Set or 4 245/45/17 or 275/40/17 tires?

Side0ut · Feb 17, 2004

Hi all,

I am starting to look at getting some new tires to replace the factory Goodyear tires on my 2003 Mustang GT Vert. Now my little brain thinks that going to a wider tire (275/40/17) that I would get more traction in dry and wet situations (as well as the track) than the original size tires. But I thought I would ask everyone here to see if my way of thinking is correct.

At Discount Tire, I can get either Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 (275/40/17) for $135/tire or Nitto NT 555 Extreme Performance (245/45/17) for $129/tire. I would like something that will perform good at in dry and wet conditions. $135/tire is about as much as I can spend for tires right now and I only go to the track like once a month.

Thanks,

Rich

G.G. · Feb 17, 2004

I went through the same thing not long ago, but i decided against the wider tire in the rear. The reason being that I still wanted to be able to rotate my tires, and a 275 front would look funny with a 245 in the back. Other than that, I would say go for it, gotta love some meat in the back

Side0ut · Feb 17, 2004

I was thinking about going 275/40/17 all the way around. Hope that they will be ok in the front. That way I could still rotate the tires.

I was looking at discount tire and saw that they carry a Phantom ZRX 245/45/17 tires for $50/tire. Now that is more like I would want to pay but I don't know how they will perform and I really want to get the best tire for my money. Definetely don't want to get tires worse than my Goodyears.

I guess that I don't know if going to a wider tire will really be better in the traction department than the original size tires that came with the car.

Thanks,

Rich

daver01 · Feb 17, 2004

275's all the way around on mine, but thats on a 17x9; not sure what your wheels are? might be ok. however, i don't think anyone could recommend buying a tire that costs less than some lawn mower or atv tires. (phantom??)
i wouldn't expect too much from those babies....

Toney98GT · Feb 18, 2004

I have 245/45/17's in the front and 275/40/17's in the rear. They are the exact same height, just 1" wider in the rear. It has an awsome stance! I was worried about rotating also, and the tire shop said to rotate side to side, it works fine.

Patrick

Sam98 · Feb 18, 2004

Toney98GT said:
I have 245/45/17's in the front and 275/40/17's in the rear. They are the exact same height, just 1" wider in the rear. It has an awsome stance! I was worried about rotating also, and the tire shop said to rotate side to side, it works fine.

Patrick

Many performance tires cannot be rotated side to side including the stock gatorbacks...

RacerGT · Feb 18, 2004

The Nitto NT555s are a fantastic tire. 275s up front will cause you to have a tracking problem... you'll follow every imperfection in the road. Besides, the Nittos are bulkier and look GREAT with stock rims. They're a little bit wider than the stock goodyears as well.

Also, Kumhos are junk and won't hook for crap. Nittos will hook better and last twice as long. You can get them for $117 each from tirerack.

rdgdawgGT · Feb 18, 2004

RacerGT said:
The Nitto NT555s are a fantastic tire. 275s up front will cause you to have a tracking problem... you'll follow every imperfection in the road. Besides, the Nittos are bulkier and look GREAT with stock rims. They're a little bit wider than the stock goodyears as well.

Also, Kumhos are junk and won't hook for crap. Nittos will hook better and last twice as long. You can get them for $117 each from tirerack.

I'm considering the same... so with your experience, 245s up front, 275s in the back? And what about rotation?

drizztkun · Feb 18, 2004

have you considered 255/40/17? that probably what i'll put all around

RacerGT · Feb 18, 2004

rdgdawgGT said:
I'm considering the same... so with your experience, 245s up front, 275s in the back? And what about rotation?

I had 275 Nitto DRs out back for a time. Looked really good, but could not rotate them front to back. Or side to side for that matter. That's the breaks when you get different size tires in the front from the rear.

My 245 nittos I have on now are my favorite tire by a long shot so far. Last so long, great in weather, and hookup decent in an automatic with 4.10s and a 3500 stall.

rdgdawgGT · Feb 18, 2004

What about 265s? I heard these may work AND can rotate... and how bad was the "jump" on the 275s on front? I want the rubber and more agressive stance but want to wait on bigger wheels as long as possible...

RacerGT said:
I had 275 Nitto DRs out back for a time. Looked really good, but could not rotate them front to back. Or side to side for that matter. That's the breaks when you get different size tires in the front from the rear.

My 245 nittos I have on now are my favorite tire by a long shot so far. Last so long, great in weather, and hookup decent in an automatic with 4.10s and a 3500 stall.

RacerGT · Feb 18, 2004

I think the 255/40/17s would be perfect for what you're looking for. Will give you a better stance and they will look meaty. You'll be able to rotate freely and they will wear evenly. That's what I would do.

LI98GTStang · Feb 18, 2004

RacerGT said:
I think the 255/40/17s would be perfect for what you're looking for. Will give you a better stance and they will look meaty. You'll be able to rotate freely and they will wear evenly. That's what I would do.

Why 255/40s and not 255/45s? Wouldn't the later be meatier, but not too much so? I believe the circumferernce of the 255/40s would be slightly less than stock and the 255/45 slightly more than stock. I've been upsizing tires in this manner for years on other cars and have been eying the Sumitomo HTRs in 255/45s myself.

ForPointSex · Feb 18, 2004

I have 275-40-17 kuhmo supra 712's all around on stock bullit rims with no problems. They will fit, but the steering kind of sucks now. It likes to follow tracks in the road. The 712's suck in cold weather; in fact, the stock goodyear's had more traction than the 712's in a 275 size. If I had to do it over again, I would not go bigger than a 245 on the front, and gotten a different brand tire. If you live in warm climate state, it's a great tire for the money.

I've read that the kumho MX is a better tire than the 712. Might want to look at them.

rdgdawgGT · Feb 18, 2004

ForPointSex said:
I have 275-40-17 kuhmo supra 712's all around on stock bullit rims with no problems. They will fit, but the steering kind of sucks now. It likes to follow tracks in the road. The 712's suck in cold weather; in fact, the stock goodyear's had more traction than the 712's in a 275 size. If I had to do it over again, I would not go bigger than a 245 on the front, and gotten a different brand tire. If you live in warm climate state, it's a great tire for the money.

I've read that the kumho MX is a better tire than the 712. Might want to look at them.

Does anyone know if different-sized Kumhos can rotate side-to-side?

decoy562 · Feb 18, 2004

Isn't the 275-40-17's too big a tire for the stock rims?

rdgdawgGT · Feb 18, 2004

Hey Decoy,
Discount Tire says that's the biggest (+ zero) sizing... just run at slightly less pressure, told him I was a street driver, not a track guy... I want something I can run HARD and not worry about... still researching this out...

decoy562 said:
Isn't the 275-40-17's too big a tire for the stock rims?

Bulldog6Z6 · Feb 18, 2004

You could always just get some wheel spacers for the rear.

Side0ut · Feb 18, 2004

Thanks everyone for all your replies. I think I am going to get the Nittos in the stock 245/45/17 size. Don't want to have to worry about steering problems with the bigger tire size in front and want to rotate front to back expecially since I will be doing little burnouts.

Rich

03Sleeper · Feb 18, 2004

Toney98GT said:
I have 245/45/17's in the front and 275/40/17's in the rear. They are the exact same height, just 1" wider in the rear. It has an awsome stance! I was worried about rotating also, and the tire shop said to rotate side to side, it works fine.

Patrick

Patrick!
Can you post some Pic's of How your car looks with the Tire combo like you said you have?
If you can't post cus your too new E-mail me and I'll post them for you!
Thanks

Set or 4 245/45/17 or 275/40/17 tires?

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