Just notice that 2011 v6 has different tire size for manual and auto tranny. 225/60/R17 for MT, 215/65/R17 for AT. While for 2010, all v6 has 215/60/R17 standard.

So, why does ford bother to setup these different standard v6 tires, just for fuel economy trick? Then I don't have so much faith about the claimed 30MPG, the number seems too tricky.

BTW, I guess all 2010 and 2011 v6 use same rim as 17x7, and v6 owners can put any 17in tire on their car, no matter they are 215/60, 215/65, or 225/60. Am I right?

 

Skinnier tire for better MPG on auto.

 

My 2011 V6 Prem Coupe AT 3:31 is supposedly coming with P235/50R18 tires.

 

This. Manufacturers do it all the time as one of the tweaks to get better mpg on their most efficient model trims.

 

Another...what's your point...thread.

 

If I were to guess, the 215's were originally tried on the MT car too ... but maybe just did not perform or hold up as well to the extra abuse a MT drive line can dish out.

So they shopped around a little more until they found something 10 MM wider that handled the job better but also made the bean counters happy.

As there are already two different 17" rims used (base & premium), this makes for FOUR different 17" wheel/tire combos to deal with at the factory not just two.

Pure speculation on my part, but it is the only reason I can see that makes any sence as Ford had NEVER offered a different tire on V6 Mustangs in the past solely based on transmission selection.

Doug

 

The 18" wheel/tires come only on V6's when either the PONY or MCA Pkg. is selected, there is no separate option for them like there was in 2010. If you did not order your car with one of these two pkg's, you'll be getting the 215 wide 17's.

Doug

 

They are different wheels though. 1) polished 2) painted Sterling Gray. But yes, still only 2 combos.

 

Also, my window sticker shows 19/29 city/hwy MPG with my MCA MT package with the 3.31 gears. Considering I'm only losing 2 MPG for the bigger tires, 3.31 gears, and MT, I'm quite happy with it.

 

This tire size is just for the 'record (first time in auto history) EPA mpg' for a 'over 300 horsepower car'.

My Pony Package comes with the 18 inch wheels and my 'Window Sticker' still has my m.p.g. with 3.31 gears and a automatic trans at 19 & 31.

 

Apparently the window stickers do not reflect the MPG differences for those options?

I doubt they EPA test/certify every combination of gears and tires; I think the 19/31 for the automatic is based on the standard 17" tires and 2.73 gears . . . I'll be very interested to see what you get in the real world with the car as you ordered it

 

I think i'll be getting 20 city and 28 on the highway with the automatic and 3.31 gears, but thats just a guess.....

 

I don't think you're going to lost 10% of your highway MPG for the 3.31 gears.

 

The 3.31's net a 17.5% increase in RPM's and the 235 wide performance tires are 8.5% wider than the 215 wide low rolling resistance tires ... so I'd say his 10% reduction in HWY economy is a good guess.

FYI ... to the advantage of the auto mfr's (and the perfomance minded buyers), the EPA numbers on the window sticker NEVER adjusts to show the effect of ecomony robbing options installed on a paticular vehicle.

Doug

 

I read an article somewhere online that stated the basic v6 comes with 215s and the Premium comes with 225s. It goes to 235 with the Pony if I remember. I certainly want 225s on my v6 Premium Convertible.

 

Since you ordered an AT, you'll be getting the 215's ... has nothing to do with Base vs. Premium.

Read the official specs ...
http://media.ford.com/images/10031/2...g_V6_Specs.pdf

You can always ask your dealer or a local tire store to up-grade you to 225 wide rubber. However the factory "S" Speed rated BFG Radial T/A 225's are nothing to get to excited about anyway, so I'd upgrade to something that falls into the Hi-Performance A/S catagory (3 listed on Tirerack).

If you want to upgrade to the even better Ultra High Performance A/S, you will need to go to the 235/55-17 size that was std. on '05-?? GT's (11 listed on tirerack). In this size, there are also 11 UHP & MP "Summer" tires listed on Tirerack.

If you do a tire swap right away at the dealer before (or at a tire shop right after) taking delivery, they are considered take-offs (I did this on my 2004) and you will get decent trade in value.

Note that changing to either of these tire sizes will effect your speedometer accuracy slightly ... 225's are 1.3% smaller in dia. and the 235's are 2.9% smaller (speedo will read faster than original speed by these percentages).

Doug

 

If you want that 30 MPG that your car is supposed to be capable of, then keep the OEM tires...

 

My sales order says P225/60R17

 

Interesting, but understandable since there is quite a bit of varience in all the official Ford documents reguarding the 2011 V6 Mustang !!

Order Guide:
https://themustangsource.com/attachm...2&d=1264030140

Esource:
https://themustangsource.com/attachm...4&d=1268688784

... and of course the Tech Specs in my previous post. Print them all off and look for the discrepencies. As an example, 17" tires listed in the Esource are a combo of both the MT & AT sizes from the tech specs ... 215/60-17 !!

Doug

 

Thanks guys for your kind response.

I get the tire information from FORD official tech specs sheet as Doug listed. And after reading all the posts, I think it is clear that,

1. Ford takes the troubles coming from extra tire sizes only to achieve the MPG record (more parts more cost in inventory, logistics, etc.). I would consider it might be pure marketing results rather than something from engineering department.

2. Automatic V6 owners can switch to 225/60 size tires safely for better performance/appearance. Personally, I think 215/65 doesn't look good. It might make damage to the sports image of Mustang.