There's a set of wheels I want to buy that are 19"x10" and I want to go with a square setup to maximize the life of my tires. I have a 2014 with the Brembo brakes. The wheels I want have a +48mm offset and back spacing of 7.39" and they're labeled as "rear only" on the website. Is there a specific reason these couldn't be used on the front, such as rubbing on suspension components or something? I've seen plenty of cars with 10" wide rims at all 4 corners so I know there are some that fit, but I don't know enough to know what makes or breaks them fitting on the rear but not the front.

 

They're not going to fit on the front. Besides, no tire you can run on the front will sit well on a 10" rim except a 285, and unless you're going to track the car you don't need such a wide front tire. I have 9.5" front rims and they're the widest I can go without modifying the wheel well and suspension.

 

I see. Thanks for the information. Guess I'll have to change my plans. Oh well.

 

Square setups aren't necessarily better or more efficient on tires. My rear tires are 315s and they'll wear out before the fronts, so I change them more frequently, but I change my fronts less than I would if I kept a square setup. It has a tendency to balance out eventually, and the wider rears give better traction with these cars. Some are much happier with the look of a staggered setup as well, and while I do like the look myself, it's not why I have what I do. I simply put the widest rubber on the wheels that I could fit under the car and still turn the wheel. I track mine and do high-speed runs, so the extra grip in the rear really helps. Was there a reason you were set on a square setup aside from appearance or tire wear?

 

I mainly wanted a squared set up for the ability to rotate the tires and get what I thought would be more use out of them. But what you said makes sense. I do like the look of a staggered set up.

 

Staggered all the way john. My 305 dr's will probably wear out in a year or two. That's ok. Buy another 2.

 

Yeah, but at least for now, my car is a daily driver and can't afford/don't want to buy 2 new tires all the time if I don't have to. Staggered definitely looks great though.

 

Okay, what's said above is good info, mostly, but not entirely correct. Are the wheels local? You have to try them on. It's possible they *may* fit up front. Check out the Boss section, as there's more than a few guys running 10" wheels up front with square setups. Now, 285s up front are really big, and you would most likely get some tramlining, but you can put a 275 on a 10" wheel too.

It's not impossible. It just really depends on the wheel design. What wheels are they?

 

Caveat: These are my findings and opinions, not an endorsement or assertion of the best, no compromise solution. Opinions will vary.

"Won't fit front" may just mean it won't clear the brakes. If you can afford to take the risk, or if you are certain your at least getting the two 19x10 rears, you can get one wheel and test fit f/r on one side. My track setup is 18x10 gt500 replicas with either 295/30 or 295/40 Hoosier r6, listed as rear only (got a great deal on the 40's so I took a risk). All I had to do was put about 7mm spacer in the front (plus the long arp studs) to clear the caliper. No clearance problems so far stock or even with ultralights/Koni's/MM plates. The 295/40 Hoosier is the tallest/widest I think I'd try on the front though.. No problems so far running spacers for the last 25,000 miles and north of 140mph at mid ohio.

When it's for fun and not for $$, I'd rather get 4 extra track days than spend 3x per wheel.

Your results may vary depending on wheel width and offset, you would need to get the right number on your own to fit your car/setup, but that's just a numbers game to figure out.

Cheap and quick, in a pinch, you can use washers to get the measurement for your spacer. Stack on three or five studs until the wheel and tire clears by 1/8" in a full rotation, do not go overboard, you do not have unlimited space at the top of the fender and back of the wheel well. DO NOT DRIVE with washers in there!

DO NOT use spacers without extended studs, the factory studs really have no room for reduced thread engagement.

 

John, I used same reasoning as you when I was selecting my track weekend wheel/tire setup. Maybe not quite what you had in mind, but I have a square 275/40-19 setup on 19x9.5 wheels on my 2014 GT TP, and it works very well. No rubbing, and much more grip all around compared to stock Pirellis. As a matter of fact when the pirelli's are done, I want to replace them with 275/40-19 AS tire on stock Brembo wheels.

If you're running stock TP suspension there won't be a benefit to running staggered setup. You'd have to get a Boss rear sway bar to get the benefit of more traction on the back end. Our cars were set up for a square setup, so to maintain a the factory balance of oversteer/understeer I wanted to stay square as well.

EDIT: I just noticed in your signature you mention Roush lowering springs. I'm on stock springs, and with 275/40 I have just a fraction of an inch of clearance to the fender wall at full rotation. I'm not sure how that will translate when lowered.

 

I was debating the same situation here because I have the Pirelli's just sitting in the garage. I put installed Michelin Pilot Sport A/S + tires in 275/40/19 on the Brembo wheels on the stock TP suspension. I like the ride and the ability to drive year round, even in Germany. I like the balance with a square set-up. I was going to change to 18x10 wheels and go 285 squared for summer/track days but I don't know yet. For now this works for me. I have driven on the Nurburgring and in the snow and they do well as long as you don't expect them to be a Super Sport or Winter tire.

 

The wheels I had planned on buying are the American Muscle 2013 GT500 replicas in black. For whatever reason, that color in 19x10 is on clearance for $129/ea. the 19x9.5s are still regular price at $174/ea and the 19x8.5s won't fit on the front due to the Brembos. I was also hoping to use my current 255/45 Pirellis (according to Tire Rack, the Track Pack Pirellis fit an 8.5-10" rim) on the new wheels until they need to be replaced and then go with a little wider.

 

I'm 99% sure those 19x10s will fit on the front, and yes you can use up your 255s no problem. They will stretch a little, but you'll be fine. If you're buying from AM, ask them to try on a 19x10 on one of their project cars with Brembos. If they're so customer service oriented, like they love to claim to be, they should have no problem doing so....

 

Thanks for the info Steve, that's very helpful. I fell in love with the feel of the 275/40 setup. I likely will change the tire I have on my 19x9.5 wheels for racing as I push the car harder each time I go out (likely going to Nitto NT05 or Potenza RE11, etc)), but I LOVED the way they felt on the street. So I'm glad to hear Pilot A/S worked out so good for you. They are on my short list of A/S tires as well

 

Hey John, I hear you! Some of the deals out there are amazing. But keep in mind that reliable, out of the box speed costs money . $50 more per corner is not too much to ask for when you know fitment is perfect and the wheels weigh 3-5 lbs less than Brembo wheels.

 

I prefer a square setup as well. My recent thread about running 9.5" wide wheels with 275 width tires all around may interest you as well:
https://themustangsource.com/forums/...5-tire-531430/

 

I have the SVE drifts in 19x9.5 with 275/40/19
With steeda sport springs 1 1/4" lower in front 1 1/2" lower in rear, no rube, and I just tracked my car for the first time with this setup Saturday, no rubbing and worked great!

 

I'm also in the same situation. I have the stock 9x19 wheels that came in with my '11 GT Brembo package, they have +42 offset. I'm planning to move to a squared 19x10. I will like to know if I could move to a +45 or +48 offset without any risks like steer harder, steering linkage deflection, failure of wheel bearings, need of extra toe in to compensate, will not fit with Brembo brakes, etc?
I already saw the 19x10 AMR's (+48 offset) & SVE series 2 that might fit all around.
My actual tires size is 275/40r19 squared, no rubbing and not any single issue, on the future going for 285/35R19's also squared.