Best Tires For Saleen 18x9 and 18x10

G

Ghost001

New Member
Dec 9, 2002
398
1
0
California
#1
Hello,

I'm pretty sure that I'm getting the Saleen replica 18x9 (front) and 18x10 (rear) wheels from www.wheelreplicas.com. Or, I may get 18x10 in both front and back.

What sizes and brands of tires do you recommend?

I'm mostly concerned about cornering performance, but I wouldn't mind having good straight-line acceleration traction also.

I would like the overall tire diameter to be within an inch of the stock 245/45/17 tire diameter.

I'm just as concerned about cornering performance as I am about appearance, so I'm wondering if the tire width should match the rim width, for best cornering performance. Should I get 245/35/18 in front, and 275/35/18 in back? Or will this cause the rims to scrape the road during hard cornering? How wide do the tires need to be, in order for the rim flange not to stick way out beyond the tire?

Or would the cornering performance be better if I went with 265/35/18 in front, and 285/35/18 in back?

Or, should I go with 305/30/18 in back? 305/35/18?

I definitely don't want to "pop a bead" when cornering.

Or, should I get 18x10 wheels in front too, and go with 265/35/18 in both front and back, for best cornering performance?

Also, I have stock suspension (my car is bone stock, except for my 1995 Cobra R hood and similar stuff). I want to avoid any scraping of the front tires when turning sharply.

I know that the front tires have a big effect on cornering performance, but how much do the rear tires affect cornering performance? Should I get higher sidewall tires for the rear, to improve straight line acceleration? Or would that have a significant negative effect on cornering performance?

I'd like to have tires that have decent treadwear, and can perform okay on wet pavement. However, I may be willing to sacrifice treadwear, if there is a big increase in performance.
 
#2
You don't want 10" rims up front. 265/35's and 295/35's is what Roush and Saleen put on their cars when it leaves the factory. That is the optimum set-up IMO, although I am upgrading to some BFG 315/30's for the rear later this year.

Pics in sig if interested.... :)
 
#3
I run 18x9.5 rims with 275/35/18 Eagle F1 Ds-G3 tires on all for corners. I have just a little rub in a full lock turns...the tire side wall just rubs the sway bar at full lock. I would agree any larger that 275 up front and you might have some rubbing issues.

eagleF1.JPG
 
#4
Thanks Fireman and BlackGT,

I guess I'm leaning toward playing it safe, and getting 265/35/18 in front, and 295/35/18 in back, since that's what Saleen and Roush ship.

I guess I'll go ahead and get 18x9 in front, and 18x10 in back. I think you're right, 18x10 in front would probably be too big, because of the flange.

I want good cornering, but I also want it to look decent. I guess 255 and 275 may be best for cornering performance, but hopefully 265 and 295 should be almost as good for cornering. Plus, the 295 should hook and accelerate better in a straight line. Is this true?

Anyone know which brand of tire I should get? I want ZR, I think, to have the best protection for cornering and high speed. Does this sound good? Or is the ZR really that much better than YR?

I'm willing to spend up to $400 per tire, but I wouldn't mind getting cheaper tires, if they are almost as good.

After doing lots of searches, it seems like the following are the usual suspects:

1. BFG KD - looks good, works well for cornering and straight acceleration. Is it ZR?
2. BFG Drag Radial - is this the same as BFG KD? Is it ZR?
3. Goodyear GS D3 - Good all-around, even on wet roads. Is it ZR?
4. Dunlop SP Sport 9000 - Good in rain, ZR.
6. Michelin Pilot Sport A/S or PS2? Is it ZR?
7. Nitto 555 or 555 R. Is it ZR?
8. Nitto Drag Radial. Is this the same thing as Nitto 555 R?
9. Kuhmo MX. Is it ZR?
10. Yokahama? Which one?

Are drag radials significantly worse for cornering performance?
 
#5
GHost,

The speed ratings are really not realvant, just to recap in case anyone forgot. We all could probably run H rated tires and be fine......
but we dont :D :D :D Usually the higher rated tires tend to the more gripply and stiffest sidewalls as well.

To your question the F1 GS-D3s are 95Y...(Y rated up 186mph)

H rated up to 130 mph
V rated up to 149 mph
Z rated between 149 to 186 mph

W and Y are sub categories of the "Z" catergory
W up to 168 mph
Y up to 186 mph
 
#6
Ghost001 said:
1. BFG KD - looks good, works well for cornering and straight acceleration. Is it ZR?
Click to expand...
Yes they are. It's the same tire that was used on the Y2K Cobra R and Roushs. Very good dry weather tire but leaves some to be desired in wet weather which is another reason I don't drive my car in wet weather if I can help it. The other being I don't want to get it dirty :rolleyes: :p.

The rears being 295's are very expensive and the fronts aren't that cheap either. When I had my last stang I had Nittos 555 ZR's on all 4 rims and I was very happy with the tread wear and performance of the tire, plus they weren't as expensive.

It pretty much comes down to any 18" tire will be expensive, it just depends on what your priorities are and what you plan on using them for. One word of advice I will stress, is whatever tire you decide on, get the road hazard insurance. Tires are like an investment and you want that investment to be covered. I learned the hard way....

Lawrence
 
#8
I've gone through 1 set of the BFG T/A KD's and currently have Nitto 555's (non-drag-radials) on the car. NO COMPARISON. The KD's were MUCH better tires grip wise. I tried to save a few bucks at the time and regret it every minute. As soon as my 86 Saleen sells, the KD's are going back on the car. I don't drive my car in the winter or rain so it's not an issue.

