Tire size question for my 94 cobra?

Jnstang89 · Aug 10, 2004

Anyone know wht the biggest size tire i can put on my stock setup cobra? I have 275/40/17's on it now. Can i go any bigger?

94TURBO5 O · Aug 10, 2004

On the car you can go 315's and on the stock rim 275.

Nobody · Aug 11, 2004

If you like going around corners, you will get improved performance with a 245-255 on the stock rim.

94CobraPace · Aug 11, 2004

275 is the largest tire on a 8" rim, that is pushing it, depending on tire manufactor.

'94ChickStang · Nov 10, 2004

'94ChickStang · Nov 10, 2004

94CobraPace said:
275 is the largest tire on a 8" rim, that is pushing it, depending on tire manufactor.

looking to put 275s on stock 17"s, why's it pushing it? what types of problems are there to look for, and does rubbing come into play at all? What brand is the best if I go this way?

thanks

94TURBO5 O · Nov 10, 2004

Well those guys are correct with both of their statements. You are going to get the bubble effect on the sidewall if you mount 275 on an 17X8 rim. In saying that, You will also lose grip in that fashion b/c the tire is not making complete contact b/c the sidewall is not stiff enough. If you want to run wide tires get 17X9, 9.5 or 10. I ran 275 in the front with 17X9 and 315' in the rear with a 17X10.

'94ChickStang · Nov 10, 2004

well, I don't want the tire to look stretched at all, like the slight buldging look and also want to run a slightly taller sidewall than like a 255/40. 265'40's? or are there 255/45's available?

thanks for the advice by the way

94TURBO5 O · Nov 10, 2004

Go here Discount Tire Direct
Check out the Nitto's, Kumho, and Falken tires for good prices.

Nobody · Nov 10, 2004

[QUOTE='94ChickStang]looking to put 275s on stock 17"s, why's it pushing it? what types of problems are there to look for, and does rubbing come into play at all? What brand is the best if I go this way?

thanks[/QUOTE]

If anyone claims to like handling and claims that "a 275 on a 8" rim performs just as good as or better than a 245 on the same rim" they are giving Mustang owners a bad name.

Look at the recommended rim size for the high performance 275 tires. Pay attention ot the "Measured rim". The minimum recommended rim size for 275's is 8.5" while a lot of tires require a minimum 9" rim. For example, Nitto 555's and DR's have a minimum recommended rim size of 9" for 275's with a measured rim of 9.5". The measured rim is the size rim that they got the "275" section width from. This means, even when you mount a 275 Nitto tire on a 9" rim, you are getting a narrower section width than the 275 spec.

You will notice that the measured rim of the Nitto 255/40/17 is 9" - just like the rim/tire combo of the '95 Cobra R. This means the ideal tire size for a 9" rim is 255.

The actual width of a tire changes depending on the rim width. If you put a tire on a narrow rim, you are pinching the overall width, curling the tread up (away from the ground) at the edges effectively making it narrower. Just the same, you can make thr tread wider if you put it on a wider rim. ALMS cars use rims wider than the tires, for example.

igotyofire · Nov 11, 2004

then why does a the cobra come with 255 stock? also whats weird is the 96- cobras i belive came with 245,eh...?

Nobody · Nov 11, 2004

igotyofire said:
then why does a the cobra come with 255 stock? also whats weird is the 96- cobras i belive came with 245,eh...?

