Whats up with the new GT tires size? Has anyone noticed that the new GT comes with 235/55/ series tires? Doesnt 235/55/17 pirelli all season seem a bit skinny and high profile for the new mustang. Reviews have been saying how much better the car handles than the pre-2005 models, and the car seems pretty quick but it seems like all this could be better with a more sport oriented tire. Going to a lower profile wider tire should really improve the GT's feel and performance. Going to take a bit of lowering to get rid of the 4x4 look when switching from a 55 series to a 40 series on an already too high looking mustang. I know that there will be an 18 inch option in the future I just think its stange that they put a skinnier and higher profile tire on a car with more power and stiffer chassis. I expected them to at least keep the current cars 245/45/17's or larger size.
The 245/45/17s on the SN95 Mustangs are TOO SMALL in diameter. They look like go-cart tires. Because the 05 Stangs chassis and suspension are so much better, it allows the use of narrower taller tires while still acheiving better results. Lower wider tires do not always = better handling.
Go to tirerack.com and look for the selection for that size tire. There isn't much available. Maybe that will change when there are thousands of new Mustangs needing tires.
I like it. It goes with the classic look more. Besides, I'm worn out on the whole 40 series tire thing.
18s are going to be optional in the future all that are currently availible on the car are 17's. You can go to the ford site and build an 05 mustang now. It will list the wheel and tire combos that you can get now.
The higher final drive ratio is because the diameter of all 3 different tires 16", 17" & 18" are larger in diameter than the 99-04 tires. Wheel size has nothing to do with overall tire diameter. That depends on what width and aspect ratio tire is used: 99-04 17" tires: 25.68" diameter 05 16": 27.00" dia 05 17": 27.17" dia 05 18": 26.98" dia. The 3 tire sizes were purposely chosen because they have approximately the same overall diameter.
Ford also wanted to make the 05 Stang perform much better in light snow. The narrower tire accomplishes this. In addtion to the other remarks in this thread about better off line traction, etc, Ford wanted to be able to sell more cars in the Northeast. I live just 40 minutes north of NYC and we had 88 inches of snow last year. With that said, I'm still gunnna keep my Audi all wheel drive turbo for the really bad weather. PS - my 05 Stang should be delivered to the dealer this week!
