Still have my stock pirellis 255/40/19 on the brembo wheels and I'm not satisfied which my options for 255/40/19 tires and plus zero 275/40/19 tires. What tires are everyone running , or what are past experiences with tire purchases ? I live in North Florida so I really only need performance summer tires for wet and dry. From what I understand I will need a XL load range due to weight. Do my options open up with 20" wheel and tire set ups?

 

I'm going with the Continental Extreme DW 275/40 on the Brembo wheels.

 

I know those will fit the wheel, but what do you know about the load range tire? Discount tire shows those as "SL" I may be wrong but I remember reading something about so range tires I are needed because of weight.

 

Unless your car weighs more than 7276 pounds I think you are good, since the 275/40/19 is rated at 1819 per tire.

 

On stock Brembo wheel 275/40-19 will give you a slightly wider range of options that 255/40-19. You have even better selection and pricing for 285/35-19, but you need a 9.5 rim to fit them properly.

 

There is my dilemma . Considering there is no spare I'm trying to decide if I should get a 9.5 x19 wheel to have better tire choices and just putting the OE brembo wheels away or use one as a spare.

 

275/40/19s are so marginally different then 285/35s, you really won't gain anything unless your tracking the car and need the tiny bit of extra grip, and slightly less sidewall flex. If it's your DD, just get some 275/40s and call it a day. Many have, and they are happy with the setup. 275s fit just fine on 9" wheels - the 03-04 Cobras had 275/40/17s on 17x9s, and the 99-02 SS Camaros had the same setup.

 

275/40/R19 Continental ExtremeContact is the direction I plan to go on my Brembo wheels when its time for new rubber. I'm working as hard as I can to destroy the original Pirellis... they are completely worthless (literally by design) in the occasional cold/wet/icy weather we get here in Dallas.

 

Pirellis (or an yother summer only tire) is worthless when temps approach 40. Last year I drove the car till the beginning of November up here in Michigan. It was often 36-39 degrees in the morning on my commute to work, and it was like driving on hockey pucks. No grip even in 3rg gear. Even if the roads are dry.

I have a set of 275/40-19s on 19x9.5 rims that I use for track weekends. Once the pirellis wear out I'm putting A/S tires on them in 275/40 size.

 

The downside to the 275/40s is that you pick up over half of an inch in diameter which essentially lowers your final drive ratio and affects your speedometer calibration.

D'oh!

 

I have 275/40-19's Michelin Pilot sport A/S+ and I like the extra grip and the ability to drive in the snow. They have held up well on the track actually too. I'm going summer only wheel/tire set next year and will most likely go 18x10 and 285/35. NT05R or Pilot Super Sports. I can't seem to give the Pirelli's away.

 

I did the math on this. The difference in circumference is 2.5% (speedo reading decreases by that amount, and top speed in each gear increases by that amount). And as far as final drive goes it changed my 3.73 to a 3.64.

The pus side is more grip so you can actually use more power in lower gears, and better damping with the slightly higher, less stiff sidewall.

 

My speedometer is slightly off anyway, around 1 mph at 60. That's not 2% but it's more than 1%.

 

Don't know about the tuning from Ford on the GT, but the V6 Stock 17 inch tire that the speedo on my car was set to is 27.6 inches, the DW in the 275/40/19 is 27.7 so they actually corrected my speedo since I was always off by GPS with the 255's that came on the Performance Package. Since the CS comes with 245/45/19 which are 27.7 I am pretty sure your speedo is already lying to you.

 

I'm sorta having the same dilemma on tire choices when I buy new tires next year. I'm leaning towards 245/40/19 for my Brembo wheels due to them being cheaper, does anyone have pics of this size tire on those wheels? BTW, the 215/65/17 tires are 28" diameter, when I switched to the Brembo take offs with the factory Pirelli tires, the fender gap was a bit more evident. So a 1.5" drop was a must do.

 

Your best value for a summer only tire right now is a Kumho Ecsta. My wife has the all season version on her 11 GT, and they are excellent. If you want to go all season, you have a lot of choices, Conti, Goodyear, or Michelin, etc.

20" tires are a huge expense, but if you have money to spend, they are an option...

 

You thought the gap was bad on the 255's, the 245's will be worse. They are both shorter and more narrow.

 

P255/40ZR19 Goodyear F1 Supercar - does any one know why convertibles have these on stock brembo cars.

 

Yeah it looked horrible, the SR springs I installed recently remedied that issue, so it sits perfect now.

Now the other issue, trying to sell the base 17" wheels with the tires. Or I can keep them as the winter wheels if the Pirellis are as bad as some say they are in cold temps.

 

Good question... I wonder if the Goodyears are more compliant in the sidewall to reduce chassis flex or if their overall lower grip works better with the floppier body.

IIRC, some BBP/Track Pack coupes also come with these. Was it related to the transmission choice (autos got Goodyears perhaps??)?