My new wheels came in, and the back tire is not as wide as stock even though I was told it would be. Not sure if it's a battle I want to fight...

Quote from studiopeg

Yes, the problem is the rim size difference.

As I mentioned, this guy should have told me the rear rim would be smaller than stock. He just assured me I would "have the same tire size." That's leaving some crucial detail out....

It does tick me off, especially because I specifically told him the SLR has a WIDER rear tire than the base models, and I wanted the tire the same width. I mean duh, that would include it looking the same width when mounted....

If he knew what he was doing, he would have understood and told me that because the rear rim doesn't come in 11" as the stock one does, the tire would not look as wide.

So I just don't think this is a battle I want to wage. The wheels are on, they are custom, they happen to look great, and the only glitch is that back width.

As long as performance doesn't change or suffer, I guess I will live with it. There are other battles to fight.

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your traction in the back will likely not be as good because the footprint is a bit smaller. Having said that you still have a larger footprint than a standard SL like mine which has a 255 35R 20 tire on a 9 inch rim.

Wider looks Better! And like others addressed different brand tires fit / sized different than other brands... Example I always liked Avon tires on my HD's. Even though a 130 would fit like a 130 it looks like a 150 due to tire flair

I am suspecting that different brands have a lil bit difference in sizing, On the left is a BF Goodrich Comp 2 AS that we installed and on the right is the Kenda that we removed. They both say that they are 225/45ZR18.

Bill

There are potentially several problems here...

1. You lose a lot of tire options when you go from a 11 inch wide wheel to a 10 inch wide wheel - you have no ability to go bigger with tire size later down the road if you wanted to.

2. Most 305/30/20 tires are not recommended to go on a 10 inch wide wheel - tire is too big for the rim

3. Why would they talk you into an asymmetric tire and not a good directional tire like what come stock?

4. If the width isn't what you expected/wanted, are you sure the offsets are correct?

5. Did they supply hub centric rings with the new setup?

Personally, I would question the items above. It may be a tough lesson learned if they are custom wheels and you didn't catch it until this point...

I agree with Trav, I would never want an asymmetric tire on the rear. Go to the tire manufactures sight and see what size rim they recommend for that tire. If they don’t say it’s safe on a 10 in rim then they should take them back.

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"I would never want an asymmetric tire on the rear."

I believe that this is a simple misconception on our part. A asymmetrical tire is primarily designed as a steering tire, but also works well in a non-steering position. Yes, to our eye, it may look odd, or "out of balance" to some when the single, centrally located, rear tire is asymmetrical, but honestly, I do not believe that the SlingShot itself really knows, or cares, about it.

Bill

Quote from wjfyfe

"I would never want an asymmetric tire on the rear."

I believe that this is a simple misconception on our part. A asymmetrical tire is primarily designed as a steering tire, but also works well in a non-steering position. Yes, to our eye, it may look odd, or "out of balance" to some when the single, centrally located, rear tire is asymmetrical, but honestly, I do not believe that the SlingShot itself really knows, or cares, about it.

Bill

My tire guy agrees. Because of how light the slingshot is, it doesn't really matter if it's symmetrical or not. At least not for every day use. If you push it harder than the normal owner or track it, then it matters.

With two rear wheels it wouldn’t bother me.
As easy as the sling can hydroplane the asymmetric tire may cause a push to one side or the other. It might work fine, but it looks silly and why take the gamble.

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Quote from WingShot

With two rear wheels it wouldn’t bother me.
As easy as the sling can hydroplane the asymmetric tire may cause a push to one side or the other. It might work fine, but it looks silly and why take the gamble.

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I spent more money for a symmetrical tire cause I liked the look better lol. Even though my tire guy was like..."well that's a $50 aesthetic choice".

Quote from WingShot

As easy as the sling can hydroplane the asymmetric tire may cause a push to one side or the other.

Honestly, think about this for a minute, if a tire was actually designed where it would push a vehicle around depending on conditions, think of how many accidents this in itself would be causing?

Bill

Quote from WingShot

With two rear wheels it wouldn’t bother me.
As easy as the sling can hydroplane the asymmetric tire may cause a push to one side or the other. It might work fine, but it looks silly and why take the gamble.

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When it came time to replace my rear tire I went with the Nitto Motivo they classify it as an ultra high performance all season tire. It is an asymmetric tire and I chose it over the nitto NT555 G2 summer tire because my slingshot is my daily driver and as such I cant just not drive it when it rains making wet traction more important to me than it would be if my slingshot were just a toy I only drove in good weather. Having now had it on the Slingshot for some time and having driven in both dry and wet conditions I can tell you the rear holds much better around corners in the wet than the stock kenda tires, and much to my surprise it even holds better in dry and does not spin quite as easy the kenda if I hit the gas to hard at a light, also there is no pushing to one side or the other like you mention and in no way is there any difference in how my slingshot drives that I can tell due to it not being a symmetric tire. I am still running the original kendas on the front, but when it does come time to replace them I will also put motivo's up there. you are correct that it doesnt look as cool but looks to me are not as important as having wet traction is. If down the road I can find a symmetric all season tire that is rated as well as the motivo for wet traction then I will give it a try, but for now I am very happy with my decision to give the Motivo a try - as a side note Nitto also says the Motivo will go 60,000 miles, I know that is laughable on the back of a slingshot, but it should last longer than the 10,000 I got out of the kenda

