Wheels-Tires 235 Vs 275

RangerJoe

I leave the horn on while driving
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Apr 26, 2010
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Probably in the end of June I am going to replace my worn out 555R's. I got a set of V6 15X7 wheels for free. I have been going back and forth trying to decide between a full slick, or the MT Drag Radials. I think I have decided on the radials, and I am going to mount them on the V6 wheels for track days only.

Now my decision is what size to go with. They make a 235 and a 275. I really want to run the shorter tire, 26" vs 27", so that my gearing is not affected, but I also give up contact area with the shorter tire. Does anyone have any experience with the 235 tire? I know there are some fast cars running the 275's. I don't imagine that a lower HP car like mine will suffer too much from the smaller tire.

Opinions welcomed....

Joe
 
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I personally prefer the 275, it fits well and is an excellent tire and should fit your stang with no trouble at all in the 275/50/15 variety. If you do decide on the 235, my buddy has a 66' stang with a 331, 4 speed stick and 150 shot, the car leaves hard, hooks good and has been a best of 10.90 1/4 mile et. So as far as them working, they do. It's my experience that it is not the most popular size. Hope that helps
 
So as far as them working, they do. It's my experience that it is not the most popular size.

Thats good to hear about your friend's success with the 235's. And yes, its not the most popular. I'm finding that most the big name mustang suppliers don't even carry the 235. So far, Ebay has been the best price on them.

Joe
 
Thats good to hear about your friend's success with the 235's. And yes, its not the most popular. I'm finding that most the big name mustang suppliers don't even carry the 235. So far, Ebay has been the best price on them.

Joe
235's really aren't a common tire to run in the rear. I have always thought, more tire on the ground, the better. If your going with 15" tire, some MT ET streets would be a great tire to look at as well. From a few of my friends, they prefer MT ET's over anything else.
 
Yeah for the track mainly, but i need to be able to drive it there on the tires. Would also like to be able to compete in street classes like the true street event.

I did a little more googling, this time with the LS crowd. Found a few who are makig over 400rwhp and hooking up with them. Also found some great discussions regarding tire size and their effect on 60fts vs et. One cut .10 off his 60, but slowed at the end of the track due to larger tire, ended up running no faster than before. The other ran a little slower with the bigger tires.

I think it is going to come down to what works for my combo. I really think i need the gearing. I just swapped from 3.73 to 4.10 for this reason.

Keep feedback coming, i'm all ears at this point.

Joe
 
If I didn't have a pretty much endless supply of 276/60s I'd be running 235s it's plenty of tire for most stock block cars
 
Yeah for the track mainly, but i need to be able to drive it there on the tires. Would also like to be able to compete in street classes like the true street event.
Joe
I guess if true street requires a radial, then you've got to go that route.
I had plenty of street miles, and drove to and from the track on ET Streets (the bias ones) without issue.
 
If you only plan on buying two tires, stick with the drag radials. Bias Ply's are only any good when you're running them on all four corners. It can become a major safety hazard at the top end of the track when you mix and match bias ply's with radial tires as the rim likes to "dance around" within the confines of the tire at speed, where radials do not.

As for the size...stick with the 235's. If for no other reason that 275's are waaaay too wide on a 7" wheel. You're most certainly going to make contact with your quad shocks (if you still have them) and possibly rear shocks, exhaust and fender lips with the 275's. I had Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials in a 255's on a 7" V6 Mustang wheel when I was running them on my Cougar and they were plenty "bulged". For reference sake, I was making 465lb ft of torque and wasn't breaking them loose. Another nice benefit it fitment....Not to mention the 275's are approx. 4lbs per tires heavier than the 235's...that can equal a lot of rotational mass at the top end.
 
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If you only plan on buying two tires, stick with the drag radials. Bias Ply's are only any good when you're running them on all four corners. It can become a major safety hazard at the top end of the track when you mix and match bias ply's with radial tires as the rim likes to "dance around" within the confines of the tire at speed, where radials do not.

