hey guys, I'm actually surprised I searched and couldn't find what I was looking for. I know you CAN use other tire sizes, I've seen people using 225 stock tires, 235's, and even 245's. But I can't find anything about how it feels, pros, cons, etc.

I have the stock 225/50/17's on there now, about to buy 4 new tires in the next few days with an alignment. I'm looking at either
225/50/17 <--- stock
235/45/17 <--- Seems to be popular on the org
235/50/17 <-- Tirerack.com guy recommended this.
My problem now is traction... but that could be because I have used crappy tires right now on cold ground so my question is for the guys with some mods done. Right now I have intake, headers, nwp bop, nwp spacers, and the spec-v tranny swap. Getting the 3" BRM catback in a month or so with a custom BRM test pipe. With the cold ground I have no traction in 1st or 2nd when I get on it, that'll probably change once summer comes so what's your experience with this?
I'm stock height also, not lowered yet, prob won't be for a while.

Should I go wider or buy better tires and stick with stock size?
Does gas mileage change? (I went from avg 16.5mpg to 15.0mpg after the spec-v tranny swap, kind of regret doing it but my trans blew and it was cheaper.)
Ride comfort/noise?
Traction? (I know skinnier is better for snow/ice, don't care)

Thanks.

 

Traction is going to be an issue no matter the whee;/tire combo yo go with on these cars just because they're FWD.

If you live in a climate with serious winters and decent summers, I'd suggest to get a dedicated winter tire and dedicated summer tire. Summer tires are horrible in the winter, even on dry pavement since the compound isn't rated below 45ºF or so, (check TireRack for specifics), so keep that in mind.

I've got 245-40 18's for the summer and 235-45 snow tires for my car.

If you've got springs on your to-do list, the 235-45 aren't bad, but even lowered I prefer 225-50's since they fill the wheel well better.