18's or 17's, & wider tire in rear for road race?
- Thread starter Stangsgrl
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You know if understeer was a problem in the mustang i'm sure you can use all those corrections you want. But that's not the case, there is very minimal understeer in a 99-04, and in most reports, it is not hard (when bone stock) to keep it tamed and actually create more oversteer.Bluepony00 said:
That usually passes my mind with equal rim sizes, but the way i drive i end of murdering the fronts to the point where i can't rotate them, I never considered the rotational idea when i switched because of how i drive.Gearbanger 101 said:
tomustang said:
Here's a quote from another forum. This guy is a winning race driver and knows his stuff.
"FWIW you really need to stay away from mismatched tire combinations, especially different brands and/or larger tires in back. Mustangs understeer badly even without larger tires in the rear. The larger rear tires will amplify any understeer you already have from other sources."
I'm outta here. This kind of bad advice being given to novice drivers based on by gosh and by golly is harmful and potentially dangerous. I for one will ease my concience by no longer being involved at all.
Bye Stangnet, FWIW, anyone who wants real advice about how to set up a Mustang for road race or autocross, go to Corral or Corner Carvers.
Don't let the door hit you where the good lord split you, you can take your offset rack bushings with you since they do nothing or even worsen your setup.
BooWFO
New Member
Ok so it was a differeing viewpoint and that makes everyone think. Which is good right? Also since when do race drivers know everything about suspension setup?
Anyways not tring to hijack the thread anymore but since Tom is in here. Would say 17x9 and 17x10.5 bullitts be a decent rim choice for a little bit of everything car. Wrapped with some 255's in the front and 315's in the back.
Anyways not tring to hijack the thread anymore but since Tom is in here. Would say 17x9 and 17x10.5 bullitts be a decent rim choice for a little bit of everything car. Wrapped with some 255's in the front and 315's in the back.
this is for the person who started the thread
i just bought 18x10 for the back and 18x9 for the front of my 2004 mustang gt. my car is stock except for the mods listed in my signature. the 18x10's weigh in at about 28 lbs according to the shipping info. of course that includes the box and the plastic wrap it came in but basically 28 and the front were about 26 or so. i wanted to get 315 for the back but my dad who is knowledgable about cars said that eventually the bigger tires in the back could hurt the suspension and the axel. he told me that if i got 295 or something like that in the rear i would have more than enough. in the front maybe 265 or so. so the back could be 295/40/18 and front 265/40/18. there are people on the imboc.com site that said that they had 315 and launched hard once and blew up the back end of the car because the axel was not ready to handle that kind of a launch. the 315's grabbed too much and i guess it didn't help that they had 410 gears. but tomustang, what do you think about the 315 in the back and 265 in front. what is ure set up. thanks so much. by they was i have the deep dish bullitt wheels in the back, the spokes are black with the polished rims. i got 2 18x10 and 2 18x9 for $450 delivered. damn good deal. thanks for the comments and advise in advance.
i just bought 18x10 for the back and 18x9 for the front of my 2004 mustang gt. my car is stock except for the mods listed in my signature. the 18x10's weigh in at about 28 lbs according to the shipping info. of course that includes the box and the plastic wrap it came in but basically 28 and the front were about 26 or so. i wanted to get 315 for the back but my dad who is knowledgable about cars said that eventually the bigger tires in the back could hurt the suspension and the axel. he told me that if i got 295 or something like that in the rear i would have more than enough. in the front maybe 265 or so. so the back could be 295/40/18 and front 265/40/18. there are people on the imboc.com site that said that they had 315 and launched hard once and blew up the back end of the car because the axel was not ready to handle that kind of a launch. the 315's grabbed too much and i guess it didn't help that they had 410 gears. but tomustang, what do you think about the 315 in the back and 265 in front. what is ure set up. thanks so much. by they was i have the deep dish bullitt wheels in the back, the spokes are black with the polished rims. i got 2 18x10 and 2 18x9 for $450 delivered. damn good deal. thanks for the comments and advise in advance.
It's hard to have an everything car since dragging needs sidewall flex for better straight traction and cornering needs less flex, same with springs to compensate for launching and better weight distrbution, you need softer for launches, and a harder rate to absorb the weight transfer. Try to find the 'medium' but it'll still be avgBooWFO said:
Orange04BOSS said:
By using the 4:10's and heafty 315 are putting a ton of stress on the weak stock axle and all the componets, tq is heavily amplified and adding wider tires needs more pull from the rear which means harder lauch. I suggest upgrading to a 31 slpine setup and having the Axle Tubes welded before you try to do some hard launches
If you want to pound the crap out of the rear with higher gears and wide tires you gotta upgrade, i don't deal with alot of drag racing but someone else could give you an idea on how much the 8.8 can take in different forms
It depends on how you race your car and how you set it up, there's different ways to interact with a turn, you can either brake hard before it and glide thru or you can barrel on by and work the gas and brake in it. If you want to run hard turns and 'handle' better you have to upgrade the rest of the car to interact with each part. Since Stangsgrl's "plan is to road race more than take it to the 1/4mile" I'm sure she will mod more than just adding rims/tires to a stock mustang suspension that's built for drag racing. Especially how bad that rear sucks in the first place.FalconGuy016 said:
Yes, the Mustang has a natural tendency to understeer, but its easily curable. My only 'handling' mods are the Kenny Brown extreme matrix brace kit and relocating my battery to the rear right corner of the trunk. The car is now almost neutral.
