Wheel & Tire Fitment Explained

Photography by Dave Pankew

If you are a hardcore enthusiast, you know that tires are the most import upgrade on any car. No amount of suspension modifications or boost in horsepower is worth anything without being able to harness it on and off track. We have seen it all from track-prepped WRXs lapping on under-sized all seasons to 600hp Supras running a super hard 255 on the rear – making them both near impossible to control. For all of us here at PASMAG, we have different tires for different needs, which is why we run a street tire on the street and a track tire mounted on a separate set of wheels for track days.

Yes, there are tires out there that technically do both but neither are as good as a specific tire. A soft street tire might be do double-duty on the track but it will wear fast. A harder and slower wearing tire will not be great on the track but it will last longer. And then there are DOT race tires that technically can be driven on the street but are rarely recommended to do so.

We spoke with the experts at Yokohama Canada to get some insights on selecting the right tire for our project car. They walked us though some of their line-up and we decoded the mysterious markings on the sidewall in order to pick the right tire. In this case, we wanted a street tire for Project GT-R that could handle 500+ horsepower on the street along with all of the hazards that come with it.

The Project GT-R was outfitted with a new set of rollers for the fresh set of rubber too. The Enkei PF01 is the new M.A.T. forged wheel in the line-up that uses a minimalist design to shave off every possible ounce. We selected the largest wheel we could accommodate sized at 18x10.5-inch with a +15 offset on all four corners. For those of you following the project, you will know that this wheel is poking just over 13mm beyond where the existing track wheels sit. Why? Well for the street we wanted a more flush stance and selected a decent size tire to make it all happen...