What size tires with 18's?

[txredgt]

I am pondering getting a new wheel/tire setup and the options are either Hypercoated GT4's or black chrome FR500's. Another less expensive option would be to get deep dish black bullitts to match the wheels I already have and I still might go this way. What size tires is everyone running with the 18's in the rear? It looks like 295 is the biggest you can get with Nitto's in the 555's. I have had great luck with my 555's which is why I want to go back with them. I have gotten the most miles out of them by 15-20K miles. Any options on what would look best on my car?

 

[vertigasen]

I would say it depends on the wheel size. Most of the bullets and fr500s are 18x10s. With that, I would stay go with 295/35s....any wider than that and the tire starts to bulge a bit. The problem here, is that the 555s dont have the right size in 295s. Their 295s are 295/45s, which are 28"+ tires. The best option they have is 285/35. Our tires are stock tires are about 25.5" and anything too much more than 26" starts to look a little funny on a normal street tire.

With that said, I would sugguest an alternate tire. Vredstein Ultrac Sessantas. I have been running them for a while and think they are 100x better than the 555s....not to mention cheaper. I did a post a long while ago about my tire comparisons. Unless I have some spare cash around for a set of Michelins....for an everyday street tire....I wont use anything other than the Vredsteins. The 295s are about $220 each and some 265/35s for up front are about 180 each.

 

[Night Shifter]

295's for sure! if i had 18's thats what i would have ran...i think anything bigger than that gives the car a monster truck look from the rear...

i have 315's and from the front/side they look good but from the back waay too wide imo...295's are perfect

 

[txredgt]

So what are the feelings on which wheels would look the best on my car? I know its all subjective but still doesn't hurt to get other opinions.

 

[vertigasen]

My opinion....black deep dish bullets of the ones you listed. With the color of your car, I think black centers with polished lips look a lot better....especially when you throw in the black accents on the front bumper.

I am not a fan of the GT4s at all. I have seen a few cars with it, and it just looks out of place.

The FR5's. I like them, on some cars. I had a set of black FR5s for about 2 months. I wanted to get rid of them, but was going to wait....until I bent one on a pot hole. Then came my 18x10.5 black chrome 03 cobras......and I havent looked back (3 years ago).

Here are 2 others to consiter. My favroite right now.....10 anniversary cobras in 18x10....here. I think they are probably the best look wheel available right at a reasonable price. The other, a little more expensive, but nice.....Weld RT-S. They are available in 17s and 18s.....polished and black.

Just my opinions.

 

[turbogt]

Im running 315/30/18 azenis on my FR500s and they do not bulge at all. As a matter of fact, I would not want to run anything smaller for fear of curb rash/too much lip showing

 

[sonic281]

ive got 295/35 nitto invos on a 18x9.5 wheel looks good to me

 

[turbogt]

 

[txredgt]

That doesn't look too big at all. I always wonder why more companies don't make 305 or 315's. To me, that looks perfect. I wish it was on a new edge so I could see it exactly how it would be but that looks great. The fronts look slightly too big but nothing that my 275's on 17x8 look now. Thanks man. Your car is sweet btw.

 

[turbogt]

That doesn't look too big at all. I always wonder why more companies don't make 305 or 315's. To me, that looks perfect. I wish it was on a new edge so I could see it exactly how it would be but that looks great. The fronts look slightly too big but nothing that my 275's on 17x8 look now. Thanks man. Your car is sweet btw.

Thanks It has to be the angle.. The fronts are 265's on a 9" rim.. Azenis do have a pretty large bead protector that protrudes over the lip of the rim. I'll look for a close up

 

[LarsD]

Man that is a sexy setup. I went and looked up some Azenis, LOL I can't afford that!

 

[vertigasen]

I think it looks pretty good, but they do bulge just a bit. From what I read, the Azenis's run narrow tho....when compared to street tires. I have seen a set of 315/18 Michelins that you can litterally see the sidewall angle out from the tire. These are no where near that bad, but I think that might be because of the HUGE lip protector on those things. That looks like at least a 1/4-3/8" of protector. Then the tire dips in a bit, then the bulge out.

I still say that on a 10" rim, a 315 is to much...especially a true street tire. The Azenis is not a true street tire, it is a DOT legal Comp tire. Now, as for the curb rash thing.....dont hit curbs, and the sidewall is not a great thing to use as a protector. Most of the tires in this size are performance tires, which means they have a softer compound. I have seen a chunk larger than a quarter come out of a dunlop 2000 from rubbing the curb.

Also, think about this. The 18x10 hypercoated FR500 is about $160 each. Those rear 315/30 18s are over $400 each. Which would you rather replace because of a curb incident?

 

[turbogt]

I think it looks pretty good, but they do bulge just a bit. From what I read, the Azenis's run narrow tho....when compared to street tires. I have seen a set of 315/18 Michelins that you can litterally see the sidewall angle out from the tire. These are no where near that bad, but I think that might be because of the HUGE lip protector on those things. That looks like at least a 1/4-3/8" of protector. Then the tire dips in a bit, then the bulge out.

I still say that on a 10" rim, a 315 is to much...especially a true street tire. The Azenis is not a true street tire, it is a DOT legal Comp tire. Now, as for the curb rash thing.....dont hit curbs, and the sidewall is not a great thing to use as a protector. Most of the tires in this size are performance tires, which means they have a softer compound. I have seen a chunk larger than a quarter come out of a dunlop 2000 from rubbing the curb.

Also, think about this. The 18x10 hypercoated FR500 is about $160 each. Those rear 315/30 18s are over $400 each. Which would you rather replace because of a curb incident?

Would it make you jealous if I told you I bought 8 rears and 4 fronts for $160 each Somewhere had a crazy blowout on them and i bought everything they still had left in stock. Otherwise, the rears were about $340. I'm telling you there is ZERO bulge whatsoever, although I would rather run a tire that's a little wide on a mustang than one thats stretched and belongs on a VW. But in something like the goodyear F1, alot of guys do run 295's on a 10" rim, which looks really good.. Then there are some guys who also run a 335 on that same 10" rim, and it honestly doesn't look bad either, but the 295 honestly has a better contact patch. I guess what I"m saying is, look at LOTS of pictures and decide what you want yourself.. There are thousands of 10" wheel pictures on Svtperformance