Keep in mind that if you go with 18's for racing, your lower-profile tires to match the wheels are much more expensive... everytime you buy your tires. A friend of mine got 16's instead and the price of the wheel/tire combo on 16's was cheaper than just tires for 18's. Remember that if you start to race seriously, you're going to start going through a lot of tires. Most guys I race with use Kuhmo V700's or Toyo RA1's and get a little over a year on them, but that's mostly autocross and 5-6 track days/lapping sessions a year.
Keep in mind that if you go with 18's for racing, your lower-profile tires to match the wheels are much more expensive... everytime you buy your tires. A friend of mine got 16's instead and the price of the wheel/tire combo on 16's was cheaper than just tires for 18's. Remember that if you start to race seriously, you're going to start going through a lot of tires. Most guys I race with use Kuhmo V700's or Toyo RA1's and get a little over a year on them, but that's mostly autocross and 5-6 track days/lapping sessions a year.
BooWFO
New Member
I've seen the stock 8.8 take alot I've also seen it blow apart real easy.Orange04BOSS said:
When I first started hopping mine up the 4.10's were one of the first things I did. I'm now racing on mt et's 26x10.5's hitting it with a 100shot too. Without any problems so far now having said that yes I think I'm pushing the limits. Buddy snapped an axle on his 3rd pass with the same setup but was vortech'd.
Tom thanks, I know what you mean already got a set of drag rims and tires, just want something that is a good balance for street, corners, comfort, and affordablity.
STANGateURlilSS
Founding Member
tomustang said:terrible reference.
It is BETTER to have wider tires in the rear.
road racing is about balance.. if you look at most serious road race cars.. lets take an american iron series car for instance.. they all run 275/40/17s in ai at all 4 corners and for the aix guys.. they all run 315/35/17s at all 4 corners..
and for the original post.. you can run 275/40/17 fronts and 315/35/17 rear.. that works just fine for open tracking.. we run that setup on my wifes 98 cobra.. it works just fine.. now if you get real serious you can run a 315/35/17 up front with some front fender modification..
as for wheels size.. i woudl go 17x9 front and 17x10.5 rear
STANGateURlilSS
Founding Member
Stangsgrl said:well i don't have to run wider tires, i'm just asking which set up is better for handling? 18's or 17's? Wider tires on rear or equal size all around?
it all depends on the suspension setup.. what suspension do you have?? if it is a well balanced suspension setup.. then you can run the same size at all 4 corners and be fine..
and yes 18s have a smaller side wall.. but everyone runs 17s on there track cars..
Joe 5.0
Founding Member
I open track my car 3-4 times a yr with 315's out back and 275's up front. Yes it understeers, but its better for a novice driver to understeer rather than oversteer. I have very minimal susp mods, but I am consistently faster than alot of cars that outpower and outcorner me. Its very nice to know that you can start applying power in the middle of the corner without worrying about losing traction at all. i have the 315 nitto dr's, btw.
My next set in the front will be 275/40/17 nitto DR2's, which are road racing dragg radials.
I say do some H&R springs, subframe connectors, some stiff adjustable shocks, and get a spare set of 17" 03 Cobra wheels and run 275/40/17 R-compound tires at all four corners.
With some practice you'll be lapping tons of faster cars.
And whoever has a friend who blew up their rear end with 315 drags without more than 250rwhp, they had something wrong with their driving or their car. I have pulled 1.8 60's and launched at redline on my 315 nitto's literally hundreds of times with no ill effects to the rear end. Its never been rebuilt either. Plus I have a 5L, which makes way more tq until 3k rpm than most NA 2V.
Alot of guys that blow up rear ends and trannys with dr's have super super grabby clutches (like the spec stg 3), and when they dump it at high rpms there is a ton of shock to the driveline, which = breakage. My McLeod clutch can hold just as much hp as a spec stg 3, but its alot more progressive engagement and will slip a little on extreme launches to help prevent harsh driveline shock.
My next set in the front will be 275/40/17 nitto DR2's, which are road racing dragg radials.
I say do some H&R springs, subframe connectors, some stiff adjustable shocks, and get a spare set of 17" 03 Cobra wheels and run 275/40/17 R-compound tires at all four corners.
With some practice you'll be lapping tons of faster cars.
And whoever has a friend who blew up their rear end with 315 drags without more than 250rwhp, they had something wrong with their driving or their car. I have pulled 1.8 60's and launched at redline on my 315 nitto's literally hundreds of times with no ill effects to the rear end. Its never been rebuilt either. Plus I have a 5L, which makes way more tq until 3k rpm than most NA 2V.
Alot of guys that blow up rear ends and trannys with dr's have super super grabby clutches (like the spec stg 3), and when they dump it at high rpms there is a ton of shock to the driveline, which = breakage. My McLeod clutch can hold just as much hp as a spec stg 3, but its alot more progressive engagement and will slip a little on extreme launches to help prevent harsh driveline shock.
