Tire and wheel sizes

gbabione

Registered User
I have read MANY threads and looked at many pictures here and on tccoa. I understand the fitment specs. What I am wondering is why everyone wants to have the same heighth as stock front and back? Is it only so they don't have to mess with the speedometer? I have seen a lot of beautiful cars on both sites. Some I don't understand how the same size tires look so different on 2 different cars.
I have been all over the web looking for wheels for my bird when I get it running. I am finding that a lot of manufacturers make very limited choices in each diameter. Sometimes only 1. I wanted something different than anyone else, but it probably won't happen. I plan on doing the hub swap. I thought I was definitely going with the deep dish look after seeing R8D-XXX's car. But I also think Nicholson's car looks mean with the 17" 03 Cobras. His 17s look larger and fit the openings better than others with 18s, including R8D-XXX's. R8D-XXX's I think would even better with more sidewall on the rear. Why does Nicholson's look so much larger? His car has the perfect setup to me. If prices are comparable, maybe I'll skip the hub swap and buy from Brad.
The wheels I have thought about are: Gianna Momentum (only 1 width), Incubus 395, MRR-GT1, MKW m101, CCW 505A, CCW SP500, Foose Nitrous, 03 Cobras, PT-09, and PT-22. Any of these would look great, especially with Nicholson's stance. I plan on doing 245s in front and 275s or 285s in the back. With all the different looks people like on their Mustangs, why are there so few choices for them? I hope to hear some feedback so I can make some choices.
 
If you have the TEVES ABS brake system you need to have close to stock height tires for the system to function properly.
 
Had to look that up. Didn't know there was a name to it. From what I see, don't all years have 1 version or another Teves? What is the reason for that? If it has anything to do with wheel speed, I would think changing rearend gears would have the same effect.
 
I run staggered sizes/heights front/rear on my '90 SC with no effect on ABS function.

I can see it being an issue if the offset was very dramatic or side-to-side on the same channel, but who does that as a routine...
 
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I'll assume that you're referring to my old car ... bear in mind that probably none of the photos of the car with the 17" 03 Cobra wheels are static shots, you're always seeing the side of the car that is being affected by the weight transfer from hard cornering on track. It didn't look near as good when it was just sitting there, the 18" and later 19" street packages I had with slightly taller than stock tires looked much better in the big fender openings IMO.


cheers
Ed
 
Ed, while you're here (and without meaning to steal the thread) what tire would you recommend if I want something more for handling than flat out speed? I think anything I buy will be fine around town and on the highway so I'm not really worried about that. I have the 245-45/18 on it now but am close to needing new tires and I am thinking about getting something that handles better than the 555's that are on the care now. Maybe stagger the look front to back a little also. Any suggestions??

Ira
 
I'm looking at your profile pictures. In the top left picture, the tires look too small. In the picture below that, they look larger. That is the picture I was referring to. Are those not 17"?
 
Not even sure how to access those old photos any more ... can you put up a link to the ones that you are referring to?


Ira, I'm a fan of the Continental ExtremeContact DW, nice ride, excellent grip dry or wet. The 07 Mustang I just bought from a buddy has 285/40R18 all around, they work great on the car.


cheers
Ed
 
Not even sure how to access those old photos any more ... can you put up a link to the ones that you are referring to?


Ira, I'm a fan of the Continental ExtremeContact DW, nice ride, excellent grip dry or wet. The 07 Mustang I just bought from a buddy has 285/40R18 all around, they work great on the car.


cheers
Ed

Thanks Ed. I will check out how the 285's fit into the wheel wells.

Ira
 
http://www.sccoa.com/member/index.php?uniquename=nicholson

What does the tire size gave to do with the abs?

Top left and bottom left photos are with the street wheels and tires, 255/45R18 Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D2 on 8.5" Fittipaldi wheels. Those tires are roughly 1/2" larger than stock diameter. You can see in the bottom left photo on track, with the suspension compressed on the side of the car facing the camera, that the tires look like they fill the fenders better than the top left photo where the car is parked for the shot.

The first photo down from the top on the left (and the one beside it), are with the 17x9" 03 Cobra wheels and 275/40R17 Hoosier track rubber. Because of the body lean, they look like a nice fit in the fender, but when the car was parked in the pits on those wheels and tires, it looked a bit goofy because of the fender gap, and the way the tires stuck out of the fenders a bit ... less than ideal offset for 9" wheels, and the Hoosier race tires are wider than most street tires for a given size.

ABS can potentially be affected by a mismatch in tire diameter front to rear, because it is comparing wheel speeds on the 4 corners. So its measurement of the tire slip could be off a bit when the rear tires are always rotating slower than the fronts (assuming larger rear diameter).


Ira, the 285/40R18 would fit in the rear of an MN12, but if you are still running those FR500 wheels that were on the car previously, I don't think that you have enough backspacing to keep them under the fenders. Probably better off to stay with 245/45R18 all around, or go up one step to 255/45R18. As mentioned above that's what I had on the 18s on my car.


cheers
Ed
 
Is this what yours looked like? Same size rims and tires.

DSC00429.jpg

I thought about going with 45s or 50s in back to go with the 45s in front to give it a more muscular look. Just a little more sidewall on rears.
 
My car sat fairly level front to back, so the gap to the rear fenders wasn't as large as what you have going there. If you plan to keep the ride height as it is now, then going larger diameter on the rear would probably look better.


cheers
Ed
 
Ira, the 285/40R18 would fit in the rear of an MN12, but if you are still running those FR500 wheels that were on the car previously, I don't think that you have enough backspacing to keep them under the fenders. Probably better off to stay with 245/45R18 all around, or go up one step to 255/45R18. As mentioned above that's what I had on the 18s on my car.

cheers
Ed

Still using the FR500's. I will look into the 255's. Thank Ed. Appreciate your thoughts.

Ira
 
That's not my car. It is the same color though. I found that picture while searching for days for the look I want. I know that picture of yours is with body roll, but with the same size rims and tires, they don't look the same. I will definitely be using a larger diameter tire in rear and adjust ride height to get that look. I'm looking at 245/45/18 and 285/45/18.
 
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