Smallest tire on a 9" rim?

[Hoboattacker]

I just ordered two 18x9 FR500's and two 18x10 FR500's for my car. I'm going with a 295/45 out back and was wondering what the smallest tire I could run up front? I was wanting to go with a 245/45 up front but don't know if it would fit right? The 245/45 is a 9.65" tire so it should fit but I wanted to make sure before I bought the tires.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[belzebub2u]

yep

thats what im runing on my 9" up front

 

[Hoboattacker]

thats what im runing on my 9" up front

Do you have pictures? I would like to see what they look like.

 

[o0Dan0o]

On a 9" rim I wouldn't run smaller than a 255. 245 will fit, but it may look a little narrow and perform slightly worse. That, and I just want the biggest tire I can fit on the rim
Dan

 

[Hoboattacker]

On a 9" rim I wouldn't run smaller than a 255. 245 will fit, but it may look a little narrow and perform slightly worse. That, and I just want the biggest tire I can fit on the rim
Dan

It's going on the front with a 295/45 out back

I'm going to order a 255 though just to be safe.

 

[belzebub2u]

pics

they are a touch narrow, but they look ok, and they perform great.

 

[kooldawg6]

I have a 255/45 on the 18x8.5 wheel and the fit is good, but I wouldn't put it on a 9" wheel.

 

[o0Dan0o]

255's are the perfect fit. The GT500's have a 9.5 inch wide wheel with 255 on front and 285 on back. The 255's are about 1/2" too narrow and look it (sidewall is strait up and curves in at the tread, sidewall should bulge slightly) and the 285's are too wide... Ford has it's head somewhere...
Dan

 

[COBESGT]

I have 17x9 Chrome Cobra R's with 255/45/17 Falken Ziex 512's and they are to narrow, IMHO. Tires do not bulge out, they curve inward. Plus they are 1" shorter than stock which creates an even worse 4x4 look. Once these tires wear out, I'm going to try a different size, but the only other size that I can find that my be better is a 255/50/17 or I can go with a 275, but that may be to wide.

Does any one else know the answer to this question?

 

[COBESGT]

Is anyone out there running 255/50/17, Nitto NT555's on 9" rims? If so I would like to see some pictures.

 

[kooldawg6]

The 255/50 is only going to be about .5" taller than the 255/45. That only gives about .25" to each sidewall and I doubt that will be enough to overcome the "bulged out" look The 275 would work fine for the back, not sure about up front for handling reasons(the tire may curve inward too much to provide a stable ride while cornering).

 

[o0Dan0o]

Is anyone out there running 255/50/17, Nitto NT555's on 9" rims? If so I would like to see some pictures.

Thats what Kooldawg6's above pictures are of...

Supposedly Nitto's tend to run narrow, so the 265's may be a better fit. Looking at Kools pictures though, they look about right.
Dan

 

[COBESGT]

From what I can find, nobody sells a 265/45/17. Which I think would be the perfect fit!

If the Nitto's run a little bit narrow, this would make them possibly look worse than what I already have (255/45/17, Falken Ziex 512's). Maybe the sidewall design of these tires gives it to much of a curved look, take a look at the link.

Any suggestions? From Kooldawg6's pictures, his front tires have a decent sidewall contour, but his rims are 1/2" narrower than mine.

Also, please remember that a 255/45/17 tire is 1" shorter than stock. I would hate to find something that would make the size even smaller.

 

[o0Dan0o]

Crap, didn't notice his rims were 8.5" wide... Yeah, as far as 17" wheels, you seemed to be pretty screwed...

 

[kooldawg6]

Thats what Kooldawg6's above pictures are of...

Supposedly Nitto's tend to run narrow, so the 265's may be a better fit. Looking at Kools pictures though, they look about right.
Dan

I have 255/45-18 on 18x8.5 up front.

 

[kooldawg6]

BFG g-Force KDW has the 245/55-17 Fits on 8-9.5" wide wheel, section width is 10" and is 26.1" tall. That should look fine on the 9" wheel. At worst it will be even with the wheel lip which will still look fine IMO.


BFG g-Force T/A KDWS(OEM 18" tire) has the 255/50-17 Fits on a 7-9" wide wheel, section width of 10.4" and is 27.1" tall. The drawback is that is the widest is comes so you can't match and get a wider tire for the back. HOWEVER, HeavyGT is running the OEM 17" Bullitt up front and an 18" aftermarket DD Bullitt in the rear and is very hard to tell

Roam around the various tire "specs" at tirerack.com and see what all is available for the 17" wheel. Even going to various tire company websites, they should indicate the exact tire size most of the time as well.