As a side note I am pretty sure people cant even see that its not a symmetric tire when I moving

Quote from wjfyfe

Honestly, think about this for a minute, if a tire was actually designed where it would push a vehicle around depending on conditions, think of how many accidents this in itself would be causing?
Bill

I think the big difference is that on normal vehicles, you have a left and a right tire that forces the tires to work together channeling the water away from the vehicle on the left and right side. With the Slingshot not having a complementary tired on the rear, when it does it a puddle, it has the higher possibility of pushing off to one side since it doesn't have the opposite tire to channel water away the opposite direction.

Again, think about it, a tire is designed to hold the road, no tire company is going to design a tire, nor accept the liability, of a tire that would actually push the vehicle around, think of the lawsuits that would come because of this?

Bill

Quote from wjfyfe

Again, think about it, a tire is designed to hold the road, no tire company is going to design a tire, nor accept the liability, of a tire that would actually push the vehicle around, think of the lawsuits that would come because of this?

Bill

"Asymmetrical tire tread - To ensure that the tires are positioned correctly on the car (to maximize handling capabilities), the sidewalls are marked “outside only” and “inside only.” The outside of the tire will have large tread blocks for maximum cornering capabilities."

Meaning...there is a specific inside and outside. If you are using it on the rear, one side will have maximum traction on one side vs the other. Yes, they are designed to keep you on the road, but it's more effective if you have 2 that are working together.

Quote from Br4hm4

Asymmetrical tire tread - To ensure that the tires are positioned correctly on the car (to maximize handling capabilities), the sidewalls are marked “outside only” and “inside only.” The outside of the tire will have large tread blocks for maximum cornering capabilities."

Absolutely correct, and I agree, but again, like I highlighted in your post, an asymmetrical tire maximizes traction by holding the road, not by pushing or pulling the tire or vehicle around? The traction is improved in cornering, it is not degraded when going straight down the highway. Further, think about it, if what you are thinking is true, wouldn't you think then that tire manufacturers would putting a disclaimer on their asymmetrical tires not to be installed on a tricycle configuration to protect themselves?

Bill

Quote from Br4hm4

"Asymmetrical tire tread - To ensure that the tires are positioned correctly on the car (to maximize handling capabilities), the sidewalls are marked “outside only” and “inside only.” The outside of the tire will have large tread blocks for maximum cornering capabilities."
Meaning...there is a specific inside and outside. If you are using it on the rear, one side will have maximum traction on one side vs the other. Yes, they are designed to keep you on the road, but it's more effective if you have 2 that are working together.

you found a great quote but please show me the "large tread blocks" can you even tell which side is supposed to be mounted toward the outside?

I know the answer because I know which side say outside on in, but I sure dont see one side having larger tread blocks than the other - do you?

here is a good picture

posting pictures of one style of tire and quoting things that are said about a particular tire are great - but that does not mean that all tires are like the picture or quote.

I had a symmetrical kenda 255 35R 20 and I replaced it with an asymmetric Nitto Motivo of the same size and having driven on both in dry and wet conditions the asymmetric Motivo performs better, the difference is not huge in dry conditions, but it is noticeable, and it wet conditions the difference is huge - My personal experience having driven with the Kenda symmetric tire and the Motivo asymmetric tire tells me that for my daily driving conditions, both wet and dry the asymmetric tire is superior.

so there you have it - personal real world information on 2 very specific tires under my specific needs on the back of my slingshot - do with it whatever makes you happy

Now just to be sure I am only talking about these two particular tires I have no clue if other symmetric and asymmetric tires would give the same results.

as a side note, one nice thing when I get the motivos on the front I will be able to rotate them from one side to the other which might extend the tread life - cant do that with symmetric front tires

Can anyone list 1 benefit of running a assymetric tire over a directional tire on the rear of a reverse trike that has a centered rear wheel?

Can anyone name a manufacture that installs an assymetric tire on this type of machine from the factory?

A local tire guy isn't going to know much about this subject. You will need to call and chat to a factory rep from one of the big tire brands that understands tires and this vehicle layout.

I see 0 benefits of choosing an assymetric tire. You also can compare the crappy Kendas to any new option. The new option, if its half way decent, should be much better.

Is this type of tire going to hurt/wreck people? Probably not. But is there a benefit of choosing assymetric, probably not.

When researching new tires for the Grasshopper I have chatted with Discount Tire, Les Schwab, as well as have had email contact with BF Goodrich, General, Goodyear, Michelin, (and others that I do not recall presently), where each shared that there would be no problem in running an asymmetrical tire on the rear of the SlingShot, (and that is my only point, otherwise it is just personal preference.)

Bill