225/60/15 or 225/50/15

[PrimerdFury]

I did a quick search and couldn't find a straight answer. I'm buying tires right now for stock rims and wanted to know opinions. Should I stick with stock size or go to the 50 series. I think I'm going with the BFG G-Force Sport. Thanks in advance.

 

[1SLO306]

i would say stay around stock size, unless u want to throw ur speedo and odometer off a lil.

 

[PrimerdFury]

Thats an angle I hadn't considered...but i don't really care about the speedo and odometer...I care more about performance and I don't really know the performance difference between the two sizes.

 

[1SLO306]

i have always heard that if u drom the diameter then u lower the gear ratio a lil. i know u would break traction easier with the 50's.

 

[srothfuss]

Let's calculate the difference's;

Stock 15" = 225/60/15 which equals 25.63" dia
Mod 15" = 225/50/15 which equals 23.85" dia

Your speedometer will be off by 6.9% through the entire RPM range and so will your odometer depending on how fast you travel. Both of these things are not serious, but you should understand them.

The smaller tire will corner better and ride worse
The larger tire will still corner good but ride smoother.

FYI - I love corners and run the stock tire size in the Bridgestone Potenza G009's. It's a nice tire.

 

[PrimerdFury]

Well...seeings how I don't care about a smooth ride I guess I will go with the 50 series. Would there be a straight line performance difference between the two..if so which would be better?

 

[stang8urimport]

225/60/15 BFG G-Force Sports are on backorder... I know... I ordered a set for my little brother lol. I had to get them from another store in.. I believe Arizona. But the 50 series can be had easy.

 

[RUNINAGT]

I would stay with stock. I dont see a big advantage with going with a smaller tire. wont look as good either.

 

[IntenseBlue]

With 15s, get the 60 series

 

[Michael Yount]

Your speedo will read 7% faster than it currently does. That short a tire is gonna look really goofy on a stock height Stang -- too much space between the top of the tire and the fender opening.

I don't agree that the shorter tire will necessarily handle better -- if the two tires have similar sidewal stiffness, tread compound and speed rating - they're gonna make the car handle quite similarly.

If you want to go with a shorter sidewall, you need to move up to a 16" wheel -- 225/50/16 or 225/55/16.

 

[Kerpal]

My car came with 225/50R15's on it, and I think I'm going to stick with the shorter sidewall. I think seeing a little more of a gap looks better than seeing really tall sidewalls. A 60 series tire is just fugly IMO.

Has anyone actually tried the g-force sports? Those are what I'm looking into as well.

I'm also curious about the Falken Ziex ZE-512's, I haven't heard much about them, but the price is attractive...

 

[jammer84_03]

save the money on new tires and five lug convert....lol.

 

[TheUser]

If you want to go with a shorter sidewall, you need to move up to a 16" wheel -- 225/50/16 or 225/55/16.

I have 225/50/16's on my pony's and it looks good, but I don't know about 225/50's on a 15". You could always give it a drop to compensate, but might be easier to just get some 16's. 60's probably would look kinda goofy, especially on the front.

 

[Cougar5.O]

60's probably would look kinda goofy, especially on the front.

They came from the factory pretty goofy I guess - wonder how they sold so many of these goofy looking Mustangs back then?

 

[jammer84_03]

lol...good spot coug...beat me too it

 

[1SLO306]

save the money on new tires and five lug convert....lol.

and he would have to save for wheels too

 

[srothfuss]

What is wrong with a little sidewall?

It's a bad picture but I think the car itself looks just fine. Then again, I'd like to keep it as stock looking as possible.

 

[1SLO306]

them sidewalls isnt much taller than my 245/50's i have on my ponies.

 

[87gtconv]

If you are going to go with 16" you can go with Cobra R's (Repros) and go up to 245/45 and fit quite well. I think I would really consider 17" if I had to do it over again although I am real happy with me setup. You will need a minimum of 8" as my old Ponys were 7" and the bigger tire would not fit them.

 

[PrimerdFury]

Well I do have the eibach drag launch kit and I think that lowers the car and inch and a half or something, so the 50 series shouldn't look too awkward. The 50 series give you a little more gear right? I want more gear that sounds good to me. Regarding the five lug conversion I would love to do that down the road...but right now I don't want to buy new rims...my tires are shot and need to be replaced. I need another set of slicks for the track too...gotta love how these cars eat through tires...