315s on a 17x9 wheel?

SiahNyde · Jan 30, 2011

I'm looking at tires for this spring and I've narrowed it down to 315 nitto 555r's or bf kdw's. I have 17x9 rims and am wondering what the widest wheel I can mount would be? on nitto's website, they say the 315's will fit a 17x9?
Any input? if anyone has some pics of 315s on your mustangs, I love pictures!

Tim2002GT · Jan 30, 2011

I ran some 315 Nitto drag radials on my 17x9's a couple years ago. They fit fine and the treadwear was even all the way across. I don't think I would try it with any other tire though, as those Nitto dr's tend to run narrower than most 315's.

Here's a picture with them on...

For comparison, the fronts in that picture are Sumitomo HTR+'s 275/40/15's

Dark04GT · Jan 30, 2011

Honestly I would get wider rims (10.5" width) if you plan on running 315's. Just think about it- 315mm = 12.4 inches of width.... You probably could fit most 315's on a 9" rim but I would say it is less than optimal. Rim width is very important for supporting your sidewall and it will affect your handling.

Besides getting a wider tire doesn't directly match up with more traction. The compound stickiness is a much more important factor than the width. Since you are already looking at drag radials... if you want to keep your 17x9's than why not a good 275 width dr like the 555r, the nt05r, etc?

007 · Jan 30, 2011

At this point, rear wheels are cheaper than the tires. Get some 17x10.5s if you want to run 315s, and do it right.

KDW1s sucks. KDW2s are the dogs bollocks (thats a good thing )

SiahNyde · Jan 30, 2011

Thanks for the help and pics!
So I decided that a set of 17x10.5s would cool, but I don't want to switch all 4 wheels out, just rear. Do they make 17x10.5 1999 cobra rims? that would be ideal! I'm putting 473 hp down but can't really enjoy it due to terrible wheel spin through 3rd and anywhere above 10 lbs of boost is instant loss of traction. Suspension is on my list, but what's gunna be the best tire choice as far as 275s are concerned?

Tim2002GT · Jan 30, 2011

A 275/40/17 Mickey Thompson ET Street radial will be your best bet for traction with your current wheels. They won't last much more than 5k miles if you do alot of aggressive driving on the street though.

SiahNyde · Jan 31, 2011

Oh man...i would probably do alot of agressive driving...I'm going to keep an eye out for some 10.5 inchers to slap some fattys on...i like the look of 315s on mustang rears!
if i cant find any...i'll probably go for some nittos of MTs, thanks for the help with the decision guys!

MustangLife · Feb 3, 2011

315 Nittos on a 17x9 wheel are fine. Any Nitto. Alot of people will say you can't run a tire that big on that wheel but those people don't have experience with Nitto's tire sizing. Nitto's run much smaller than the other tire companies in the same sizes. In comparison. The 315 Nittos on a 17x9 wheel will look like a 275 on a 17x8 wheel. Another comparison is Nitto 315's are equal to any other manufacturer's 295.

Dark04GT · Feb 4, 2011

MustangLife said:
315 Nittos on a 17x9 wheel are fine. Any Nitto. Alot of people will say you can't run a tire that big on that wheel but those people don't have experience with Nitto's tire sizing. Nitto's run much smaller than the other tire companies in the same sizes. In comparison. The 315 Nittos on a 17x9 wheel will look like a 275 on a 17x8 wheel. Another comparison is Nitto 315's are equal to any other manufacturer's 295.

Everyone knows they will fit. The point I was trying to make above is that the 315's will work better on a 10.5" rim because they will get the sidewall support they need. Even though the nittos seems to run on the small side they are still without a doubt bigger than what is optimal for his current rim.

Everyone is always obsessed with the wheel width but the truth has always been that the stickiness of the compound is way more important. If I were to make up percentages, lets say compound is 90% of it and wheel width is 10%. Wheel width is only important for distributing forces so that to maintain the contact patch's coefficient of friction. Friction's equation is (coefficient of friction) x (normal force)

Putting a 315 on a 9" rim will offer no advantage over a 275 tire, in fact it might actually hurt performance due to tire not having the correct support and a jacked up contact patch- not the same contact patch it was designed for. You might be able to get marginally better performance if you went to the track and toyed w/ tire pressure and got the optimal pressure to finally get a decent looking contact patch etc. I've never seen a comparison w/ changing tire sizes but it would be interesting (both tires w/ same wear, same car setup, same rim, same tire pressure).

twogts4us · Feb 4, 2011

Tim2002GT said:
I ran some 315 Nitto drag radials on my 17x9's a couple years ago. They fit fine and the treadwear was even all the way across. I don't think I would try it with any other tire though, as those Nitto dr's tend to run narrower than most 315's.

Tim is spot on - the Nitto DRs run small and a 315 fits a 9" rim perfectly. Here's another photo of a Nitto 315 DR on a 9" rim...

Thanks!
Chris

SiahNyde · Feb 4, 2011

great info guys, thanks! I measured my rims yesterday and it turns out that they are 17x8's anyways...i'm going with some 275s it looks like...what's the best in that case? i want good streat and track but they really only need to last spring and summer.

SiahNyde · Feb 4, 2011

twogts4us said:
Tim is spot on - the Nitto DRs run small and a 315 fits a 9" rim perfectly. Here's another photo of a Nitto 315 DR on a 9" rim...

Thanks!
Chris

good looking car man!

twogts4us · Feb 5, 2011

SiahNyde said:
good looking car man!

Thanks - this one was my wife's True Blue 01 GT, 5spd, 4.10s, etc. She can drive and was a terror on the streets with this ride.
However, the kids got older and stuffing them into the back seat of a Mustang just didn't work anymore, so it went in on trade for the Pathfinder. (Nowhere near as exciting, but it'll actually rip to 0-60 pretty quickly with the 270 HP V-6...of course it weighs about 2 tons, but it does get up and go surprisingly quickly.)

For a spring/summer tire where tire wear is not an issue, I've got my eye on the new Nitto NT 05. Nitto Tire - High Performance Tires for Car and Truck Enthusiasts

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