Ford has always used rims barely wide enough for the tires that they put on their street Mustangs. For example, the 87-93 5.0L had 225's mounted on 7" rims. The ideal rim width for a 225 is 8". Look at the BMW, Porshce rim/tire combos. The rim width didn't change between 94-98 but Ford set the spec from 255 to 245 (I think it was more for availability since 255 is not a common size while 245 is) the 245/8" rim combo was just coincidence in my opinion. I would say that even the '04 Cobra is victim to this trend as well. The '00 Cobra R will out hadle the '04 Cobra and it came with 265's on a 9.5" rim while the Terminator comes with a 275 on a 9" rim. Just the same, the '95 R came wiht 255's on a 9" rim while the street Cobra came with the same size tire on a rim 1" narrower.

igotyofire · Nov 11, 2004

Nobody said:
Ford has always used rims barely wide enough for the tires that they put on their street Mustangs. For example, the 87-93 5.0L had 225's mounted on 7" rims. The ideal rim width for a 225 is 8". Look at the BMW, Porshce rim/tire combos. The rim width didn't change between 94-98 but Ford set the spec from 255 to 245 (I think it was more for availability since 255 is not a common size while 245 is) the 245/8" rim combo was just coincidence in my opinion. I would say that even the '04 Cobra is victim to this trend as well. The '00 Cobra R will out hadle the '04 Cobra and it came with 265's on a 9.5" rim while the Terminator comes with a 275 on a 9" rim. Just the same, the '95 R came wiht 255's on a 9" rim while the street Cobra came with the same size tire on a rim 1" narrower.

so people say we should run 245s on our car . they say the contact patch stays the same no matter what since the ends fold up. Seeing as a smaller tire is cheaper anyways im also conteplating if i want to run 245s, i think if i do tho im going to run the nitto 555r just so atleast ill have a way better compound,heh, Has anyone ever ran falken azenis? i had them on civic and liked them just wondering if anyone else has any experience with them

cobra dave · Nov 11, 2004

305/35/18 here

mystang94gt · Nov 11, 2004

igotyofire said:
so people say we should run 245s on our car . they say the contact patch stays the same no matter what since the ends fold up. Seeing as a smaller tire is cheaper anyways im also conteplating if i want to run 245s, i think if i do tho im going to run the nitto 555r just so atleast ill have a way better compound,heh, Has anyone ever ran falken azenis? i had them on civic and liked them just wondering if anyone else has any experience with them

The nitto 555's are great tires. (555 extremes not the 555 DR's) I have them and I love them. Go to www.tires.com and you can get them for $115.00 each in 245/45/17's, free shipping and no tax!!!! I ordered them on a monday. They were waiting for me tues when I got home.

Nik_95Cobra · Nov 11, 2004

Bah...My 275 Nitto DR fit perfect on my stock cobra rims. The DR's run small though. It didn't bulge OR strech, it was perfect. A wider 275 I can see bulging...The 245's I was running on the front were borderline streched, and the 255's I used to have a while back fit great as well.

igotyofire · Nov 11, 2004

Nik_95Cobra said:
Bah...My 275 Nitto DR fit perfect on my stock cobra rims. The DR's run small though. It didn't bulge OR strech, it was perfect. A wider 275 I can see bulging...The 245's I was running on the front were borderline streched, and the 255's I used to have a while back fit great as well.

can i see some pics how they look on the stock wheel?

Nik_95Cobra · Nov 11, 2004

Sure, here's a couple pics of the 275's on my old rims.

ARVtheHPjunki · Nov 11, 2004

I am running nitto 275/50/17 on mine and I love the taller tire look. I have them on 98 cobra wheels and they fit great. Only problem is it causes the abs light to come on cause the difference in tire size from front to rear. They are 2" taller than my 245/45/17 on the front.

Nobody · Nov 11, 2004

Here's a 275 Nitto DR on a 9" rim:
<img src=http://www.zerort.com/nwstable/275_8.jpg>
I would beg to differ on fitting "perfect" on an 8" rim. Both cars are shot almost exactly the same angle. The tread on the 8" rim curls up at the edge whereas the 9" rim has a flatter tread (i.e. wider contact patch)

The lip of the 9" rim appears to be right above the edge of the tread pattern vs. the 8" rim is more inset, leaning the sidewall into rim.

Look at the wear edge on the 9" rim vs. the 8" rim. It looks like there is a noticeable bit more of tread not contacting the ground on the 8" rim.

Rock on

Tire size question for my 94 cobra?

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