Wheels and Tires Dilemma

babino · Mar 26, 2004

Hello Fellow Stangers,

I've done all the searching around on the forums a guy can handle with regards to new wheels and tires. From my research I plan on buying a combo of the following:

Deep Dish Bullitts - 17's or 18's
17x9 & 17x10.5 or
18x9 & 18x10

Tires sizes I'm considering:
255/45R17 Front
285/40R17 Rear
275/40R17 Front
315/35R17 Rear

I will need all season tires yet I want the best looking setup possible for my 03 GT.

I'm considering the BFG KDWS but they only come in sizes up to 285 (that I can find at least). Am I stuck going with the 285's since I need all weather handling or do I have other options?

Thanks for any advice!

-Babino

GinoGT · Mar 26, 2004

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=432173

Here's what I can tell you:
Best looking - 18's
Best handling (cornering) - 18's
Best traction (straight line, drag racing lauch) - 17's (okay, 15's, but he's not talking about 15's)

Based on my Yokohama tires for the 18's and the BFG DR's for the 17's, I'll go with the following sizing guidelines:

9" wide - 265 for front, 275 for rear. I say narrower for the front because some people rub with 275's. Plus my 265's tend to track imperfections in the road a little bit, the wider you go, the more it will happen.

10" - 295

10.5" - 315

With the construction of the Yokohama AVS Sports, the 265 and 295 give nice flat sidewalls on a 9" and 10" rim.

boulderado · Mar 26, 2004

Go with the 18s..
265s in the front on the 18X9
295s in the rear on the 18X10 (285s will also work here but Id get the 295s if you have the money)

babino · Mar 26, 2004

another question

Thanks for the response! I think you're right as far as the 18's being the best looking, etc. However, if I went with the 18's what ALL SEASON tire and size would be the best. It's proving difficult to find all weather tires in the best performing and looking tire.

I would love to go with the 315's but I can't find an all season tire made that big. The best I can find is the BFG geforce KDWS at 285 (17's). What size 18's would look good on the 9" and 10.5" bullitts?

Thanks!

GinoGT said:
http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=432173

Here's what I can tell you:
Best looking - 18's
Best handling (cornering) - 18's
Best traction (straight line, drag racing lauch) - 17's (okay, 15's, but he's not talking about 15's)

Based on my Yokohama tires for the 18's and the BFG DR's for the 17's, I'll go with the following sizing guidelines:

9" wide - 265 for front, 275 for rear. I say narrower for the front because some people rub with 275's. Plus my 265's tend to track imperfections in the road a little bit, the wider you go, the more it will happen.

10" - 295

10.5" - 315

With the construction of the Yokohama AVS Sports, the 265 and 295 give nice flat sidewalls on a 9" and 10" rim.

babino · Mar 26, 2004

clarification

Perfect, thanks. Will the 295's (or 285's for the all season bfg kdws) fit on the 10.5" rear wheels? The replicas I plan to get is a 9" front and a 10.5" rear. Thanks for your help!

boulderado said:
Go with the 18s..
265s in the front on the 18X9
295s in the rear on the 18X10 (285s will also work here but Id get the 295s if you have the money)

GinoGT · Mar 26, 2004

I think a 295 on a 10" rim would be the bare minimum I would do.

My Yokohama AVS sports are very good in the rain. I don't plan on using them in snow, that's what I kept my stock wheels for. When winter comes around again I might throw some snow tires on them.

babino · Mar 26, 2004

..

That's not a bad idea Maybe I'll keep the stock tires around just for the winter and get some summer tires. What is a good tire that size (295 or 315) that won't break the bank?

GinoGT said:
I think a 295 on a 10" rim would be the bare minimum I would do.

My Yokohama AVS sports are very good in the rain. I don't plan on using them in snow, that's what I kept my stock wheels for. When winter comes around again I might throw some snow tires on them.

GinoGT · Mar 26, 2004

Oops, meant to say 10.5" rim on my previous post.

You're not going to find any bargain prices on tires like that, but my 295/35-18's were like $245 each from Tirerack.

babino · Mar 26, 2004

Ok, thanks for the clarification. If you have 295/35R18's rear, what are the specs on your front 265's? 265/40R18's? Thanks!

GinoGT said:
Oops, meant to say 10.5" rim on my previous post.

You're not going to find any bargain prices on tires like that, but my 295/35-18's were like $245 each from Tirerack.

GinoGT · Mar 26, 2004

babino said:
Ok, thanks for the clarification. If you have 295/35R18's rear, what are the specs on your front 265's? 265/40R18's? Thanks!

265/35-18

babino · Mar 26, 2004

diameter difference

So there is diameter difference (295/35-18 & 265/35-18) from front to back of almost 1" (.8"). I guess there wouldn't be a problem with this since you already did it. Is there any side effects besides a little difference with the speedometer? Thanks again.

Here is where I compared tires:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

GinoGT said:
265/35-18

GinoGT · Mar 26, 2004

babino said:
So there is diameter difference (295/35-18 & 265/35-18) from front to back of almost 1" (.8"). I guess there wouldn't be a problem with this since you already did it. Is there any side effects besides a little difference with the speedometer? Thanks again.

Here is where I compared tires:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

Yes there is a size difference, and it does look pretty damn good.

I have a Speedcal box that I use for my 4.10's, so I set it to adjust for the slightly larger tires as well. You'll cruise a couple of RPM's lower, not much though.

babino · Mar 26, 2004

Cool, thanks for your time!

GinoGT said:
Yes there is a size difference, and it does look pretty damn good.

I have a Speedcal box that I use for my 4.10's, so I set it to adjust for the slightly larger tires as well. You'll cruise a couple of RPM's lower, not much though.

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