18x10's on the front won't work and it will look retarded. I saw a Saleen this week that some lady had bought used. It had the 18x9's all the way around. Whomever had the car before her rotated the wheels/tires... since they are different offsets, it really looked like crap with the fronts sticking out past the rears.

My 99 Saleen came with the Pirelli P-Zero's... they were shot when I bought the car with 11K miles on it and the road noise was unbearable. The KD's lasted 20K and are much quieter.

BTW, if your car tramlines now, wait until you put 18x9's on the front... just a forewarning - a lowered car with wide tires will follow every rut/groove in the road.
 
#9
Ghost001 said:
Hello,

I'm pretty sure that I'm getting the Saleen replica 18x9 (front) and 18x10 (rear) wheels from www.wheelreplicas.com. Or, I may get 18x10 in both front and back.

What sizes and brands of tires do you recommend?

I'm mostly concerned about cornering performance, but I wouldn't mind having good straight-line acceleration traction also.

I would like the overall tire diameter to be within an inch of the stock 245/45/17 tire diameter.

I'm just as concerned about cornering performance as I am about appearance, so I'm wondering if the tire width should match the rim width, for best cornering performance. Should I get 245/35/18 in front, and 275/35/18 in back? Or will this cause the rims to scrape the road during hard cornering? How wide do the tires need to be, in order for the rim flange not to stick way out beyond the tire?

Or would the cornering performance be better if I went with 265/35/18 in front, and 285/35/18 in back?

Or, should I go with 305/30/18 in back? 305/35/18?

I definitely don't want to "pop a bead" when cornering.

Or, should I get 18x10 wheels in front too, and go with 265/35/18 in both front and back, for best cornering performance?

Also, I have stock suspension (my car is bone stock, except for my 1995 Cobra R hood and similar stuff). I want to avoid any scraping of the front tires when turning sharply.

I know that the front tires have a big effect on cornering performance, but how much do the rear tires affect cornering performance? Should I get higher sidewall tires for the rear, to improve straight line acceleration? Or would that have a significant negative effect on cornering performance?

I'd like to have tires that have decent treadwear, and can perform okay on wet pavement. However, I may be willing to sacrifice treadwear, if there is a big increase in performance.
Click to expand...
265/35 front, 285/35 rear
 
#14
If you didn't get your wheels yet, take a look at MustangTuning.com, Pete over there is a member here (stangtrooper97) and they have some great deals on wheels. I got mine (4) 18x9's in chrome for a cheaper price than anyone else around, plus I got free shipping! Not only that their service is top notch. Here is the link for their wheels. They have the Saleen Replica wheels in Silver, Hypercoated and chrome. Send Pete a PM and he let you know pricing and if they have the wheels you want in stock at that time. Real good guy.

http://mustangtuning.com/18inchwheels.html
 
#15
Thanks Gentlemen for the info. It was extremely helpful.

I ordered the Saleen Replicas from www.wheelreplicas.com today, 18x10 in the back, 18x9 in the front.

I ordered tires from www.tirerack.com, BFG g-Force T/A KD, 295/35/18 in back, 265/35/18 in front.

I must say, I was impressed with the quality of service at Wheel Replicas and TireRack.

The guy at Wheel Replicas was very helpful, and TireRack called me to verify everything, and the tires shipped today already.

The TireRack people wanted to make sure that the "aggressive sizing" and "very sticky tires for the street" were really what I wanted. Heh heh.

By the way, no one seemed to have the Goodyear F1 GS-D3 in the sizes I wanted. They had the F1 Supercar, but not the F1 GS-D3. That's okay, it made the decision easier.

Now I just need to find a place to mount the tires onto the rims and balance the wheels and tires.

Do they put the tires onto the rims, and then balance? Or do they balance the rims first?

Then, I plan to install the rims onto the axles myself.

I'm really looking forward to it. I've been driving around for half a year with 2 leaky rear tires, one of which still has a big screw embedded in it, with a broken-off piece of the screw (I guess that's what it is) rattling around loudly inside the tire.

By the way, I hope the BFG T/A KDs are DOT legal. I sort of deduced that they are, judging by the blurb in the TireRack ad.

Edit: I just went to www.bfgoodrichtires.com and double-checked, and it says that they are "street legal", which I guess means DOT legal.

The guy at TireRack did say that they are not so good on wet pavement, which agrees with what everyone else said, but that's okay, I'll be careful. Besides, I've lived in Cally for 2 months, and the only time it rained was a little 30-minute drizzle, once.

I wonder how much worse they are, than my stock Goodyear Eagle ZR45s, on wet pavement? Only one way to find out for sure, I guess...
 
#17
They mount then balance, and I would say you shouldn't have to pay more than about $70 to get all 4 tires on the wheels, just do some calling around. Also if possible ask them if they can put the weights on the inside of the wheel, that way all of your wheels will look good without the ugly little weights attached to the front lip, and yes you will be able to put them on yourself afterwards.

:nice:
 
#20
stangboy999 said:
Also if possible ask them if they can put the weights on the inside of the wheel, that way all of your wheels will look good without the ugly little weights attached to the front lip...
Click to expand...

+1

Those crimped-on weights look terrible on a good wheel. Insist on the hidden/taped weights. If they can't do it, find another shop.
 
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