Tires & gears

[Racefreak24]

Recently i have been hearing that tire size can have an effect on gearing......is there any real correlation here?

[dickita15]

sure, taller tires give you a higher overall gearing. the difference between a 24" tire and a 26" is about 8%.
the difference between a 4.40 gear and a 4.88 ia about 10%.

[Andy Bettencourt]

Dan,

On your Probe, I would think you would want to choose between a 225/50/16 or a 245/45/16. Both have the same diameter so gearing isn't effected. I would try the 245 as you have a front-heavy FWDer. I would test fit them but if I remember correctly, I ran that size on my GS GT when I was Soloing one in 1994-1995.

[JeffYoung]

Definitely tires affect gearing. I would say the difference between the 225/45/13s and 225/50/13s on my car (about 1") is between 200-300 rpm. Noticeable, and cheap gearing.

[Racefreak24]

Hey guys thanks for the replies sorry took so long for me to respond. Iv just heard one thing after another about gearing and how tires can have an effect so I had to ask....If I cant race I may as well learn.

Looks like Im entering the Last chance regional at the Glen on the 24th. I'l be in Buddy Lee's 58 ITA escort. Wont allow me to keep the licence but hey it's still a race.