I'm going to be upgrading my brakes with the Baer Cobra killer kit. I'm going to be using 17x8 Bullitt wheels. On a '90 Mustang, what size tire would be recommended to avoid any fender rub issues?
If you are going for a handling car that is the widest you should go on an 8 inch rim. You can go wider in the rear if you want to stagger it but you might get sidewall flex on turns. 245 comes out to be about 10 inches fyi.
Kevin
A 245/45/17 is pretty much the limit for the front on a Fox. And, it IS tight! That's assuming that you have a stock height car. Otherwise, you may need to go down to a 225 up front.
BTW: As I've said a million times , there is no such thing as a standard for tires sizes! Check tirerack! My 245/45/17's (RE730's) are among the widest 245's there are. Both in sidewall and tread-width. Cheap tires are often thinner. So, two different 245/45/17 tires can have different amounts of clearance between the fenders.
And, your fender height makes a difference also! Chances are your lower spring isolators are no more. That can result in a drop of ~0.05" -> 0.1". Not much. But, if you then have 0.05" interference, a 0.1" drop is a big deal.
Also, be careful about general advice from people. The year makes a difference! It makes a difference in fenders, k-frame mounting holes, and strut towers. For 4-eyes, the k-frame is also different. And, as I said, Stang drop over the years because the isolators wear out, and many people run cheap tires that have widths that are really a few down from the "tire spec". Again, check out the tire specs on tirerack.
So, that's it in a nutshell. Most 245's barely fit on stock height Stangs. Otherwise, 225's are the safe way to go. As said, for handling, you want 245's up front.
I have 17X8's with 245-45-17's on the front of my 81 notch, with 81 fenders, and the 87-90 LX extensions. They do not rub, but they come extremely close. The car is lowered too. You will be fine running 245's.
Which spindles are you running since it will be the front that will most likely rub. Which year bullitt wheels are your running also. The sn97s have a different offset than the sn95.
Kevin