I want to get a set of black FR500 wheels and can't really afford to get 18 and new tires right now. My question is will 17x9 wheels fit on the stock size tires? I have a diffrerent brand tire on than the stock pirelli's but I believe they are they same size. I know the stock wheel are 17x8 and if I can get 17x9's to fit on there, I won't have to buy new rubber! Any help would be awesome.

 

I'm thinking that by putting 17x8 rubber on a 17x9 rim your going to have a tire that kinda looks stretched.

I don't really know how to describe it... you will probably have a little sidewall action going on where there should be tread.. ?

Look at the tire size you have compare it to say.. tirerack.com and see what the manufacturer of that tire says the rim width should be. Sometimes there's a variation in the size as far as rim width required min/max.

 

 

Id like to see TR with Blck fr500s

 

Check Tire Rack for 18" tires,T/A KDWS all seasons run about $77 each,that very reasonable for an 18" tire.It could take a little longer to round your set up but it might be worth the wait for the 18" wheel/tire combo you want.

 

Very reasonable price. Made it impossible for me to get anything for my takeoffs. Sold all 4 for 200 bucks
And the tires I used to replace them were 210 each!

 

Thanks for everyone's replies. GrabberOgre - I searched on tirerack but the cheapest I could find a 255/45/18 was 125 dollars. What specific size are the tires you have? If I could get tires that cheap then I might just get 18's as they are only twenty or so more dollars per wheel. It is tempting to just buy 17's and put them on the tires I already have. I will get the look I want for my car and save money. Plus I could always sell and upgrade later.

 

Im guessing the stock 18 size 235/50/18?
wow they went up discount tire shows 92 and tire rack 99!
Still a good price

 

What is the difference in width between the 235/50/18s and the 255/45/18s.

 

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

 

Thanks thats a cool chart, but it says nothing about the width. But by looking at your pic's it looks like maybe 1/2" or so?

 

The 255/45ZR18's Tread Width is 8.5" vs 8.1" for the 235/50ZR18's (Section Width of 10" vs. 9.6") . . . good eyes, Fritz.

If you want to lower your car 1/2 inch (and get a 1/5" more width) consider the 255/40ZR18 (8.7" on 10.2"). Why screw up the suspension with bone jarring mods that are only suitable for perfect roads?

 

Lol, yes, good eyes.

But why would you want more wheel well gap than there already is with a smaller diameter tire?
Also a 40 series tire is going to ride hard, just as lowering suspension.
2 ways to look at it.

 

Esthetics aside, the center of gravity is lowered by 1/2" and the tire contact patch is increased slightly. I have done this simple change on several cars that I have owned with satisfactory results; I had to be careful with severe speed bumps though. As several suspension kits for the new Mustang purport to lower the car by 1.25", it should be OK (I'll let you know after the KDWSs evaporate - too bad that they're 400s and not 100s). At any rate, going from a 50 to a 45 to a 40, isn't much of a stretch. I wonder what compromises dynamic suspension geometry more - a lower, stiffer suspension (is the suspension travel reduced?) or the tires? While the Ford engineers have spent years fine tuning the Mustang suspension including tires (see the latest Car & Driver editorial on the news stands), they are obviously a compromise (probably more so, than with the hard core GT500). The only way to really tell is to try both set-ups on various autoX tracks (with a consistent driver) . . . and even if somebody does just that, their motives and methods will be questioned.