As for the size...stick with the 235's. If for no other reason that 275's are waaaay too wide on a 7" wheel. You're most certainly going to make contact with your quad shocks (if you still have them) and possibly rear shocks, exhaust and fender lips with the 275's. I had Mickey Thompson ET Street Radials in a 255's on a 7" V6 Mustang wheel when I was running them on my Cougar and they were plenty "bulged". For reference sake, I was making 465lb ft of torque and wasn't breaking them loose. Another nice benefit it fitment....Not to mention the 275's are approx. 4lbs per tires heavier than the 235's...that can equal a lot of rotational mass at the top end.

even running bias plys on all 4 corners you get the death wobble up top.

we actually run bias ply fronts still with the radial rears on the X275 car.
 
even running bias plys on all 4 corners you get the death wobble up top.

we actually run bias ply fronts still with the radial rears on the X275 car.

Yeah, it's out back where it can get scary. Watched a guys front end try to pass his back end at the track once at the track. You could literally see his back tires getting out of shape and him fighting like mad to course correct. He managed to save it, but I'm sure he needed a change of underwear afterwards. Scary stuff.
 
I guess I should have mentioned I ran bias up front too. At the track 45psi up front and 9 to 11 out back. On the street 35/26. I hate to admit, but on a couple occasions I had the car north of 140 and still did not have any death wobble.
I'm not sure what top end everyone is referring to, I was turning 104mph and the car was no where near unstable, and, several racing buddies were running high 130's with no stability issues.
 
I guess I should have mentioned I ran bias up front too. At the track 45psi up front and 9 to 11 out back. On the street 35/26. I hate to admit, but on a couple occasions I had the car north of 140 and still did not have any death wobble.
I'm not sure what top end everyone is referring to, I was turning 104mph and the car was no where near unstable, and, several racing buddies were running high 130's with no stability issues.

You'd be lucking if it only happened while you're in a straight line. What I've you've got to make a quick course correction to avoid some debris, or a hazard on the track. Heck, a good cross wind at triple digit speeds will get you back end swaying.

Radials have that hard side wall casing that stay rigid at speeds, but bias ply's do not. They'll dance around the rim. Great for getting that "wrinkle" effect to transfer some of the energy and take the initial "shock" out of the launch at the starting line...and for allowing the tire to grow in diameter as speed increases, but not so much for high speed safety. When the tire grows, it gets narrower....reducing it's contact patch with the pavement. Overpower the gear, or catch some water/oil/dirt at half track and break them loose and your first instinct is to let right out of it....causing them to shrink back down and grab a hold again. That could start a wiggle that even some of the greatest drivers can't get stopped.

Besides...for as good as modern Radials are, you've got to be making a heck of a lot of power to justify all out race slicks.
 
I appreciate everyone's input. I think I have definetly decided to go with the 235's. Now I just gotta wait on the cash to collect! I've checked CJPonyparts, LMR, AmericanMuscle and a few others who do SN discounts, but none of them carry the 235 tire. I thought about calling LMR and seeing if they could order it, and still offer a discount. So far, I found them on Ebay for $207, each, shipped.

Joe
 
We picked up about a tenth and 2 mph going to radials...

I think this is the route for me. When are you going to get back to the track? BTW, I cracked 12's on my Nittos, leaving at 3100, part throttle. 1.85 60ft. Can't wait for some 4000+ launches. I really would like to see a 1.69 60ft and some 12.5X's, but we will see. My car is pretty heavy, 3390 is what it weighed with me in it when I ran that time. Using one of the many online calculators, I input my mph (107.77) and my weight and came up with 305rwhp. My b-day comes in October, I really want an Anderson PMS. Hoping to tune it on the road, then rent the local dyno for a few hours to fine tweak it. I really know nothing about tuning, so it will be a big learning experience. Really want to squeek everything I can out of this setup before I go on a two year saving adventure for a more serious HCI.

Joe