QUOTE(john914somers @ Oct 9 2013, 02:45 PM)
So I'm getting ready to buy tires for my 914/6-3.2 and I'm wanting input from you guys. My car is set up to be a race car ONLY and will never see the street again. Sooo this is what it is... I am looking to buy Toyo R-888's 235/40R-17 for the front and 275/40R-17 for the rear. Now I've been told that because my rims are 7.5x17 and 9.75x17 that I should not buy tires with a tread width that is wider than the rim width but both of these tires are wider than their respective rims. Any help/opinions are greatly appreciated. Thanks a ton!
Don't know about R888's but I'm loving my Toyo RA1's that I bought shaved down to 4/32nds so they only had just a bit of the circumferential grooves and none of the tread pattern, basically slicks. I'm at 2000 pounds with a 2.7/6 with about 185rwhp. I've got 225/45/15's on all 4 corners on 8 inch fuchs rims. I've tracked the car all year, over 50 heat cycles & they're still great.
That said, I'm not yet capable of putting as much work into the tires as some more aggressive drivers, but I am working them up from starting pressure of 31 to finish pressure of 37-38 in 25 minute sessions at VIR, Summit Point and Watkins Glen. Toyo's info says that 36-38 is the sweet spot for these tires. Shaving them was a good move as I'm enjoying max grip right out of the box and I can't see that I've sacrificed any life at all, maybe actually extended it...
I was also looking at the R888's but found comments that put me off of them and onto the RA1's.
As to the issue of rim width versus the tire width, get a second opinion....a great resource is Bob Woodman--a great guy who's a driver first, now a tire supplier. No vested interest but here's his website:
http://www.bobwoodmantires.com/