LimeZoSo

If anyone is still reading this thread, what do you all think about Cooper Tires? I was looking at the Cooper Cobra G/T in a 235/55/16 size. Would those be good?
Thanks

bison

Cooper has a reputation for selling low end passenger car and truck tires, although they are involved in motorsports, so maybe they are moving more into the high performance market. They are hard to find for sale on the internet, and they aren't particularly cheap, so I would probably go with something else. There was also a class-action law suit brought against them.

http://www.coopertirelitigation.com/...re_faq.html#q1

One other thing, 235/55-16 tires are going to give you about 2 mph speedometer error at 65 mph -- what looks like 65 on your speedo is really about 63. They might not (visually) fill up the wheel wells very well either, since they are smaller in diameter. You're better off with 235/60-16s. If you really want 55s and want to do it right, you need 17" wheels.

Falchion

That's a good point!


One other thing, 235/55-16 tires are going to give you about 2 mph speedometer error at 65 mph -- what looks like 65 on your speedo is really about 63. They might not (visually) fill up the wheel wells very well either, since they are smaller in diameter. You're better off with 235/60-16s. If you really want 55s and want to do it right, you need 17" wheels.

Grimlock

I recommend ditching the 16"s and getting 17"s rather than buying new tires only. Look for GT take-offs on ebay. You can get the wheels and tires for $600 to $700 and then sell your 16"s with tires so that the net cost isn't bad at all.

jsheehan

One of the advantages of staying with the stock 16" rims is they have a lower moment of inertia than larger rims. Anyone who isn't up on their physics, torque equals moment of inertia times rotational acceleration. In other words, the larger the moment of inertia a given object has, the more torque it takes to get it accelerating at a given weight. Adding larger rims to the V6 would be like riding around with weights in your trunk all the time, and you'd appear to lose some power. The GT can handle these larger rims because it's got a lot more power. The best balance between handling and speed is to just put wider tires on the stock rims.

Rick-05

If the overall circumference of a replacement tire and wheel combination is the same as the overall circumference of a stock size tire and rim, there should be no difference in performance from an exceleration standpoint. Granted that an upgrade tire and wheel package would more than likely put much wider rubber on the pavement and MAY then cause a tiny bit more drag, but the performance gain in the corners more than offsets any minor amount of drag caused by the wider tires and wheels. I put 18" wheels on my V6 along with much lower profile tires (275/40x18 on 18x9" rear and 245/45 18 on 18x8" front) and the difference in performace in handling that the smaller sidewalls provided was MUCH better. I noticed no degradation in performane at all. By the way, the tires and whells I put on were a wee bit lighter than the stock tires and wheels. Does that compute?

jsheehan

It has nothing to do with drag, but the fact that there is more weight farther out from the center of rotation of the wheel, as well as the fact that the wheels are heavier. This equates to more rotational inertia, and thus requires more torque to get the wheels moving.

bison

Are you sure more wheel and less tire increases overall weight? Aluminum isn't heavy, and rubber isn't light.

Grimlock

I seriously doubt going to 17"s will cause any noticeable acceleration difference. If it did, you'd see the GT (and Corvettes, Vipers, etc) with 16"s as well. The tires on the 16" are too tall and really hurt performance in cornering. The width is only part of the problem.

Falchion

Yeah, I agree. I don't think the 17 inch rims will weigh that much more then the stock 16 inch rimes.

But, it's hard to find 17x8 inch rims with the correct offset. I went by Discount Tire yesterday to order some BFG KDWS's in 255/50/R17's, but the rims that go for only $100 at Discount Tire are only 17x7. Too small for the 255 tires! :bang:

He did say that he would give me $100 per for the stock tire/rims though!

Any idea on 17x8 rims? Something not too expensive? :scratch:

windstar

Hi I ordered a V6 2005 convertible mustang and made a deal with my tire dealer to exchange my stock tires with toyo proxes TI-R 245/55/zr16 tires I think the look very nice please give me some feed back

Falchion

Do you have any pics of them? Are you going to get the stock wheels?

bison

They might be OK. Diameter is about .4" less than stock (26.6" vs. 27.0"), and 245-section tires are a bit wide for 7" rims. Your speedo is going to be off about 1 mph at 65 -- it will read approx. 64 mph.

255/55-16 would have the same diameter as the stock tires, but you would need 7.5-8.0" rims, and if you're going to change rims, you're better off upgrading to 17" anyway.

Most Toyo tires have a cool looking tread pattern, but if you more interested in handling than appearance you should consider getting 235/60-HR16 NON-SPEC Traction T/As (the ones with the 6-rib design). The diameter is the same as the stock tires, and 235mm is about as wide as you can effectively use on 7" rims.

Rogue6

I priced the Falken's at Discount Tire. It is going to be about $480 and that is before they give me a trade-in on my factory tires. They would not quote me on the factory tires until they actually see them. It's kind of difficult when the car isn't even here yet. :bang:

Falchion

Maybe show them a pic of them?

Discount Tire offered me $100/corner for the Factory Wheels tires, not too bad. But they didn't have any wheels in 17x8 that I liked.......