I'm hunting my next set of tires-

I have 18x10 deep dish on the back and already have 275/40/18 back there and love it.

But due to the model I'm buying I'm stuck with not being able to replace the 235/45/18 that are on the front which are 18x9.

So its either go 255/45/18 and have the fronts be nearly half an inch taller than the rear or do 275/40/18 all around.

What are your thoughts on either set up and who has experience with either from the perspective of looks fit and performance?

 

The 'correct' stagger is 255/45-18 in front, 285/40-18 in the back. However, that's a little more problematic in terms of cost and rotation.

So when people get this size of wheel, the semi-sweet spot for tires is the 275/40-18.

I currently run this size tire on my 18x9.5 rims, and I like them very much. They don't rub when turning, and I've lowered the car 1" all 'round. I can rotate them front to back, as they're directional, or dismount and swap that way (I've done that once) and no worries.

The only thing is that the car will sit a tad lower than with the 'correct' OEM tire size for that sort of rim, which is why I briefly contemplated the 285 all round (I hear they don't rub either... but still, that's pretty big up front) but thems not cheap. 255 all 'round looks silly, being stretched like that on those rims. So 275 it is, and I'm good with it. Rotation, so longer lasting, and cheaper, on average, than the alternatives.

Dunno if I helped, but there ya go. Good luck!

 

Exactly- and that's the GT500 stagger- unfortunately there's ONE tire currently made in the summer performance category (and only 3 overall) which come in those sizes- the Extremecontact DW. Which costs almost double the tires I have and am wanting to get again.

My consideration of doing 275/40/18 all around is my only option if I want to avoid this bizzaro half inch taller front stagger that comes with the the 255/45/18 and 275/40/18 and which American Muscle apparently has found no way around either as almost all their tire and wheel sets in 18 inch sizes come with said stagger.

I like the idea of rotating but remember I'm running 18x10 and 18x9 so even if I have the same tires I can't move them

There ARE a couple options for keeping the current 235/45/18 275/40/18 setup but it would still cost me 40% more than doing just 275/40/18 all around. As for ride height, yes the Shelby stagger is higher at 27 inches but the one I have currently and am fine with is 26.3 front and 26.7....so actually my front would be a bit higher with a 4 corner 275, which I'd be fine with....and many are of the opinion 27 inches is too tall for these cars though that seems to be the sweet spot for filling the monster truck wells.

That's something else- I have the FRPP K Springs so the car is down 1.5 inches roughly though from what I've read 275 up front is still okay with that drop

 

I'm running 2010 GT500 convertible wheels also, just like houtex above, they're 18x9.5, and a couple years ago I ran 275/40/18 Conti DWS tires.
They fit and looked/performed great.
This was the inner clearance against the strut:




When I went up to a Goodyear F1 285/40/18, the clearance became about 1/8" lol:




But this tire is now tucked in, although I'm now using a small spacer, almost 1/4" thick:




The car with 275's all around:

 

Along with Houtex and Gabe, I'm also running 18x9.5 wheels and used to have 255/45/18 and 285/40/18 Michelin A/S 3 tires with Roush front & rear 1/2” drop springs.

The bottom two pics (not mine) is running 275/45/18 on a 9.5 wheel.

 

I'm pretty sure 275 is too wide for your 9" front wheels. To check the correct tire / wheel width match-ups, look up the tires you are considering; go to the "specs" and look at the recommended wheel width.

It might be borderline.

I am running 19x9.5 GT500 wheels with 275/35-19's with no clearance issues. So clearance should not be a problem. . . . but there is no real benefit to putting an overly-wide tire on a narrow wheel; you would be better off with the right size tire for the wheel.

I have run 255/45-18 on the front and 275/40-18 on the rear before and never noticed the difference in overall diameter, and I am fairly picky about these things. But I guess since you are already tuned in to it, it might bother you.

How about some GT500 take-off tires, 285/40 for the back and 255/45 for the front? I have seen lots of them on Craig's List and e-Bay for cheap.

 

9 is the min for 275 but IS within spec. My bigger issue with the 255/45/18 with 275/40/18 is that tire is a solid 3/4 inch taller. The 235/45/18 already fills my front wells as it is with the lowering and it borderline looks odd vs the rears which are bigger wells and only a slightly bigger tire and don't fill as much. The 26.7 of the 275 will fill more than the 26.3 of the 235 but not as much and at least the visual height front back will look equal.

I've thought about takoffs there's just not alot out there in the combo I need. I like the staggered look and love the deep dish but in hindsight its made the tire buying process alot more difficult (and potentially more expensive)

There's really 3 options for me at this point- pay 40% more to keep the 235 and 275 setup I have now or choose between 275 all around or 255 and 275. The more I think about it the more 255 and 275 gives me the best in that it'll level the rake a bit and give me a bit more rubber up front...I'm just on the fence about the wheel well fill up front and having almost a half inch more height up front

 

275s will run 9-11" widths comfortably, according to the specs on this tire:

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...omCompare1=yes

(Scroll down, click 'Specs', it's in the middle.)

Far as what I'd be doing, it'd be all 275s because same size all 'round, and it won't look funny with the smaller tire diameter in back. OCD issues on that, 'cause it'd bother me when lookin' at them.

Then again, I'd also be putting same width rims all 'round in the first place for the same OCD reason... pooching sidewall in front isn't my cuppa... so... there's that.

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Edit:

So I was poking about in this thing:

http://www.rimsntires.com/specspro.jsp

And found this interesting tidbit... You want the stagger/sidewall/height right, the fronts should be 245/45-18, and the rears 275/40-18.

Plugging that into Tirerack.com:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...r=18&zip-code=

Sub 700 before shipping/install. I'd be trying the BFGs, myself, good memories of BFGs on my Mark VII and VIII... although not the same tire, true.

In case that matters to ya.