Does the extra 2 inches really make a huge difference? (thats what she said)

[Stray152]

Does the extra 2 inches of rim really give you that much bigger of a contact patch when it comes to traction? Looking at it rationally im starting to wonder if 10'' rims are .... really worth it from a performance stand point honestly. But i dont know so im asking you guys. I know alot of people said they felt a huge difference, but at the same time, you probably upgraded your tires when you did the rims... so maybe thats what caused the noticable difference I put gears in and barely noticed a difference... thats just me. I figure suspension would have alot more to do with launching than a few inches of tire.

On the flip side ive heard people talk about a 400hp car "shredding" stock tires... which is where my cars going to be at soon.

Also wondering whats the widest tire you could put on stock 04 pony rims if anyone knows off the top of their head.

 

[Stray152]

I mean... dont termi's come with like 9 inch rims? and they are 400hp stock

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

Well i have 18x10's but my firehawk wideovals are 11.9" of tread contact. It makes a difference, even at 284/297.
And yes cobra have 9's, but have you ever tried to launch a cobra on stock tires?

 

[007]

My stock wheels and tires were useless with just 4.10s and a few bolt ons. I then went to 275s on the rear, and now i have 295s. Width definately makes a difference, but the tire brand/type has a huge impact.

The stock gatorbacks are cheap crap. My KDW2s are insanely good.

 

[007]

Also wondering whats the widest tire you could put on stock 04 pony rims if anyone knows off the top of their head.

I have seen 275s squeezed on the stock 8 inch rims. Tire buldged pretty badly. Definitely no more than that. I'd say 265s are about as far as you want to go.

 

[ADRENLN]

i have 10 in in the back with only 275's i have to upgrade to atleast 295 asap. yea i have 500 rwhp. to be honest, traction is not too bad on the street. ofcourse there is no such thing as dropping it from any rpm in first gear. i have to ease into it. if i floor it im going nowhere and burning up the tires. second also shreads them if i floor it, even from a roll. 3rd is ok because im going 40mph but if i put the pedel down the tires are breaking loose at the top of 3rd at 4500 rpm.

id say 400 rwhp is pretty much the same idea and wider rims and tires will be benificial.

 

[joshheat25]

Yes. It will give you better traction. Unless you buy really ****ty tires like sumitoma... Larger contact patch will give you more traction. A larger rim like a 17 to an 18 the 17's will tend to get better traction. Low profile tires don't get as good as traction because they cannot flex as much.

 

[Stray152]

Do you guys have any brand/ style recommendations? ... im totally clueless as to how to even interperet any of that information with the tires. I mean how do you know how good a compound is that the tire is made of? how do you know the ratings of the tires? ... the domestics just seem really overpriced.

even if you just want to tell me what you have let me know

Ive decided for the forseeable future im going to just get better tires for my stock rims, i dont have 1.5K to drop into rims and tires with my budget, and im not going to compromise my engine budget anymore than i already have. It just wouldnt feel right,... guess i'll be launching super easy. Oh well, it'll look like i was walking people that almost beat me my town is a bunch of posers anyway,I'll smoke any other N/A car im pretty confident if i can learn to drive it. I always believed that it was the drivers responsibility to compensate for the cars weakness. My problem will be traction, and i'll just have to be a better driver and keep my foot out of the pedal. The entire build plan of my car is really just to be different, i never once considered trying to be the fastest car in the world, it was more about the experience of just doing it, then having an exceptional piece of machinery that was very different from anything else around. Im confident i can achieve that, and will be happy with it.

Seriously 265's will fit on this thing?... they come with 245's, but once again what brand? and what style is good? I always thought Nitto's were supposed to be awesome but everyone says they suck...

 

[squeak93]

If you want traction, drag radials are the only way to go. If you drive a lot, or its your daily driver, they are bad in anything but dry pavement...... and they wear out much quicker.

Tire brand is all personal preference when it comes to radials. Some hate sumittomo's, I personally love them. Cheap, good quality and don't cost a ton if I decide to do a burn out contest at a local show. I had them on a 4.30 geared 5 speed 04 gt and pulled 2.0x 60 foot's with them. So it can be done with any tire, its all about the driver and knowing ur car. My current 98 has hankooks on it and it hate them. I personally also hated the stock goodyears as most do.

With a stock rim, u can get a 255 to look good, a 265 would fit it u can find one that size, a 275 buldges too much on a stock rim and u loose contact and they wear very bad.

 

[bwahl602]

i was plnning on going 275's all around.. but im thinking of ditching the idea and going with a 295 rear... screw rotating lol

 

[squeak93]

I thought you were going to keep the stock rims for now?


No way to fit 295's on a stock rim and I strongly advise against a 275 on a stock rim as well.

 

[007]

That was a different poster. The guy who started the thread is staying with stockers.
Honestly, I question that decision though... youll spend A LOT on new tires anyway, so if you waited a bit you might as well get some purdy new rims and wider tires with more grip.

Check out tire rack or somewhere like that and make sure you understand the meaning of sidewall ratio (the second number). You want a tire that fits on your rim (I recommend no more than 265s on stock rims) and then the right sidewall ratio to get close to stock circumference (so speedo isnt way off).

I personally love my setup. I had 18x9s all round, but now I have 18x10s out back. 275s on front, 295s on rear. Perfect.

BFG KDW2s are the best tires I have ever used. Amazing wet and dry traction. They piss all over on the $$$$$ Pilot Sports I had before.

 

[V_Eight]

I've had everything from 245's to 315's on seven different Mustangs with 240-460rwhp and the only difference I can tell is it's more predictable when sliding sideways. The wider tires never really seemed to hook better on the street, but then again, I tend to really beat on my pony cars.

 

[blksq10psi]

and runnin a wider tire out back also makes the car looks mean (check out my public album)

 

[98COBRA281]

im running 315/35/17 sumi's, and they will hook decent if i want them to, but i dont have any problem burning them all the way through 2nd if i want to