I am planning on a lot of driving in spring/summer/fall and was wondering what folks have for experience and ideas on tires. As Ford is saying summer only tires, I get the impression that with cooler weather at time in Alaska, maybe I should think about the Summer Only Tires vs All-Weather Tires for non-competition driving. Any experience with these tires in cool weather?

 

How cool does it get where you are?

 

In the spring and late fall (great time for drives with the fall colors), it could have 40's and possable frost on the bridges as a suprize. I would not drive with such conditions, but a trip from Anchorage to Fairbanks, or up north into the interior could have a varity of temps. 35-40 would be on the low side as normal. Summer is fine here, I was just thinking of extending the short driving season as much as possable.

 

Summer only tires, is this a temperature restriction or snow restriction?

LQQK

 

General exclaim uhp's

 

I have no direct personal experience but I have read that the summer-only tires are pretty bad below 40 degrees F.

To the OP -- yeah, you probably do want to get some "all weather" tires, or at least not "summer only" tires for those chilly spring and fall days.

You can pick up a great deal on take-off wheels/tires with the P Zero Neros on E-Bay and on the various "take-off" sites . . . shipping to Alaska might be expensive, but overall they should still be about the same price as a set of new tires alone. Then you could easily swap the all weather wheels/tires for the spring and fall and use your summers for the summer.

 

If you can swing it. The Michelin Pilot all seasons are a great all weather tire. I daily drive in NYC all year with these with Zero problems even in snow. The only thing that stops me in the snow is the height of the front end. But up to 6-8 inches is no problem.

They are a little pricey but I usually get about 50k out of the fronts. A quite bit less out of the rears but that is not the tires fault I cant rotate back an forth because of the stagger setup. But if you did the same all around you would be able to rotate and probably get better wear all around.

I drive about 80% highway and 20% back roads. And I have not been able to tell the difference between them and the summer only tires during the summer. I am sure its there but you dont loose much.

 

I'd be more worried about the front end loaders than the tires if I lived in NYC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt_r-jO3lKE

 

I have driven on summer tires in 40 degree weather (Goodyear Eagles). What I noticed is slippage when I was starting out. I have been happy with the Pirelli P-Zero Neros all-season tires for the optional 19" Ford wheels on my GT. I've had them out in snow as well. I think fitting the staggered sizes will be an issue. If you check on Tire Rack using the standard 2011 GT500 coupe sizes (same as the standard Boss), there is only one Pirelli tire model that matches the sizes, and it is a winter tire. You probably also need to get wheels that clear the front brakes. My guess is that the rear wheel width could be the same as the front so that any replacement tires don't have to be staggered sizes.

 

Tony- How much snow did you use the P-Zero's in? I've been reading mixed reviews on those in snow, but they sound good for rain and dry weather. I just picked up my GT yesterday, so I'm hoping to get through this winter with the P-Zero's. (I have another car with snow tires, if needed.) Then next year when I get better rims for summer, I'll maybe get snow tires for the stock rims...

 

I've been in snow up to 3-4 inches deep without major headaches. The biggest issue is on the hilly areas in Cincinnati and losing momentum because someone stops way ahead of the top. Dayton, I think gets a little more snow than Cincinnati, so your results might be different.

 

I have been thinking about getting an extra set of tires and wheels for the Boss. I figure I would like to drive it around to shows and things like that while keeping the originals fresh for some time at the track. As far as rims the BBS 18" X 10" BOSS 302R WHEEL is a bit pricey so I am waiting to see the cost on a set of originals.

Now to a tire question, if the Boss comes with 255/40ZR-19 Pirelli PZero, 285/35ZR-19 Pirelli PZero's what is the difference between these and the GT's tires? (Besides size) Is it only the LS that comes with "summer only"? What kink of wear can we expect on these Boss tires, 15-20K or more?

Also any issues with the 302R wheels fitting since they are a bit wider?

Thanks all

 

The Brembo package GT comes with the same tires but four 255/40/19. I'm probably going to order up a set of the 302S wheels, the LS wheels in black, and will most likely sell my original wheels. If you want first crack at them drop me a PM.

