[Zz_005_zZ]

Ok so here is the story........ Here I am finally getting off of work, getting onto the onramp for the interstate... As of course I am in a hurry to get home, I get behind the slowest person in the world..... I believe they were going 10 mph on the onramp... well as the onramp was ending.... the little triangle of white lines with reflecting markers for the merge start to appear.I cross these white lines to pass the slow moving car in front of me (as there was no traffic). And BOOM a tire blew out on me.... right rear tire, flat in a matter of seconds. I pull over, get the spare out, and replace my totally screwed tire with the Donut.
I then drive to 6 different tire dealerships. (Firestone, Sears, Goodyear, Tires Plus, Tire Kingdom, And Tires Direct.) For some reason they all looked at me as if I was lying to them when I said (225-50-15). They said to me and I quote(Thats a really wide tire for that size wheel).....(Nobody carries this tire in stock... They all have to be special ordered). And these tires are not cheap by any means....... now if I had the money, I would just order new wheels and tires.... even cheap ones. But to replace just the one tire would have been 238.00
Now fortunately I am a Stanley Steemer employee and we have a Stanley Steemer mechanic on hand at all times who can order the tire at wholesale for me, and have it there in a day, mount and balance it for free...... But I just thought I would let someone know that if they are still using the factory wheels as I am, you had better go ahead and order an extra tire for a rainy day.... when something like this happens to you... at least then you will be prepared to replace the darn thing the same day...

 

[tHa kNiGHt FaLL]

that is pretty wide for a high side wall... i've never seen that. for 50's i usually see anywhere from 185 - 205... most people don't use 50's on performance setups. its too tall

 

[aussie_gen1]

I don't know about car tyres, but i have heard that motorbike tyres ''go off'', lose grip, over time. So unless you blow a lot of tyres, i would be wary of pre-buying them. Of course, if you DO find on in a shop, and they don't sell a lot of them, it may have gone off on the shelf,,,
How much tread was left on the old tyre, and how old was it?

 

[Zz_005_zZ]

oh yeah, lol

I forgot to mention that the tire was half full of tread, however the thing I hit made a hole about the size that you would picture a police tack strip making.. the ones made to pop tires in a high speed chase. And Knight Fall..... those are the factory wheelsize

 

[tHa kNiGHt FaLL]

225/50 is stock setup...?

hmmmm....... i'm not gonna go against that cause i'm not sure. but doesn't sound right...

225 seems kinda wide IMO

 

[tHa kNiGHt FaLL]

195/55/15... is wha i came up w/ in the manual

 

[Zz_005_zZ]

...

well I am unsure myself as to what the manual says... but at tirerack.com where I looked up the tires to buy, it says that factory wheel size was 202 50 15 front and 225 50 15 rear... so I would not doubt that the manual shows a smaller number... plus the manual u might be looking in is for a N/A?? I dunno... I am not trying to argue over a stupid tire size.. Thats just what Tire Rack says

 

[OEMonkey]

91-92 came w/ 14" stock wheels. factory sizes FRONT 195/60R14, REAR 205/60R14. factory wheel specs.- 14x6 front, 14x7 rear. 45mm offset for both.

93-95 came w/ 15" stock wheels to clear the upgraded brake components. factory sizes FRONT 195/55R15, REAR 225/50R15. factory wheel specs.- 15x6 front, 15x7 rear. 45mm offset for both.

Again, these are factory specs. So, Zz you are correct.

 

[Zz_005_zZ]

wow

looks like you did some serious research, lol..... well I guess that explains things... looks like we were both right. All I know is that they are expensive as all get out unless u order them online yourself... all the dealerships want an insane amount of money.

 

[OEMonkey]

research? I've owned an mr2 since 99, so I know a few things about it. You're welcome by the way. There are a lot of tire manufacturers who make that size tire at a reasonable price. Call around your area. Who the hell buys tires at the dealership.

 

[Zz_005_zZ]

...

well what crawled up your a- -..... Man no need to be all mean and stuff. I didn't think a thank you was necessary, seeing that nobody does it around here. That and I never took my car to toyota.. I said I brought it to tire dealerships, like goodyear, sears, etc.