SCFriend

My friend with a 97 SC400 (factory "chromies") is wondering if there is another size of tire he can get that's a bit more "common" than the OEM 225-55-16 size (has a hard time finding decent tires in stock in that size where he shops). It looks like a 245-50-16 is the closest fit, but will this work on the SC400 without any issues with rubbing, too wide for the rim, etc?

JohnnySC

245's should fit without any rubbing.

SCFriend

Will a 245 fit on the stock SC rims "width wise" though? I can't run wider than 245 on my 17x8 Konigs on my car.

PERRYinLA

I have Dunlop 245R50/16 tires on the stock 7" wide "wagon wheel" rims of my 92 SC400, and not only does it fit fine and not rub, they fill in the wheel well just right - a most economical upgrade. They also are within a mm or so of the stock diameter, so your speedometer/odometer remains accurate. There may be some purists out there that object to the sidewall protruding further outward than the rim- the "doughnut" look, but to me it is not that bad.

Let me know if you want a pic of how it looks on the SC.

SCFriend

Yeah a photo of that would be very cool!!! Can you post here or is email better?

PERRYinLA

OK- here's 4 angles. In this first one, it appears that the tire sticks out beyond the fender lip, but that's not really the case.

PERRYinLA

Another of the front:

PERRYinLA

The rear (yeah yeah I know, my camber is off):

PERRYinLA

Again, these are Dunlop Sport SP 5000's:

SCFriend

Thanks! Sidewall looks fine to me, no real "donut" factor....no handling/wear issues at all with the tires being so "wide" on the "narrower" rim widths? I'm assuming the 97 SC has the same width rims as the earlier years as well....

PERRYinLA

Dunno about wear- I only put them on a month ago.
Dunno about handling since my boy-racer days are over, but in normal day-to-day driving they feel fine.

You bring up a good point about rim width- incredibly, in the later years the SC rims got just a bit narrower, so check with the tire manufacturer's web sites to see what they recommend.