OK, so I realized that when I bought new tires I screwed the pooch and put 255/40's all around as I just replaced the OEMS that were on it.

I am currently specing out springs, shocks and struts but now I'm thinking that I should grab a new set of rears before I do that.

They seem to be way too small now.

I put on Michelin Super Pilots and I've been looking at those specifically. My problem is that I'm not sure what size to get.

I've been looking for weeks at other mustangs that have 275/285/295 (some even have 305's). And of course 35/40/45 sidewalls.

I guess my question is, can anyone recommend a good combo? I don't want to go too crazy but I don't want to go too small again.

I'm planning to keep the 255/40s on the front. I guess as of now I am looking at 285/45s for the rear. 45s seems to brings the tire up an inch.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

RDM

 

So what rim size do you have? What are your goals for the car?

Personally I prefer to have a square setup it allows for rotating and a single spare on road trips. All that will change depending on what. you are trying to do. I have 20x9.5 rims and are running 275/35R20 Cooper RS3s all around. Those will need to be swapped out soon as they are getting dated. Looking to go with Michelin or Continental sticky tire in the same size So far my setup works well for me, but I am N/A, no force induction, just a tune. Traction is not an issue.

 

Duh, sorry about that. They are 19's. Well, I'm not a track guy just looking for general performance. I understand what you are saying though, I do see a lot of guys with same tires all around.

Thats what I went for but I just think that I didn't go big enough and I don't want to replace them as I think that wouldn't be wise (due to uhhh my wife). But I can replace the rears.

I'd just like as I said, general performance and make it beefier on the rears.

Thanks again.

 

you need to know the width of your current wheels; and decide if you want to buy new wheels, or live within the width limitations of your current wheels

I'm guessing your wheels are 8" or 8.5" wide; if you don't know, take one off and look at the back, the size should be stamped on there.

Then you can look up tires on Tire Rack to see what width wheel they require . . . and I think 255 is about the widest tire that would be recommended for a 8.5" wheel . . . you can go wider than recommended on the tires, and the won't fall off or anything crazy like that, but you will be paying extra for rubber that is not touching the road,

 

Ohhhh...ok. That is good to know. I had no clue.

Well then there is nothing I can do then about that except get new rims at some point.

Thanks Bert.

RDM

Edit. Ok Bert I took your advice and looked on Tire Rack. Rims are 9 inches so recommended max size is 275. So it seems I can get a bigger tire.
Any recommendations on sidewall though? 35/40/45?

 

sidewall (aspect ratio) will affect the overall tire diameter . . . if I remember correctly, 275/40-19 is a little bigger than the original/standard 27.2" overall diameter and 275/35-19 is slightly smaller than original

you can also check the diameter of the front tires, and try to match the rear to that

 

Well, seems i'm screwed anyways. Spent last few hours scouring internet for PILOT Super SPORT 275/40ZR19s.

They stopped making them apparently and there's not a set left on the planet. All I could find was a set of 265s but doesn't seem worth it to me.

If anybody knows where I can get a set of PILOT Super SPORT 275/40ZR19s I'd be grateful for any info.

Thanks!

RDM

 

I think there is a later version of the old "Michelin Pilot Super Sport" which is supposedly better and might be cheaper too . . . Pilot 4S perhaps?

 

I believe this is the replacement. Comes in a few larger sizes.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...835YR9PS4SXLV2

Did you find the width of your rim? I too assume 8.5” as Bert mentioned.

Why are you wanting wider? Did you experience traction issues? Or is it more looks you are after?

Here is a chart that will tell the possible sizes for you current rims and the size required for what you want to change to. There are other things to consider before you go buy new rims. So tell us more about what you are planning or want to do.

 

Well, I looked up my OEM wheel and it said 9 inches. However Tires.com said Max was 275 but your chart says 265. This **** is really confusing lol.

As far as looks or performance its kinda both. The rears look so puny (especially with fender gap) and thats why I was scoping out springs too. Back end does come loose in corners some time.

Nothing major but. I would like new rims but I don't want to spend that kind of money yet. I was just looking to use the standard rims for now.

I also looked up the new Mustangs. They come stock with 19s and run 255/40s in front and 275/40s in back so I just assumed that this would work for mine as well.

I know the 4S replaced the Super Sports but I don't like the idea of running two different sets, only cause I'm **** but I may just do it anyways.

Thanks for your help.

