255/40/17....sidewall too small thin??????

fiveoho · Jul 19, 2006

just ordered my 17x9 black bullet DD wheels and my tires. went with the sumitomo htrz tire. 275/40s back and 255/40s front. got the tires in yesterday and after looking at the fronts, im afraid the sidewalls are going to look too thin. my last setup was 17x9 cobra rs with 275/40s rear and 255/45s front ( sumitomo htr + ).

the reason i went with a 255/40 this time is because it is a 25" tall tire. the 255/45 is a 26" tall tire. my car has the eibach sportlines on it and its more leveled out than nosed down . i wanted the subtle nosed down look. so in my mind a inch shorter tire would drop the car in the front ( the rear tire specs are exactly the same from last tire to this one...25.7" tall ).

this is my question: am i thinking right or is my conception on it wrong? if the tire is 1" shorter, the car will then sit 1" lower in the front. OR is that 1" going to be noticed in the gap between the bottom of the fender and the top of the tire? meaning the gap will be greater because the sidewall is shorter. thats what i DONT want. and i DONTwant it to look like a rubberband.

please help before i order the 255/45s. keep what i got or order the taller sidewall????

hotrodnut · Jul 19, 2006

You will only get 1/2" of that 1" per side (off the centerline). So your Mustang will sit 1/2" lower and the fenderwell clearance will be 1/2" less.
EDIT: I mean 1/2" more fenderwell clearance.

1TallMF · Jul 19, 2006

I was kind of in the same situation when I got my front tires. I went with 255/45's after seeing both side by side, and comparing with the height of the 275/40's, they looked alot closer. In your situation, the distance from the centerline of the axle to the fender lip will remain constant because nothing changes in the suspension. So with a 255/40 being 1" shorter, there should be a 1/2" wider gap between the top of the tire to the fender lip, but the distance from the ground to the fender lip will also go down 1/2". If it were me, I'd go 255/45 because I find that extra 1" diameter helps to fill out the wheel well as much as possible, and that extra 1/2" between the fender and the tire will be noticable. Not to mention your ride will be a tiny bit smoother over bumps because of the extra 1/2" of sidewall "give" with the /45's.

fiveoho · Jul 19, 2006

hotrodnut said:
You will only get 1/2" of that 1" per side (off the centerline). So your Mustang will sit 1/2" lower and the fenderwell clearance will be 1/2" less.
EDIT: I mean 1/2" more fenderwell clearance.

want to make sure i understand......so the distance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the front fender will be MORE (more gap) with a 255/40?

so a 255/45 will have LESS distance (less gap) between the top of the tire to the bottom of the fender?

but if i use a 255/40 , the car will actually sit 1/2" lower than 255/45s?

fiveoho · Jul 19, 2006

1TallMF: jump in and comment on that post above too

hotrodnut · Jul 19, 2006

fiveoho said:
want to make sure i understand......so the distance between the top of the tire and the bottom of the front fender will be MORE (more gap) with a 255/40?

so a 255/45 will have LESS distance (less gap) between the top of the tire to the bottom of the fender?

but if i use a 255/40 , the car will actually sit 1/2" lower than 255/45s?

Yes sir, you are correct.

fiveoho · Jul 19, 2006

well crap

so its either more gap and sitting lower or less gap and same ride height

i want both

i just dont want that 255/40 to look like a rubber band and a 4x4 in the front

stangGT97 · Jul 19, 2006

I was just in the same situation, and after doing some calculations, i found that the 255/45 has a sidewall that is closer to stock than a 255/40 tire. Here is the breakdown for your particular case-
255/45 - sidewall=114.75mm
255/40 - sidewall=102mm
275/40 - sidewall=110

I think you should consider exchanging the 255/40s for a set of 255/45 if that is possible. Personally, I am running 255/45 KDWs at all four corners and I love them

1TallMF · Jul 19, 2006

fiveoho said:
1TallMF: jump in and comment on that post above too

Sorry, I was away for a while.

You are right on the ball. Its kind of a compromise, but I think the advantages of the /45's outweigh the advantages of the /40's. My car would bottom-out and scrape on everything before and I think I would go nuts with the /40's. I don't scrape as often with the /45's.

hotrodnut · Jul 19, 2006

fiveoho said:
well crap

i want both

To have both, you either can change springs, cut springs, remove isolators, and/or install Steeda X2 balljoints without using their supplied spring spacer. Not all those are desirable in my book, but it can happen.

