Tires on for 03 Cobras after my 5 lug swap (255's all around?)

[Tasandmnm]

Tires on for 03 Cobras after my 5 lug swap (255's or 275's all around?)

Will have my swap done soon, I have already got 94 GT spindles/hubs and Cobra 13 inch brakes for the front and axles/brackets fron North Race Car and 12 inch Cobra brakes for the rear. I also already have a set of Chrome 17x9 03 Cobra wheels. My original thought was to go 275's in the rear (some people say these fit great in the rear with a flipped quad some dont) and 245's in the front...but then I started thinking that maybe the 245's would be too small for the 9 inch wheel. Last thing I want is the wheel lip hanging over the tires...and losing the ability to rotate my tires would kinda suck too.

So now I am thinking about getting 255's all around, thye should look much nicer on a 9 inch wheel. I am concerned about front fitment though...will I have any issues? I may even stick with my original plan of a larger rear tire using 255's up front instead of 245's, I just have no confidence in 245's looking halfway decent on there.

 

[ryan218]

so is he going to help you with the swap? pm with the details on it..if he is going to help you this weekned id like to stop by and check it out.

 

[Tasandmnm]

nah Ryan I got in too late to call him today. I will let you know tomorrow.

 

[MustangOwner]

Right now i'm running 245/40's on my 18's and they look just fine. Actually, they look great. But now i'm going to 265/35's on my rims because i prefer a little meatyer tire. Otherwise they were a great tire... Here is a few pics so you can see for yourself. As for clearance rubbing issues, i'm going 265/35's on all four corners. Rubbing shouldn't be a problem from what i've calc.

View attachment 376811

View attachment 376812

 

[Chuckman]

ive got 245/45's on all four on my 17x9's and can definitely say that theyre too narrow. they do rub on the front fender extensions (with 95 spindles to boot), but since you have a larger wheel opening on your 93 you should be fine a with a 255. only thing to watch would be some control arm running, but you can get rack limiters for that.

 

[Tasandmnm]

What are rack limiters and where can I get them?

 

[Shakerhood]

Rack Limiter go inside the Boots on the Rack, they look like a horse shoe and are plastic, you can get them from your Local Ford Dealer.

 

[Tasandmnm]

Well would MM front control arms make a difference in clearance? Should I just go ahead and plan to use rack limiters and pick a set up?

 

[ryan218]

Well would MM front control arms make a difference in clearance? Should I just go ahead and plan to use rack limiters and pick a set up?

i don't really matter..just don't cut the wheel all the way if you can help it...

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

255-45-R17's looked awful on my friends 17X9 chrome Cobra wheels we put on his 90 GT. They were sucked "IN" too much. The lip was unprotected and they would probably have picked up A LOT of curb rash. We took them off and used 275's, but those rub on his coil overs. Spacer on each side fixed it. You'll be fine with stock suspension I'm sure.

 

[Tasandmnm]

wow I figured 255's would look fine...I mean is there any feasible way to run 275/40's all around? Would a very small wheel spacer help? I wouldnt mind my tires sticking out just a very small amount more than they o now...but not too much. Thanks for the help so far, I know the issue of tires gets beat to death in here but it is a pretty large purchase so you really want to be 100 percent sure they are gonna fit.

 

[Boss 351]

245's is the limit I can go to... My wheels stick out too much in the rear and the fronts rub. In fact the only way for me to do a U-turn is to fishtail around it lol

 

[Chuckman]

another thing to consider is that a tires width can vary with the manufacturer. a 255 may be closer in size to another companys 245, or vice versa. i personally would not use bigger than a 255 on the front, but have seen 265's and even 275's on all four, so it is possible.

 

[Tasandmnm]

yeah I would just like to know wha people have had to do to get 275's up front...I dont want to have to do anything extreme.

 

[iLkYsPoNy]

I'm running the 03 Cobras ( 4 lug ) on my stock suspension. I have 245/45/17 up front and 275/40/17 out back. On those wheels I wouldn't go any less than 275 if I had the chance to go back and re do it. I'd really like to run 275/40 up front and a 315/35 out back. That'd be sweet... so as soon I need tires I'm doing it.


Here's a pic of what they were talking about the tire not being wide enough...

Those should give you an idea of how it'll look.

 

[Tasandmnm]

Thx for the pics. It looks like 245's are def too narrow...I at least need a 255 up front ut would prefer a 275, I just need to find out how difficult it is going to be to get that 275 on there.

 

[iwashmycar]

do the 255/275 staggered look

 

[Tasandmnm]

ttt, would like to here from some people that are running 275's up front and what they had to do to accomplish it.

 

[DMAN302]

I run 245/45/17 front and 275/40/17 rear and it creates a nice look on 17x8.5 rims, alot of it depends on the stance generated by the springs IMO as much as tire specs.

 

[5-SpeedStallion]

ttt, would like to here from some people that are running 275's up front and what they had to do to accomplish it.

'04 Cobra Spindles... Fuzion ZRi 275's on 17x9 10th Anniversary Cobra rims

I get some rubbing when turning, but it honestly doesn't bother me that much. BTW, no fender rolling, spacers, anything. It might be hard to tell exactly how it sits relative to the fender, but it doesn't stick out... I wouldn't try to go any wider, though