2009 Dodge Challenger R/T: Can We Have More Tire, Sir?

"aye"

Motion carried?

Another "aye", not that it is needed.

agreed!

I feel the same way. I love the 18's on my Challenger Six speed (ordered 6/6/08 and took delivery on 10/18/08) but I need help finding the tires I want. BTW love the articles and love the fact you guys have a six speed with 18's like mine. Keep the info coming and look forward to your choice of tire. Will 245 45 R18's do or not?

My Tribeca comes stock with 255 wide tires, what was Dodge thinking?

.83g is pretty pathetic. So a 2010 Mazda 3s "economy" car can smoke this thing around a skidpad (.86g)? I can't believe the R/T version of this car skimps on one of the most important aspects of any performance car... tires! Please tell me there are factory upgrades that give you better (and more) rubber.

It's a Chrysler engine. They're trying to get all the mpg they can get.
Now it's getting 16 mpg. Then it'll be getting 14 mpg.
Who's hatin' SUVs?

Good tires make all the difference in the world. I bought a Cobalt because I needed something affordable, cheap to maintain and insure, efficient, and reliable (and its delivered on all of the above) for a long commute, but it certainly isn't known for being dynamically gifted. I invested in a nice set of tires and the car is kinda fun now. It isn't a Mazda3, but it will put out surprising performance.

I agree that .83g on the skidpad is pretty pathetic. A Camaro V6 and Mustang V8 (and probably the V6, too) will smoke this thing on the pad, as well as a Mazda3 and the Civic SI. If I were a muscle car guy, getting spanked around the skidpad by two ricer-boy "econo" cars would be embarrassing.

My 04 Mazda6 has wider tires than this, and it also rolls on 18s. Please, swap tires AND rims on this thing. Make the Challenger look as badass as it should.

the miata/mx5 has the same problem. the wheels are the right hight, just not the right width for the visual effect.

Hear hear!

Jackson611: Except it's not part of the Miata's personality to have huge tires. For a muscle car, wide sticky tires are a must.

I'm interested in some wider tires, as well, but here's the problem- there's an incidental black hole for size choices that would be a suitable replacement for this car on an 18" wheel size. To add insult to injury, *all* of them are expensive choices in this size tier. I hope more choices are on the way, but I'm not holding my breath.

16" rims seem like the real sweetspot for sheer amount of choices and applications, but those would just not do on a giant Challenger. There's also the 20" size on the other side of the gulf, but automatically, you are into some severely pricey choices, that are hellbound to last 15k mi and crazy thin profiles that you would expect on a super-exotic.

On the count of .83g, it's really not as bad as it sounds. Other cars, may go higher (especially smaller/lighter cars), but .83 is still some hard cornering, if you have ever tried to correlate the sensation with an actual g-meter. On a public road @ .83g, you are still easily giving off the appearance of dangerous driving at elevated speeds for the existing conditions. It's still enough to make your passenger sick, given enough turns. If there is a cop in the area, he will pull you over, even if you cornered that apex with great finesse and skill.

If you really are putting .90g to use on a public road, then you are REALLY up to no good. Think about it. It's nice to have .90g at your disposal, but actually finding opportunities to put that level to use?...that's another question.

Oh, and the real reason I am even shopping for some wider tires is that they can go in the rear only. It's not for any lack of cornering ability, rather the ability to put more hp to work off the line. It's so easy to light up the rears with only a fraction of what is on-tap in this car, it's ridiculous.

Mine has the 20 inch rims so the tires look much better. They are not the stickiest tires around but the are fine for real world driving and deliver 30000 miles. You can put a set of ZR rated tires but you will be lucky to get 15000 miles out of them if you drive easy. And they cost around $300.00 each.

For me and real world driving the RS tires are fine and they last.

Agreed - those tires definitely don't look right. It would look much better with 275 or 285's in the rear, and 255's in the front.

Many of the muscle cars from the 60s and 70s looked exactly like this. And while many other posters scoff at .83g, I bet this Challenger will destroy any stock muscle car from that era on a twisty road.
For what it is, it's perfect. If you want the big wheels, fine; they're available, factory or aftermarket. I like that Dodge has given buyers a choice.

they are a little underwhelming... 275s in the rear would be the way to go