Installing X2 ball joints and not using the spring spacers will drop you near that extra 1/2" you want and removing the isolators could possibly add another 1/4" drop.

fiveoho · Jul 19, 2006

stangGT97 said:
I was just in the same situation, and after doing some calculations, i found that the 255/45 has a sidewall that is closer to stock than a 255/40 tire. Here is the breakdown for your particular case-
255/45 - sidewall=114.75mm
255/40 - sidewall=102mm
275/40 - sidewall=110

I think you should consider exchanging the 255/40s for a set of 255/45 if that is possible. Personally, I am running 255/45 KDWs at all four corners and I love them

im afriad i wont be happy with the 255/40s . and they have a rim protector, which im not crazy about. i think the 255/45s may not have that.

you said consider ordering the 255/45s...youre prob right

fiveoho · Jul 19, 2006

hotrodnut said:
To have both, you either can change springs, cut springs, remove isolators, and/or install Steeda X2 balljoints without using their supplied spring spacer. Not all those are desirable in my book, but it can happen.

Installing X2 ball joints and not using the spring spacers will drop you near that extra 1/2" you want and removing the isolators could possibly add another 1/4" drop.

how much are those ball joints? how hard to install? where to buy?

explain more about the sping spacers please...not understanding that one. is there disadvantages to this?

isolators: i have energy suspesion isolators. if i take those out, wont it make noise, ride rough? take top and bottom isolators out? just one?

thanks guys

i would really like to drop the front an additional 1/2" - 3/4"

fiveoho · Jul 19, 2006

if i could drop the front that little bit, i would be satisfied ( probably would still order the 255/45s )

hotrodnut · Jul 19, 2006

fiveoho said:
how much are those ball joints? how hard to install? where to buy?

explain more about the sping spacers please...not understanding that one. is there disadvantages to this?

isolators: i have energy suspesion isolators. if i take those out, wont it make noise, ride rough? take top and bottom isolators out? just one?

thanks guys

i would really like to drop the front an additional 1/2" - 3/4"

I got the Steeda X2's for my Son for Christmas from the Stagnet's partshopper.com . The spacers I am talking about come with the X2 balljoints and the instructions says they will retain the height is used. So, leaving them out drops the front down near a 1/2". They retail at $99.95 from Steeda but I'm sure I got them for less at partshopper.com.

Without the isolators you may get a little noise and road feel but I've heard plenty of people without issues.

fiveoho · Jul 19, 2006

hotrodnut said:
I got the Steeda X2's for my Son for Christmas from the Stagnet's partshopper.com . The spacers I am talking about come with the X2 balljoints and the instructions says they will retain the height is used. So, leaving them out drops the front down near a 1/2". They retail at $99.95 from Steeda but I'm sure I got them for less at partshopper.com.

Without the isolators you may get a little noise and road feel but I've heard plenty of people without issues.

any 1st hand experience with the steeda balljoints? 1/2" pretty much a for sure thing?

hotrodnut · Jul 20, 2006

fiveoho said:
any 1st hand experience with the steeda balljoints? 1/2" pretty much a for sure thing?

Well, springs went in at the same time so exact is kinda hard to say.
Here's a picture of the X2 (left) vs stock (right), you can get an idea of how much difference from this:

fiveoho · Jul 20, 2006

i cant see the images because im at work. our gay network blocks alot of pictures. soon as i get home this evening i iwll have a look.

IS THERE ANY WAY TO ADJUST THE FACTORY BALLJOINTS?? any spacers to take out???

hotrodnut · Jul 20, 2006

fiveoho said:
i cant see the images because im at work. our gay network blocks alot of pictures. soon as i get home this evening i iwll have a look.

IS THERE ANY WAY TO ADJUST THE FACTORY BALLJOINTS?? any spacers to take out???

Yeah, I hear you on the blocks, same here for most everything at my work.

No adjustments with the factory balljoints.

fiveoho · Jul 20, 2006

crap. guess i will just have to get the X2's

fiveoho · Jul 20, 2006

anyone else?

255/40/17....sidewall too small thin??????

fiveoho

hotrodnut

Member

1TallMF

New Member

fiveoho

fiveoho

hotrodnut

Member

fiveoho

stangGT97

New Member

1TallMF

New Member

hotrodnut

Member

fiveoho

fiveoho

fiveoho

hotrodnut

Member

fiveoho

hotrodnut

Member

Attachments

fiveoho

hotrodnut

Member

fiveoho

fiveoho

Similar threads

255/40/17....sidewall too small thin??????

Member

New Member

Member

New Member

New Member

Member

Member

Member

Attachments

Member

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency