So I ordered some new wheels and I need some info on what kind of tires I should get. The wheels are 20x9 and 20x10.5. The car will be lowered on coilovers in spring when the wheels get in so I am debating whether I should go with a stretched look or a wider tire with lower profile? I was thinking doing 285/25/20 in the rear but im worried that the tire would be too thin? or maybe stretch a 255 tire with a taller sidewall? Not sure if that would be comfortable either... Im lost on what to do.

A 255/30 will only have 5 mm more of sidewall in comparison to a 285/25...

both are pretty thin, but not terrible... You could also probably do a 285/30 depending on offset of the wheel and if the fenders are rolled...

i'd be scared to run a 25 series on my rims...

hmm, would 275/30 be a better option than 285/25? I dont think there are any 285/30s out there.

me too... im worried about getting raped by a pothole.

^ for sure there are 285/30/20's.

the width of the tire will tell you how much of a problem this might be... for instance, most people have no problem running 255/30 or 225/35 (car dependent, of course), but the 255/30 has 76mm of sidewall and the 225/35 has 78mm of sidewall. Now, a 285/25 like we are talking about, has 71mm of sidewall... Not a huge difference at all...

^ true, but it depends on the width of the wheel...
you can't really fit a 225/35 tire on a wheel meant to have a 285/25.

unless, you're gonna do stretch/hella flush, but that's a whole nother story.

well, yah, I was just using the sizes to make a point that just because the second number (the profile) is one thing, doesn't really mean its going to be that short of a tire...

I am having the same dilema... I am having trouble deciding between 285/25 20 or 275/30 20. I would really like to avoid having to do any fender modifications or do as little as possible, but I also don't want to be faced with a bent wheel. When looking at the specs between the 2, there will be just about a 0.45" sidewall difference. Would and extra 0.45" of sidewall really protect the wheels that much more that its worth modifying the fenders?

Dont over stretch.

It also depends on the type of tire. Some tires run thicker than others and some thinner than others.

^ there's a list online with all the tire brands and their thinness/thickness.

just can't seem to find at the moment...

I caught one of your postings about tires and I read you were not to thrilled about the Continental DSW (I may have the series off sorry if I do), what about the Conti DS? I am looking to run a set of VVSCV3 on my car and would like the tires not to look stretched. I would like to run a 275/30 rear and a 235/35 front. What is the best tire in your opinion to run (as far as brands) to avoid that look?

P.S. sorry to thread jack, was hoping we could all get some info regarding tire brands and stretching

The Continental tires are just fine, just not overly excited about them, nor have many of the people I've sold them to... the DWS's appear to do quite well in the snow (from testing data - I've never driven them in the snow), but every other aspect I've just not been super excited about, especially having driven tires that are better than it in every other aspect... The DW's that you speak of, get really high reviews on Tire Rack's site, as an overall average, but I have zero experience with them - they haven't been out very long. They do look similar to the Sport Contact 2's I used to have and those were terrible, IMO...

One thing about TireRack's review system - it is fine overall, but, the average scores should maybe be weighted against cost... People tend to expect more out of a more expensive tire and when they don't get everything they wanted, they are harder on the reviews... I can find a few instances of this of tires I've had direct and long experiences with...

To avoid stretching, it is all about tire size versus wheel size (widths)... My suggestion - go to TireRack's site and pick the tires you think you want, go to the specs page and find out what wheel widths are allowable... So long as your wheels are within those numbers, the tires will not look stretched...

A quick look shows most 275/30-19's call for a wheel between 9 and 10" wide, and 235/35-19's call for wheels between 8 and 9.5" wide...

Im learning.... Thanks for the info...)