staggered tires on 18s

[drag0nfan's04GT]

I picked up a set of Saleen replicas and I think that I've looked at every tire combo known to man. Needless to say, I can't decide. I'm looking for advice and experience to chime in.
Right now I'm running 275/40/17s all the way around on my stock Bullitts, and they've worked well for me. The new setup will include 18X9s for the front, and 18X10s for the rear. I also have a Predator, so speedo problems are easily corrected.
I like the staggered look, and I'm leaning towards not going with the same size all the way around. The question is how far should I go? It's my daily driver and probably won't see the strip. It has factory brakes, and it's also been lowered with BBK progressive rate springs. To me, the rear seems to sit a hair lower now, probably due to the sub box in the trunk.

Here's a couple of combo's that I'm considering:

front 245/40/18 very close to the same diameter
rear 275/35/18

front 245/40/18 rears about one inch taller
rear 275/40/18

front 265/35/18 close, but the fronts are about 1/4 shorter
rear 275/35/18

I know that there's a thousand other combos out there. Advice and experience on the handling and appearance would be very much appreciated.

 

[Barnaby]

Most common will be 265/35 front and 295/35 rear.

 

[HoustonGT]

Dont worry abou them being the exact same diameter, since its only the rears that will affect the speedo reading. I say go with some 245/40/18's up front and 295/35/18's out back or the some 255's up front

 

[nwapache]

Well, once you go with different wheels sizes, it all becomes academic, as you will spend money to replace tires instead of rotate them.
So, if you like an agressive stance go with 295's or 305's on the rear. Stick with 35 series as they are taller on an 18" wheel than 40 on a 17".
I've got 295/35's rear on 18x10 and they look sweet from behind the car...but i'm selling my set-up to go back to 17's *rotational mass isn't helping my track times*

 

[wms004]

I picked up a set of Saleen replicas and I think that I've looked at every tire combo known to man. Needless to say, I can't decide. I'm looking for advice and experience to chime in.
Right now I'm running 275/40/17s all the way around on my stock Bullitts, and they've worked well for me. The new setup will include 18X9s for the front, and 18X10s for the rear. I also have a Predator, so speedo problems are easily corrected.
I like the staggered look, and I'm leaning towards not going with the same size all the way around. The question is how far should I go? It's my daily driver and probably won't see the strip. It has factory brakes, and it's also been lowered with BBK progressive rate springs. To me, the rear seems to sit a hair lower now, probably due to the sub box in the trunk.

Here's a couple of combo's that I'm considering:

front 245/40/18 very close to the same diameter
rear 275/35/18

front 245/40/18 rears about one inch taller
rear 275/40/18

front 265/35/18 close, but the fronts are about 1/4 shorter
rear 275/35/18

I know that there's a thousand other combos out there. Advice and experience on the handling and appearance would be very much appreciated.

I run 265/35/18 front and 275/35/18 back. I highly recommend the BFG G-Force Sport tires. They run a little wider than some, and have excellent traction for the money.

 

[jasonh_86]

Well, once you go with different wheels sizes, it all becomes academic, as you will spend money to replace tires instead of rotate them.
So, if you like an agressive stance go with 295's or 305's on the rear. Stick with 35 series as they are taller on an 18" wheel than 40 on a 17".
I've got 295/35's rear on 18x10 and they look sweet from behind the car...but i'm selling my set-up to go back to 17's *rotational mass isn't helping my track times*

Don't sell the 18's.. just get some 15" lightweight wheels. That's what i'll be doing soon, 15x8 Weld Prostars with some MT ET Streets

 

[drag0nfan's04GT]

I looked at the BFG G-force Sports. The biggest size is 275/35/18 though. They got pretty good ratings from Tire Rack. In the ultra high performance category, they were ranked fifth. Not bad since only two of the four that beat it has a 275 or larger tire, and they were at least $40 per tire more. I was worried that 275s wouldn't look right on a 10 inch wheel.

I also looked into 295s, which I really liked. Most mentioned 295/35s, what about 295/30s? Most were all over $250, and most of them were over $300. There were a couple of exceptions, such as the Kumho Ecsta MX, the Ecsta SPT, and the Firestone Firehawk Wide Oval. The Eagle F1s were the lower priced tires if that gives you an idea of how much these things run. I've seen a lot of people that run the Kumho MXs, and just as many bash anything by Kumho. Right now I have the Kumho ASX in 275/40/17 and they have done very well for me. They are not the stickiest tire by far, but they've been pretty good for me in the rain and on dry pavement.

Any opinions on the Kumho SPT or the Firestone Wide Ovals? The Firestones were number one in the above category by the way. I found the reviews on Tire Rack helpful, but just as many people like as tire that don't like it. Secondly, all of their tires were tested with a BMW 3 series, so power and suspension differances make me overlook those tests. Unfortunately, the Firestones only had 225/40/18s and 295/35/18s, otherwise, they'd be looked really good right now. It looks like I might have to break the bank after all.

I'm looking for something that us Mustang owners would recommend for a daily driver. I'm pretty hard on my tires, but I keep them rotated regularly and keep my alignment in check as well. As I mentioned earlier, I wouldn't use them for the strip. I'd be getting other tires down the road to put on my current 17s for that.

 

[juiced_94gt]

Do 265-35-18 on the fronts
and 285-35-18 on the rears...thats what i have on my Boyd Coddington timeless 5's that are 18x9 and 18x10 with michellin pilot sport cup tires.

 

[TrueBlue03]

nothing less than 285s in back...and even those look pretty dinky still for a 10" rim

and DO NOT do 245's in front. they look absolutely retarded. on an 18" rim
and same goes for the sidewall. stick with 35. anything bigger just looks too thick.

just stick to normal sizes. 265/35/18 front and 295/35/18 rear.

 

[HoustonGT]

nothing less than 285s in back...and even those look pretty dinky still for a 10" rim

and DO NOT do 245's in front. they look absolutely retarded. on an 18" rim
and same goes for the sidewall. stick with 35. anything bigger just looks too thick.

just stick to normal sizes. 265/35/18 front and 295/35/18 rear.

Hey now, my 245's look perfectly fine up front on a 9" rim . I got plently of pics floating around here if you wanna check em out

 

[Firemanz]

just stick to normal sizes. 265/35/18 front and 295/35/18 rear.

Do this and never look back unless you get some 305's or 315's for the rear. This is the best set-up IMO. This is what I'm running right now until bigger tires go on at the end of this year.

 

[drag0nfan's04GT]

I finally decided on the newer KDW-2 tire in 265 for the front and 295 for the rear. Any fitment problems on lowered cars? I was concerned with the rear tires and aftermarket exhaust.

 

[BaXTeR3221]

See sig for mine, i think the sizing is pretty good. Could have gone with 265's in the front, but i bought the tires on the rims and they work fine.