Wide rear tires in the rain, good / bad?

[HaynStang]

I'm thinking about buying a set of 275 or 285 width rear tires for my daily driver 1990 GT, but the car sees a lot of rainy weather driving and I don't want to have to swap tires once winter starts. Are wide rear tires like that going to reduce my traction in wet weather / increase hydroplaning?

I'm not going to run drag radials or anything like that; just some good high performance all seasons like Nitto 555's, BFG g-Force Sports or Falken 452's... previously I ran 225 width g-Force Sports and they were fine in the rain...

The fronts are going to be 245's on 9" wheels BTW and either 9" or 10.5" wheels in the back....

Thanks for any input...

 

[wythors]

It depends entirely upon the tire. Drag radials = very bad in the rain. We have Eagle GS-D3 315/35's on the back of The Wife's Cobra and they're great in the rain. If you had good luck with the BFG's, I don't think the extra 2 inches is going to make any appreciable difference.

 

[tsoccer3299]

i have 295 bfg kdw's in the back on mine and they are great in the rain. Pretty sticky when dry too, the car is a daily driver

 

[fastang2k1]

I have the Falken FK452s on mine, 285 profile. Not much tread left so the rear slides out even on dry pavement. I have a lead foot though. When there was tread, I never had a major prob in the rain; just took it easy accelerating around corners. I think it's because of the characteristics of the car.

 

[cobradvm]

I have a 1990 GT - I have 17 x 9s on the back and run Nitto drag radials - they are a great tire for both wet and dry on the street. They're not going to be the stickiest tire at the drag strip, but they work well in the rain. I have rolled into the throttle pretty hard in the rain and they did just fine. No problems with getting squirrely in corners. Of course if you want to get loose, it's easy enough to do so. I couldn't get any decent radials to hook in the dry so went with the nittos.

 

[charged9250]

I run a MT 275 drag radial on 10.5's but my car does not see rain.. hehehe

You should be fine with 275's just stay out of the grooves in the road.

 

[TheRedBlur]

Wider tires are always better, unless you're talking about snow. But yeah, the wet traction is more dependent upon the rubber compound and the tread pattern.

 

[04MystiCobra]

You'll be fine as long as you're not trying to run a worn tire. My 315s are just fine. Just keep the speeds sensable and watch your tire wear.

 

[Mustang78]

are you sure you can tuck that much tire(and 10.5" wheel) under a fox? i run a a 9" wheel in the front with a 225 and they rub the outer lip and are less than 1/4" away from the strut..

 

[charged9250]

are you sure you can tuck that much tire(and 10.5" wheel) under a fox? i run a a 9" wheel in the front with a 225 and they rub the outer lip and are less than 1/4" away from the strut..

All depends what rims you want to run. I know a 17x10.5" fr500 will fit in the rear of a fox. Its not just a bolt though. For the fronts a 9" wheel will work but rubbing will depend on tire size. I run a 245 up front with coil overs and I have about 1/8" clearance to the spring and no issues with rubbing on the out side.

 

[Mustang78]

i could probably fit a 245 up front also but 225's came with the wheels(all free so i can't argue), when these wear out i'll be going to a 245 front and my backspacing is like +23mm, however you measure that i dunno..

 

[Dmarstroker]

I have a 1990 GT - I have 17 x 9s on the back and run Nitto drag radials - they are a great tire for both wet and dry on the street. They're not going to be the stickiest tire at the drag strip, but they work well in the rain. I have rolled into the throttle pretty hard in the rain and they did just fine. No problems with getting squirrely in corners. Of course if you want to get loose, it's easy enough to do so. I couldn't get any decent radials to hook in the dry so went with the nittos.

I also run nitto DR with a 17x10.5 in the rear on 315's. I daily drive my stang from vancouver to clackamas and Ive never had any issues either with driving on the freeway when its pouring out. The nittos do run smaller compared to other tire brands so mine are really like 295's.

 

[Dmarstroker]

You'll be fine as long as you're not trying to run a worn tire. My 315s are just fine. Just keep the speeds sensable and watch your tire wear.

dam, looks sick from the back . Idk if its just me or does bfg seem to run a little wider than the advertised tire width ?

 

[TheRedBlur]

It's a funny thing about tire size. The first three digits are the tire's section width from bead to bead, measured in millimetres, after the slash, the next two numbers are the percentage of that which is used for the sidewalls, after that, the rim diameter. Because each manufacturer designs their tires differently, they independently decide where the sidewall ends and the rest of the tire begins. So yes, a BFG 265/40/17 is wider than a toyo, well, at least a number of them, except their top end directionals and slick tires. It's all quite subjective. Did you know that the wear rating is different for each manufacturer? What Bridgestone calls a wear rating of 180 is equal to mid 200's rating for BFG, 260 I think?

 

[Dmarstroker]

It's a funny thing about tire size. The first three digits are the tire's section width from bead to bead, measured in millimetres, after the slash, the next two numbers are the percentage of that which is used for the sidewalls, after that, the rim diameter. Because each manufacturer designs their tires differently, they independently decide where the sidewall ends and the rest of the tire begins. So yes, a BFG 265/40/17 is wider than a toyo, well, at least a number of them, except their top end directionals and slick tires. It's all quite subjective. Did you know that the wear rating is different for each manufacturer? What Bridgestone calls a wear rating of 180 is equal to mid 200's rating for BFG, 260 I think?

Good to know, did you used to work for a tire company?

 

[04MystiCobra]

My BFG 315s were a little wider than my 315 Michelins but not a huge amount.

 

[Crossword]

Not to shock you, but in Europe we do have the same weather in the autumn or winter times like you. And we´re always deciding for smaller tires because the danger to slip is not so big then. Hoping this will help you to make the right decision.

 

[04MystiCobra]

You are correct but at least in my case running anything smaller than stock (275) looks completely ridiculous.
I'd also say the weather from what I experienced over there was a little bit worse than here. Seemed like more ice and snow.