Please Help, wheel and tire sizes!!!

[TRIBALMAN23]

Hey guys (and gals) I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out with trying to figure out what kind of tire and wheel combo I could use without rubbing or fitment issues.

I am going to get 18" wheels, haven't picked the style yet but I want to go as wide as possible, keeping the same size on all four wheels ( I want to be able to rotate).

I am also looking for the biggest and widest tire I can get on also. I don't have the money for a tuner so please keep this in mind when providing any advice. ( unless FORD will tune for wheel and tire changes for a cheap price or for free)

I tried going to a shop in my area that was supposed to be well know for their customer service but the only question the guy asked was " Any particular color"
so I got no help from them.

I thought if I got the right help on here I would just buy off the web, provided I get a good breakdown of what I need to look for.

Also I have never changed the wheels and tires on a car before ( just lifted trucks) and not real sure of what I need to get. I don't want to lose any HP but really have been looking forward to doing this.

What brand of tire is everyone replacing to? My car is a daily driver so I need something that will be good for all weather. My car is stock other than some visual upgrades so far, and I won't be changing the suspension for long while. Currently I have the stock 17" rims and Pirelli tires that came on the car when I bought it.

If someone could explain a little of what I need so that it is easy to understand I would greatly appreciate it!!!!!

 

[autumn_again]

what year is your car? is your car equipped with the tire pressure monitor system?

i think the widest you would be able to go with all around is the 18x9.5 GT-500 rims. i don't think an 18x10 would fit on the front i could be wrong though.

as for tires, i'd recommend Nitto 555s.

i'm not sure about the tire size either, because to be able to rotate you'd want to go with the same tire size front and back. i would definitely go with as tall of a tire as you can so you don't get any more gap inbetween the fenders and tire.

i am going with a 28 inch tall tire for the back because i am on stock springs and i think that'll close up the gap a little bit.

 

[TRIBALMAN23]

my car is an 06'

 

[autumn_again]

ok .i think 07 was the first year for the TPMS. so thats one less thing you have to worry about.


i'd say with 18s you shouldn't be losing too much performance vs 17s. and i'd say tire choices are probably the same.

 

[SlideWRX]

Consider putting cheap snows on your stock wheels, and summers/high performance all-seasons on your new wheels. Putting the widest possible tire on your car, even if it is an all season, will hurt the snow performance a lot. Plus, your new wheels won't get all that road salt & crap from winter roads.

 

[kooldawg6]

18x10 Roush wheels with 275/40 will fit all the way around. That tire size would also work fine on the 18x9.5 GT500s.

 

[Towelly]

I don't have TPMS on my car and it is a 06'. If it started in '06 it has to be a late edition. I believe the largest tire to run up front is 285's. So it would have to be a 9.5 or 10 inch wheel for sure. They would be pinched on 9.5" wheel but would be ok on a 10" wide wheel.

I know that the 285's will fit up front for sure with stock a-arms and all. If you want PM me and I'll send you the link where I got this info from. Its from another forum and I don't like posting that kind of stuff up on yet another forum. It may be against the rules here to IIRC.

 

[91frppgt]

ok .i think 07 was the first year for the TPMS. so thats one less thing you have to worry about.


i'd say with 18s you shouldn't be losing too much performance vs 17s. and i'd say tire choices are probably the same.

I didn't loose no performance whatsoever by switching from factory 18's to 20's.
I actually pull better 60 foots (1.8's Proxies) compared to (2.0's factory BFG's).
And believe it or not, the 20's actually weigh 2 lbs more than the 18's

 

[TRIBALMAN23]

Ok this next part maybe sound like a really dumb question but her I go!

So if i go with the 10" wide should I get tire size
285/40 or
285/45


If I go with 8.5" wide wheels
285/??
I know the second number on the tire is how tall the sidewall is but what will fill it up the wheel well and not have me taking a corner to fast and totally wipe out?
even though I have 17" stock wheels I am running on 235/55 pirelle's and have tested corners before I have taken them and have been able to take a 40mph posted corner at 80MPH!!

What size tire would be best for both 8.5" or 10" wide wheels?
I want input for both size widths to compare price and performance.
Again I would GREATLY appreciate any help with these details in advance!!

 

[NastyStang113]

275/40 since you want to be able to rotate.

 

[dro]

edit: nvm wrong chart... one sec

 

[TRIBALMAN23]

another dumb question?
why is 275 easier to rotate then 285?

I guess I need to a good selection of choices such as
285/40/18
285/45/18
275/40/18
275/45/18
like that that fit the stock suspension for my 06 GT
and a little description of the look and performance for each set-up.

Every peice of advice given so far has made me understand a lot more of what size, but maybe I need a little more details of why that set-up would be best.
I have tried talking to a wheel shop around this area but I guess they don't do much business for custom wheels and don't care when someone walks in with CASH and need a little advice before they buy. MY MISTAKE I thought business liked these type of customers a little more than they showed me, and yes I have gone to more than one in this area. This is why I am asking these questions on here, knowing that about 90% of the people that are on this forum know more about our cars and what could fit better.
Again thanks for all the help so far!!!!! It has been very helpful. I just want to make sure I make the best choice for what I am looking for and not regret it later, I know you all know what I am talking about.

 

[kooldawg6]

First off, I'm definitely no tire/wheel expert. These are just my personal judgments.

A 275 won't be any different than a 285 for rotating purposes. Just that IMO, a 285 is too wide for our car up front unless it was for racing and absolutely needed.

In a perfect world (if stated tire sizes were true)...
285/40-18 is 11.22" wide with a sidewall height of 4.48"
285/45-18 is 11.22" wide with a sidewall height of 5.08"
275/40-18 is 10.83" wide with a sidewall height of 4.33"
275/45-18 is 10.83" wide with a sidewall height of 4.88"
With a 8.5" up front and 10" in the back, IMO, the ideal setup of those tires would be 275/45 up front and 285/45 in the back. The 275/45 up front would have a little more sidewall height to flex and fit the wheel better, but I wouldn't recommend that combo for daily driving. 265 up front would be pushing the width limits. As far as difference in the setups(given the wheels/air pressure/suspension/driving conditions were exactly the same for the 40 and 45 series tires), the 40 series tires should handle corners better as they will have less sidewall flex, but may ride rougher with less sidewall to absorb the bumps and may not be able to handle the forward acceleration forces as well as there is less sidewall flex to be able to maintain grip. Also 235/55-17 is nearly identical to the 255/45-18. Both are about 27-27.1" tall.

 

[TRIBALMAN23]

WOW thanks kooldawg, that was really helpful!!!!!
One question is
going with 275/45
how would they fit the 18x8.5 compared to the 18x10 and or look?

Pictures are very welcome at this point, a little visualization would be of great help.
18x10 will still go up front with this tire setup right?
Would 18x8.5 look better or worse, preform better or worse compared to the 18x10?

Would 18x10 all around be too over the top, or harmful?

Thanks again!!!!

 

[TRIBALMAN23]

I have been searching a little while and really can't find 275/45

I see that there are ALOT more results for 275/40 though!
Why is this? Availability? Not a recommended size?
Should I be looking for 285's instead?

 

[kooldawg6]

275/40-18 on 18x10 all four corners