 

As far as wheels I'm considering a couple options right now. I currently run the Enkei PF01 in a staggered 18x9.5 front and 18x10.5 rear. The fronts are offset 45mm and exactly match my stock GT500 wheels. The rears are a 38mm offset and do sit outside the fenders a bit, but don't rub. I plan to go with a square set on the Boss. Enkei just came out with a black version of the PF01

http://www.blog.enke...-special-order/

I might go with these in 18x9.5s and run 275s at all four corners. The other option I'm considering is the Boss 302R wheels in 18 x 10. I'd like to go with as wide a wheel as fits. The Boss wheels do require a special lug nut and might need a 1/4" front spacer. I also haven't been able to verify if they'll take a TPMS sensor. I just prefer to run them on track wheels and not have the warning bells/lights. The Enkeis bolt right up with no issues. The Enkeis are about $360 versus the Boss 302Rs at about $640. The 18 x 9.5 Enkei weighs 20.5 lbs and the 302R wheel weighs 20 lbs.

I want to make a decision on wheels in the next month or two so they're ready for track events in April.

 

Thanks, I well be interested in that. The Boss 302R are nice but very expensive. I do like the link cloud9 offered, I am guessing you spend a lot of time searching parts! I would like to have two sets of the original, I am one of the Ford purists and do not like to change much from the factory, at least on a car like this. However those racing rims do look good in the black. Keep posting the links to aftermarket stuff you come across, I have followed others and they help alot. I have learned a lot from you and others.

I was thinking the Boss tire was a real soft compound and would wear very fast. If it is the same as the GT's tire that is really not an issue then. I was thinking keep the original tires for the track and get a street set to run around in. However now it looks like I will drive with the PZero's and look to get a set for track use only. One thing I don't want to do is be changing tires on the same rims all the time, that can't be good for the tires let alone messing up the rims.

I doubt I will get to the track much, unlike some of you guys that are much more into racing. In fact if I do I want to hit a track alone as I do not feel like trading paint with anyone else.

As far as the stock tire PZero goes how many miles do you get out of a set?

 

The R compound tires on the LS are softer and probably won't last as long. I have no idea of what mileage you can get on the P Zero but a lot of that will depend on track time, both road and strip.

 

Based on your usage, it sounds like you could stay with ONE set of tires and wheels. If you did go to a race track for a high performance driving experience on rare occasions, your tire wear would be modest, especially if you drove more conservatively. That said, if you want to get up higher to the limits of adhesion, you might be seeing wear patterns on the fronts that would look 'car show unappealing' but not necessarily harmful during street driving.

For reference, I took a prior Mustang to 8 Autocross events one season where my total track time was probably 40-45 minutes. I had stock street tires. I won my class that year so I was driving fairly aggressively. I got about 18 months on those tires before replacing. I'm certain the experienced road racers here can tell you more about the wear when regularly hitting the limits of tire adhesion during the higher speeds and longer runs of a road course session. Suffice it to say that if you ran every weekend during a multi-month season, you would be burning up probably more than one set of tires.

Depending on your driving habits, I would guess you could get anywhere from 15000 to 30000 miles on the stock Pirellis. I base this on how the stock Pirelli all-seasons are wearing on my 2010 GT. Those are supposed to be a harder compound, plus I rotate them every 5000 miles. My car is a daily driver, and I haven't autocrossed or road course driven on them so far. I hope to get 30000-35000 miles before replacement.

 

As I type we're getting dumped on with another 6" of snow. What else am I going to do up here in the winter on a holiday!?

 

My Dad would have said... "Grab a shovel!"

 

What's Snow? Based on the winter here this year I could not use the "summer only" tires if I had a LS either.

Thanks for the response Tony. Makes a lot of sense and appreciate adding your experience. I assumed incorrectly the tires on the Boss were going to be like the Shelby or LS and not more street-able like the GT. What you said sounds about right for someone with reason, but when it comes to Mustangs I have never used reason. I would like a fresh set of tires since they would most likely be an advantage to an inexperienced driver.

It is one thing to drive straight down a 1/4 mile but a whole other thing on a road course. I would also like to take it out onto a oval like Daytona or Homestead given the opportunity but as you guessed correctly my car will be more at home driving to a local car show. I plan to take advantage of the Utah class, always better to learn on someone elses car

I think the problem is too much time on my hands until the car arrives.