Best tire size / brand

[scarypat2001]

I have placed an order for a manual '05 GT Mineral Grey w/red leather (including enhanced interior package), stock wheels. Should be delivered in June.

After reading the different magazine reviews, and especially after reading the long term review from Edmunds, it seems that there could be a great improvement to the car road holding by changing the size/brand of tires.

After some research (Tire Rack and others), the possibilities seem almost infinite: 18, 19, 20 in, sizes from 245 to 285... I'm confused!

The main idea is to have aggressive rubber, but still have a fairly compliant ride: I don't want to loose all my teeth fillings! This is important, as I live in Montreal, Canada, and our streets are notoriously known for our gigantic potholes and the uneven surface they create when fixed... Finally, wear is not a big issue for me, as I won't put a lot of mileage on that car (although it will be a daily ride, even in winter - I'll ask the winter tire question next fall!). We're talking about 6 to 8000 km on summer tires, and about 4 to 6000 km on winter tires. If I go for bigger wheels, I'll use the original mags for winter tires.

First big question: how do the original P Zero Nero hold their own on spirited driving (especially cornering)... Reviews seem to say they,re OK , but the long term test from Edmunds clearly indicates to upgrade the rubber.

Second question: should I stick to wider tires on the original wheel (thus keeping a failry high sidewall = smooth ride), or should I take the plundge and go for a 18 or 19 in, wheel...

Third question: based on your answers to my second question, what would be a good size / brand to put on the standard or aftemarket (bigger) wheel? After reading the buyers reviews of different tires/brands on the Tire Rack, I could not come up with a clear and definitive opinion about any of these!

Fourth question: I see a lot of you guys going with wider tracks at the back than the front. I understand it would help transferring all that power to the ground, but what about handling and wet conditions?

Finally, I still want to be able to do burn outs... That's the reason why I got this car in the first place!

A specialized tire store recommended GY F1 255/45/18. What's your opinion about the size/tire?


Thanks for your advice on the matter...

A confused guy...

 

[lostsoul]

I heard people just keeping the stock rims and throwing some 255/45/17 on. You cant get over that without new rims..

 

[87 blown stang]

is there a noticable differnce when running the 255's? the stocks look bad from the back.

 

['01SilverBullet]

I heard people just keeping the stock rims and throwing some 255/45/17 on. You cant get over that without new rims..

I am not sure you could do that without changing recalibrating the speedo, because you're changing the ride circumference so much.

I know people are going 255/50/17 on the stock rims without having to recalibrate.

You could do 255/45/18 however and not have to recalibrate because it's almost the same ride circumference as stock.

 

[ruffy]

I recommend you buy an extra set of rims for summer, some nice sporty 18" chrome bling and wrap them in BF Goodrich g-Force KDW 2. Since the roads could use some work I'd go with 255-45-18.

I also recommend for winter you keep your stock rims and tires and use them til they wear out. The P-zero is a pretty good all season tire, and works well in the winter. Once they wear out I recommend the Dunlop Winter Sport M3, or the Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport, size 235-55-17. Hope this helps. Good Luck

 

[flyingmachine]

I recommend you buy an extra set of rims for summer, some nice sporty 18" chrome bling and wrap them in BF Goodrich g-Force KDW 2. Since the roads could use some work I'd go with 255-45-18.

I also recommend for winter you keep your stock rims and tires and use them til they wear out. The P-zero is a pretty good all season tire, and works well in the winter. Once they wear out I recommend the Dunlop Winter Sport M3, or the Pirelli Winter 210 SnowSport, size 235-55-17. Hope this helps. Good Luck

I agree 100%. I got some 18x8 wheels and the BFG KDW 255/45-18. Going to keep the stock wheels/tires for winter and see how the pirellis hold up in the snow. If not so good, I will get some Blizzaks.

 

[scarypat2001]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the feedback. I'll look at the 255/45 R18 option. As for winter, with that much HP on rear wheels, I will invest on 4 winter tires with a good speed rating. BTW, what is the speed rating of the BF Goodrich g-Force KDW 2 ?

Since I'm leasing my car for 3 years (best way to sell the idea of getting a new car every 3 or 4 years to my "boss" AKA wife!), I'll store the original rubber for when I return the car at the end of the lease.

 

[Rally]

Adding on to this question...

Rather than start a new post, I am adding my question into the mix since it is very similar...

I am thinking of going with a 265/45/18 tire size on my incoming GT vert (all around). This should not require a speedo recalibration I believe? Should I go to a 9" width on the wheel I am purchasing? What is the general feeling on the width of the rim relative to tire width?

Thanks

 

[flyingmachine]

Rather than start a new post, I am adding my question into the mix since it is very similar...

I am thinking of going with a 265/45/18 tire size on my incoming GT vert (all around). This should not require a speedo recalibration I believe? Should I go to a 9" width on the wheel I am purchasing? What is the general feeling on the width of the rim relative to tire width?

Thanks

Tirerack.com doesn't carry a 265/45-18, where did you see a tire of this size?

