I thought I'd chime in on this thread since this week I replaced the 15yr old Goodyear Eagle GTII's on my SPF with a new set of mickey S/T's. I'm one of the guys who wants the more "classic" tread pattern so there are only a few options (cooper, mickey, bfg,...) without spending a ton on Avons. The mickeys definitely have more stick on hard launch and much better grip in corners but the on center feel and steering response is very poor. I was at 23psi for the test drive yesterday (same as I always run) so I will prob play with pressures a bit, but honestly tire pressure isn't really going to fix this. The steering is just way more numb now - I only drove it for maybe 20mins but I threw it around pretty hard. I realize everyone comes at this stuff from a different perspective and I realize I might be more sensitive to the feel than others - I have been through racing school, been autocrossing, doing track days, etc for over 20yrs. But I have to think even for your average joe, the S/T's steering feel is still very disappointing. Let's just say its a good thing this isn't my autocross car! Just my 2 cents for anyone considering buying these tires...
Tire sizes....
When I bought my car a couple years ago, it had 255/60 Fr and 275/60 Rr. I bought the same sizes but when they were delivered I was shocked at the diameter difference. The 275 rears are a LOT taller than the 255 fronts. I ended up doing more research and calcs and ended up buying the 295/50 for the rear instead. It very closely matches the front diameter and is a lot wider. See the pics...since I had all 3 side by side, why not compare? Also, my 255 fronts have always rubbed a bit at full lock but I checked out the old tires and the faint wear mark is at the corner/edge of the tread shoulder. So no worries of rubbing on sidewall and destroying the tire. If you are thinking about going to 255 from a 235 up front, I'd say do it. From a handling perspective, wider tires are going to grip better and are more balanced with the fat rears we run.
On ride height...
Moving from 275 to 295 rear shortens the total tire height about 1.3" and I think this is a good thing. The stock SPF rear sits a bit high in my opinion so this drops the ass a bit. My 275's used to tuck under the fender a decent amount so with the 295 I left my rear coil overs untouched and figured the fender gap would open up about 0.65" back there and still look good. At the front, my car was always a bit high. I was keeping the same front tire size so I looked at the susp motion ratio (1:3:1) and lowered the front coil overs about 0.38" which would equal about 0.5" drop at the wheel. When it all was done, visually I think this looks great and a big improvement over what I had. Ground clearance to
oil pan, etc. looks good and my fender to ground measurement is at 27" front and 26.5 rear. I posted a couple pics below of what it looks like now.
Sorry for the long post but I hope this is some good info for others shopping tires, adjusting ride height, etc. I wanted to post some pics with actual measurements, etc. Long story short...on an SPF the 295's will drop the rear and with a little coilover adjustment you can even things out front to rear and I think it looks great. Just wish the steering response and lateral stiffness was better on these tires...
-Mike
