Swapping Tires on GT350R CF Wheels

[Ahung12]

Cross-posting from the local Great Lakes sub but hoping R owners and those who have the R CF rims here can chime in. I'm picking up a 2017 GT350R on Tuesday and I believe there's not a lot of tread left on the PS4S's currently mounted.

For those of you who have successfully had a shop swap tires onto these wheels, can you let me know:

1. One shop has told me that they are declining to attempt mounting OEM sizes because they are afraid the bead will tear, and they've had it happen in the past given similar tire sizes. Sounds like a load of baloney to me but should this be a concern to any shop with capable equipment/tech?
2. Is there something about these wheels that require special adapter plates/equipment to mount them on a tire machine?
3. The local Porsche dealership has confirmed 100% they can do the work, but want to me charge me $100/wheel, saying that's the going labor rate and that the Revolution is an especially costly machine to run. Does this sound right to anyone? I thought these were touchless, "walk-away" type machines. I'm guessing Porsche owners can swallow the cost of a fifth tire just to mount 4.
4. I'm looking for a quieter on-road ride, and a little more buffer for the CF rims, so I was considering going with a taller sidewall. Are there any 295/40/19 or 305/40/19 tires on the market? Tirerack says no. I see the same sizes in 35 aspect ratio for MPSS's, but would that be a noticeable improvement vs PS4S's in OEM sizes?

TIA.

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[wingnutt]

You may not believe this, but my local Discount Tire store does mine. I went in first and talked to the tech and the manager to ensure they could do what they said they could with a touchless machine.…but I’m sure handing the tech a C-note helps as well

 

[Ahung12]

You may not believe this, but my local Discount Tire store does mine. I went in first and talked to the tech and the manager to ensure they could do what they said they could with a touchless machine.…but I’m sure handing the tech a C-note helps as well

I've taken all my 4-wheeled vehicles to DT for years and the local shops were my go-to when I first started this search. If all else fails, it looks like I might be babying it 40 miles in high 30's and snow melt roads to the closest DT with a Revolution machine later this week. Hoping to find a place nearby with the cajones to do the job but not looking good.

 

[MAGS1]

I know I posted in the Chicago thread, but I’ll repost here for the benefit (and thoughts) of others. Crown Customs in Wheeling deals with high end cars/ wheels and Geared Up Motorsports in New Lenox just got a new mounting and balancing machine. Not sure if others have experience with this type of mounting machine so I’ll post it here for comment. Both are closed today but are open tomorrow. Brandon Hammond is the guy at Geared Up.

 

[Champale]

There are plenty of people running the OE sized GT350 tires (295/35/19 front, 305/35/19 rear) on their 350R wheels (or aftermarket R spec wheels). You don't want to go with anything taller than that because you definitely will start encountering rubbing of the plastic inner fenders when you start turning the steering wheel.

 

[Ahung12]

There are plenty of people running the OE sized GT350 tires (295/35/19 front, 305/35/19 rear) on their 350R wheels (or aftermarket R spec wheels). You don't want to go with anything taller than that because you definitely will start encountering rubbing of the plastic inner fenders when you start turning the steering wheel.

Do you have a good tire size calculator you can recommend? I know that the same size can differ from tire manufacturer to manufacturer, so how useful are these calculators?

 

[Champale]

Tire Rack has the specs as they measure the tires in terms of section width and tread width.

Some of us run 20" wheels on our 350Rs. I am running the GT500 spec PS4S tires on custom wheels (20x11 ET24, 20x11.5 ET61) and with the 305s up front, I get slight rub at full lock (running 2.2 degrees camber). Supposedly dropping down to a 295/30/20 would fix the problem.

 

[MAGS1]

Tire heights are generally uniform across manufacturers. Widths are typically what vary. As mentioned above, Tire Rack is really good, they have specs on all the tires they sell. Below is a good site to compare tire height. It will also compare sidewall thickness and tire width, but as mentioned above, the widths won’t be uniform with all manufacturers.

https://tiresize.com/comparison/

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Magsi gave you a good link. I have my own machine and do my own. That said the right equioment is very expensive and with the liability side(damaged oem cf wheel) I wouldn’t balk at a hundred bucks a wheel if it came down to it. Conti extremes are a really good alternative to oem. The back rear will be a 325 though, which still looks correct on the wheel.

 

[TonyNJ]

What @wingnutt wrote. Talk to a few local tires places. An experienced guy will be able to handle it. I've had 3 different shops do my CF wheels. No problems.

Figure about $40 bucks a wheel just for the swap plus a tip.

 

[svttim]

I also use Discount tire. They will even mount my used race rubber and at a good price. I have a set of RE-1s right now but they discontinued them. I would not go with 40s. Your really trying to change what the car was designed for. Have you thought about buying wheels instead of using your CF wheels? You could try the FALKEN AZENIS RT660. Anything you do is going to be an experiment

 

[Ahung12]

I also use Discount tire. They will even mount my used race rubber and at a good price. I have a set of RE-1s right now but they discontinued them. I would not go with 40s. Your really trying to change what the car was designed for. Have you thought about buying wheels instead of using your CF wheels? You could try the FALKEN AZENIS RT660. Anything you do is going to be an experiment

Heard on the 40's.

 

[CorralesR]

I just had new Cup 2s installed at my local Discount Tire. I found a young guy there who is a Mustang enthusiast who was confident he could do them. They had some experience with the 500 carbon wheels. They did not have a Revolution machine and he was extremely careful doing the job. I think 99 percent of it is finding someone that cares about what they are doing. Also tipping a C note is the best way to say thank you!

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Which Discount did you use? I’m a little surprised none around here have the newer setup yet.

I just had new Cup 2s installed at my local Discount Tire. I found a young guy there who is a Mustang enthusiast who was confident he could do them. They had some experience with the 500 carbon wheels. They did not have a Revolution machine and he was extremely careful doing the job. I think 99 percent of it is finding someone that cares about what they are doing. Also tipping a C note is the best way to say thank you!

 

[CorralesR]

Which Discount did you use? I’m a little surprised none around here have the newer setup yet.

It was the one on Alameda across from Cottonwood Mall. Dylan did the work. He owns a 2012 Boss 302.

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