 

[ceyko]

I personally am running 275s on 9" rims. However, I did the match and 275s are technically 4cms wider then 9" and 315s are an additional 4cms. I though 8 cms would be way too oversized, but I've seen 2 cases on cars where this is not the case. Therefore, my replacement rears will be 315s and I'll stay with 275s on the front.

If you want to stay absolutely safe, go with 275s, but 315s are doable.

Take care,
Ceyko

Rather than start a new post, I am adding my question into the mix since it is very similar...

I am thinking of going with a 265/45/18 tire size on my incoming GT vert (all around). This should not require a speedo recalibration I believe? Should I go to a 9" width on the wheel I am purchasing? What is the general feeling on the width of the rim relative to tire width?

Thanks

 

[flyingmachine]

I personally am running 275s on 9" rims.

I assume 275/40-18?

 

[ceyko]

275/40/17s

 

[flyingmachine]

275/40/17s

You do realize that is a 5.56% smaller diameter tire size than stock, which means a 3.5 mph difference? What made you decide to do that?

 

[ceyko]

Honestly, I did not want 18s...due to the cost of the tires being so expensive. The tire/wheel packages at afswheels.com offered the 275/40/17s, so I got them as part of the package. Due to that and 4.10s, I had to buy a tuner anyway for the speedo and stuff. Plus, I dig the slightly lower profile.

So, basically I needed the tuner and that's what afswheels.com offered. Plus, it seems to be a common size and the tires are fairly inexpensive.

Take care,
Ceyko

 

[GottaBeRed]

I am currently running 245/45/18s in front on a 18 x 9 inch front and 275/40/18s on a 18 x 10 inch rear.

The front combo is great but next time around I'm thinking of the 285/40/18 rear to fill the wheel well a little. Try Discount Tire or TireRack for info concerning fitment on whatever rims you choose.

The highest diameter rubber that I've heard of so far is the GoodYear Eagle F1 in a 295/45/18 if you're thinking of that ProStock look on an 18 inch rim.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Compa...rue&pagelen=20&pagenum=1&pagemark=1&x=56&y=16

While I haven't heard of anyone running wider than 315s on 11 inch wide 18s I'm sure that some manufacturer will get an offset that can handle 335s with ease.

 

[Rally]

Oops, funky size doesn't exist

Tirerack.com doesn't carry a 265/45-18, where did you see a tire of this size?

Thanks for pointing this out. I was fiddling around with a tire size calculator and came up with the 265/45/18 size that matched closely to the stock size. Unfortunately this size doesn't seem to exist in the real world of tires... This brings me to a couple more questions.

First, I am considering 285/40/18 all around, but think this may be too wide (at least for fronts). Maybe 255/45/18 would be better? Since the stock wheel setup is so much larger than my 97GT (at about 2" diameter, I have 245/45/17s on it) I was hoping for some width to balance out the look.

Second, is this tire rotation thing such a big deal, I have heard both sides. Some claim rotation is the only way to go, others feel that modern tires do not need rotation so much. I am not planning on putting tons of miles on this new Mustang, so I am not too concerned about a minor decrease in tire life. That being said, maybe 255s on the front and 285s out back (all on 9" rims?) would be best? What does everyone think?

One more thing, what is the maximum width of tire that will fit on 8" and a 9" rims?

Thanks again.

 

[ceyko]

For 9" wheels...my opinion is pasted below from previous post...

"If you want to stay absolutely safe, go with 275s, but 315s are doable."

 

[Rally]

This brings me to a couple more questions.

First, I am considering 285/40/18 all around, but think this may be too wide (at least for fronts). Maybe 255/45/18 would be better? Since the stock wheel setup is so much larger than my 97GT (at about 2" diameter, I have 245/45/17s on it) I was hoping for some width to balance out the look.

Second, is this tire rotation thing such a big deal, I have heard both sides. Some claim rotation is the only way to go, others feel that modern tires do not need rotation so much. I am not planning on putting tons of miles on this new Mustang, so I am not too concerned about a minor decrease in tire life. That being said, maybe 255s on the front and 285s out back (all on 9" rims?) would be best? What does everyone think?

Thanks for the reply ceyko. It looks that I will be getting at least 9" wheels.

Any thoughts concerning rotation or 255 vs 285? I am on the fence about the size issue. 255s seem a bit narrow, but 285s are really wide. Why can't there be a 265 or 275 size that wouldn't require a speedo recalibration!

 

[ceyko]

On my stang, I have no plans for tire rotation. IMO, given you don't want to do the speedo calibration I'd go with 285s out back and 255s up front and replaced as needed.

 

[Over's GT]

to rotate or not

If you are like most HP junkies you will wear out the rear tires of any given combo first

If you lean towards going around corners fast then the front will go first

the ability to rotate tires now or in the past has great benifits on top of just more (depending on driving habits alot more) miles out of a set, the next biggest benifit of rotating rear to front is every rotation you get whats like a semi-new pair of tires on the front (my cars always drive smother and steer better (less pull) after a rotation, front tires alway wear different then rears perfect allignment or not. *this applies to solid rear axle only

on the other hand, If you have stagered front and rear tires you get the unique costom look, also I know of situations were the rears have been replaced 2 or more times while fronts are fine (these are the burn out guys)