do it. You have different rim widths. In order for it to not look stupid, you will need different tire widths. Such are the travails (also THE ENTIRE POINT?) of different width rims. I wouldnt put less than a 225 on that 8" rim. And honestly.. id put a 245. I really like the 245/45/16 size although the selection is slim. You can get both 245/45 and 225/45 in nexen n3000 which would fill out both rims and be really close in diameter and pretty aggressive looking, and grippy enough for a van.