New tires, odd size, and a burnout video

**elcapitan87** · 04-15-2006, 08:48 PM

Well, this afternoon I replaced the stock Contis on my Charger. They actually did fairly well mileage wise, with the car just a hair short of 24k on the odometer. In my search for new tires, like everyone else, I was disappointed in the performance of the Contis, as well as the other selection in the stock size. I also refuse to put the 255/55 tires on my car, as they all weigh a ton, and in my mind, a tire upgrade should not involve slowing the car down, no matter how minutely.
So, after much deliveration, I ordered a set of the BFG KDW2s in 235/50 size, which if you go by the tire manufacturers' specs are .7" shorter than stock, however they are 4lbs lighter per corner. Somewhat concerned about additional fender gap, I decided that I was willing to sacrafice a bit in that department to get a great sticky tire in a weight at or below that of the stock Conti's.
I submit for your comments before and after pics that I took of the car, sitting in the same parking space at the tire place. I see a difference, but in my eyes (which are admittedly tainted by my checkbook) it isn't anything to write home about.

Stock tire gap:

With BFGs installed

Here is video of the sendoff I gave the Contis: John Force, eat your heart out

**DanRealtor** · 04-15-2006, 09:06 PM

Your car looks great with the new shoes. Great send off for the crappy Conti's!

**BobF's 6POINT1** · 04-16-2006, 12:02 AM

Nice burnout, marginal vid quality.

Try streetfire.net next time.

**VanillaRT4me** · 04-16-2006, 02:49 AM

Ryan,
You'll probably not need to worry too much about differences in speedometer readings, gas mileage and ground clearance with your new tires, although these all have changed.

What you'll probably want to pay more attention to now are loads carried in your car. This is because the tires you selected have reduced your load carrying capabilities by some 400lbs.

**67alecto** · 04-16-2006, 03:30 AM

any chance of some better pictures? I can't really make out the difference at that distance and light level.I'll be replacing the continentals this summer (I have a 2k mile round trip next month), and I'm still wondering what I want to get.

**Jaak** · 04-16-2006, 06:53 AM

I can see the difference, no problem, but if you drove up and said "See anything different?" I'd likely never notice it... So just don't point it out to anyone!

**gn300** · 04-16-2006, 10:48 AM

Looks like they let you do the burnout at the tire shop?

great marks looks like limited slip to me!

**elcapitan87** · 04-16-2006, 11:57 AM

Originally Posted by VanillaRT4me

Ryan,
You'll probably not need to worry too much about differences in speedometer readings, gas mileage and ground clearance with your new tires, although these all have changed.

What you'll probably want to pay more attention to now are loads carried in your car. This is because the tires you selected have reduced your load carrying capabilities by some 400lbs.

Yes, load capacity for the new tires is something in the 1,6xx range. Per my door sticker, the car requires something like 2,81x per axle, which worked out to 1,40x per corner, which is supposed to be the fully loaded maximum safe weight for the vehicle. Even the new tires are well within the safe range of operation fully loaded up to 175mph or so. The odds of me doing so are zero, so I'm not too worried. 95% of the time, my car is empty except for me and a few client folders.
Video quality is pretty poor on the link, sorry about that. It wasn't great as an .avi file off of the digital camera, and whatever their compression engine did to it didn't help. I'll see if I can get a better quality (even if smaller size) version hosted somewhere.

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

Ryan

**MikeEast** · 04-16-2006, 12:56 PM

I put the 255-55/18 kdw2's on and have been pleased with the results, I liked the 'fuller wheel-well' look personally.

All these LX cars cry out to be lowered a bit - I think the Charger would look a bunch cooler if it was down a bit.

Nice burnout! But the tires still had air in them, why did you stop?

Mike

**elcapitan87** · 04-16-2006, 02:07 PM

Originally Posted by MikeEast

I put the 255-55/18 kdw2's on and have been pleased with the results, I liked the 'fuller wheel-well' look personally.

All these LX cars cry out to be lowered a bit - I think the Charger would look a bunch cooler if it was down a bit.

Nice burnout! But the tires still had air in them, why did you stop?

Mike

Some day when the sun, moon and stars align properly, I'll likely put the SRT springs/struts on the car and drop it a bit. The roads around my part of the world don't work very nicely with lowering cars more than ~1" any time of year, especially before and after winter.
Had to stop the burnout before the tires shredded off the rim. Before the burnout, I had about 1/32 before the wear bars were even with the tread. Belive me, when they came off the car, they were down to a baldness where you could vaguely make out the tread pattern that should have been there, but nothing else. It was a pretty wobbly ride to the tire store.
GN: No, not at the tire shop, but a local office park. I tried to find a parking lot that was concrete, but they just don't seem to make them around here anymore, so I found the back of the office park to make my smoke.

**Tommy T.** · 04-17-2006, 12:26 AM

Thanks for the post, I'm still shopping around and have considered BFG KDWS in that size.

Do you have any thoughts about 245/55 18 in back and your 235/50 up front? I've tossed that idea around, but I'm worried about the different wheelspin rates confusing ESP.

Enjoy your new life without Conti's, woo hoo!

-- Tommy

**elcapitan87** · 04-17-2006, 12:32 PM

I'm not sure what the ESP and tranny computer would think about different sizes, but on other cars I've had, as long as you're with a certain % the computer won't care. You're looking at 30 some odd revs/mile difference between the two sizes with the fronts spinning ~4% faster than the rears. I wouldn't think it would be a problem, but I'm no expert. I can try and call the calibration engineer that I met and see if he knows what the ESP system is willing to tolerate. It would be good info to know.

I've heard great things about the KDWS on other car lists and forums that I've been on. Supposed to be a superior all season tire. Being in South Texas, do you have a need for the all-season variety? From what I've come across, the KDW2 (summer only) isn't available in the 245/50 size, but I wish it were, as to me that would have been the best compromise, keeping fender gap increase to a minimum, but I do like the shorter tires for changing effective gearing and reducing unsprung weight.

**Tommy T.** · 04-17-2006, 01:43 PM

Yeah, no real need for the all-season down here, just happened to come across a few good deals for the KDWS 235's on eBay (that have since ended) and that got me thinking about different options.

As far as the ESP issue, thanks for the info, I'd agree that 30 revs/mile seems like it would fit within a reasonable tolerance, whatever that tolerance is.

-- Tommy

**elcapitan87** · 04-17-2006, 02:28 PM

When I was doing all of my research, Tire Rack had the 235/50 KDWS at $75/ea, which is a steal for that type of all season performance. Checking the specs, they have the same 1609 load rating. You'd have to check the front/rear GVW numbers on the driver door (divide by 2 to get corner load numbers), as I can't vouch for a Magnum, but my Charger needed 1408 per corner. We're talking theoretical maximum fully loaded weight of the car, so I'm happy enough with 200lbs over the max weight of my car. FWIW, at 180mph, the KDW2s are only able to carry 90% of their load rating, 85% at 186mph. If I'm going that fast with a fully loaded car, I deserve to die.