Ok, here'* the deal. My launches suck. They're killing my times. With the chip and the intake about ready to go in, my tires are the definite weak point. I ran Jay'* chart and came up with my tire choice, size anyway. I'm staying with the 16" stock wheels, but I'm going wider. SSEi95 went to 250'*, but I had to bend some sheet metal to make 'em fit. I'm thinking 245'* will go in without mods. I picked 245/55 R16'*. Stock was 225/60 R16. With this change, the rolling circumference is only -0.06". This translates to a speedo error at 100mph of only +0.07mph, and an odometer error at 50,000miles of only 37 miles high. Not bad.

With my size picked, I'd like an "H" rated performance tire for a reasonable price. What brands/models do people recommend?

Firestone Firehawk

I've had experience with them and they are a great tire!

Will depends on what you want, good well handling, canyon carving type. Or sticky as hell for max. grip of the line. i use 235/55/zr16`* from Yokohama for summer drive stick like snot corners like on rails. winter i run 225/55/16 Hankook`* on ice and snow unreal traction,......then for the blast up and down the road for fun ,friday nite lite to lite drags etc...245/55/16 BF Drag radials...its like running a slick on the street. but legal, these puppies squat and bite, look into what ever type of drivin` you plan on doing and go from there

The 245/55'* are really hard to find, and when I do find them, they're way too much for my paltry budget. The tire guy said give up on the 245'* and get something stock sized that'* better than what I have. Because of my need for an all-around tire with NW weather. I have Dunlop D60'* on it, they came with the car. I'm looking at 225/60 16'* in a Toyo Proxes H4. H rated, obviously, with a directional tread design. Guy said it'* at least twice the tire that the D60 is.

http://www.directtire.com/toyo/toyoproxes.html

This link doesn't show the directional tread design, but I saw the tire at the shop, and it is. Must be a redesign. I can get all 4 mounted and balanced for $548 US. Whaddya think? Am I going to be that much better off than the D60?

I don't know what your budget is for this project (tires). However, if you have the cash, I would recommended new wheels and tires.

I put 18X8.5 and 245/45 tires on my 2002 SSEi. I am using Michelen HXMXM4 Ultra High performance all season tires. The wheels are ACE monoblock style.

The car has amazing roadholding and handling, plus doesn't seem traction limited for braking anymore. I can still get some tire squeal if i hit them real hard at lower speeds.

As for off the line acceleration, I can't really test that given 3.25Pulley, CAI, and headers/flex pipe with stock transmission.

I will let you know once the intense transmission goes in