RDM

 

Do you have the "Brembo" wheels? I think they were 9" wide; but I think it would be worth the effort to take a wheel off, look at the back of it, and make sure you know the correct width.

The maximum tire width is an inexact science because it depends on other things such as the aspect ratio -- short stiff low profile tires are less forgiving of wheel width than big tall floppy ones. The best way to get an exact answer, is to look up the specific tires that you are interested in, on Tire Rack (or any other source of this info) and check the "recommended rim width" on the specs tab.

Some of the new Mustangs come with wider wheels on the back than the front, so don't assume they are the same front and back.

I would also rather have the same tires on all 4 wheels, but wouldn't be to worried about different tires front and back, especially when they are already different sizes anyway.

 

Thanks Bert. Yes, I have Brembos. OK then maybe I will just file this away for now until I'm ready for new rims.

I'm curious as to why you prefer same size all around? Are there advantages or is it just preference? I see there are lots of both during my research and such.

Also I see you have 275/40s all around. I think when I do get rims I'm going to go with the 275/40s as well. Seems like a good size.

Thanks again!

RDM

 

I use the same on all 4 because:
1) I use my car for "HPDE" road track sessions -- and front traction is key; you want the biggest tires you can get on the front as well as the rear, no reason to go with narrower tires on the front
2) you can rotate them

I am running the GT500 19x9.5 wheels on all 4 corners.

 

So, if you have Brembo Brakes your wheels probably look something like this?



If so, these are the Ford OEM Brembo wheels. They are 19" x 9" as you mentioned.

Bert is giving you great information. I would suggest following Berts suggestion on determining the best rim width for any tire you decide to go with.

With the fender gap, best way to fix is to lower the car, but you will want to do more than just swap springs. There are threads on this site that can give you more on suspension upgrades. But get your wallet out. Tires, Rims, Struts, Shocks, Springs, and a few more items will empty some of your cash. Good luck. Keep us updated.

 

Yep that is it exactly. I spoke to a Tire Rack guy, he said fronts should be no bigger than 255/40s but said I could go to 275/40s on the rear max. But per Bert I'm just gonna table the tires for now.

Hey, I know about my wallet trust me lol. I've spent a lot of money on some things (CAI/tune, alum drive shaft, Borlas, rotors and the Pilots), and I have the lowering mods speced out, I just can't pull the trigger on SR's or Steeda springs. I could end up divorced if I keep going.

One more thing, if I do decide to go to new rims, and I know this is gonna be like everything else, any recommended sizes? I see a lot of 18 and 20 inch rims around as well as 19s.

Thanks again gentlemen!

RDM

 

Ya know, I hear you on the spending money on mods... Or even on toys like these cars. My wife is not a huge fan of my obsession. Was once told if I buy anything more I will be living in my car, so I slowed it down. Still want to do more.

As to the rims there are plenty of opinions on that on this site. I love my 20s, but would probably go with a 19 if I were serious about doing any tracking of the car. With the Brembo brakes, it will be difficult to find a nice looking modern rim that will fit the fronts. There are some out there, but I would stick with the 19s or 20s.

Here is one I am pretty fond of...
https://www.steeda.com/niche-sport-m...m134-1995.html

I also like the Laguna Seca Boss wheels...
https://www.steeda.com/2011-2014-mus...ss-302s-wheels

There are a whole lot of different wheels out there that really look nice, but it all goes back to what you want your car to do... Daily drive, track, strip. you name it.

 

LOL, hey you just gotta know how to "camouflage" some stuff. Still, I hear it. You seem to have me beat by a mile though. Supercharger would be tops but for 6-7k THAT would DEFINATELY get me kicked out. I have another thread out there about lowering my car. It morphed into this months long thing. I've never read or researched more crap ever. And everyone has an opinion (and you know what they say). So instead of piece mealing shocks/struts/mounts/springs (which morphed into sways and LCA's) I just decided that I'm gonna just go with the Ford Suspension upgrade. For $1800!! If I'm gonna spend 12 or 13 whats another 500. This way at least I know that it's designed for MY car and not just "get these, these are good". The whole thing gives me a giant headache. Seriously.

But I'll worry about that in the spring, no sense doing it now as I don't drive it in the winter.

I wish AM and the rest would stop sending me catalogs to fill my head with all these ideas.

Those rims are super BA though. I bookmarked those. After this suspension thing I'll get to rims/tires.

 

If you are considering the Ford package, I'd suggest you also look at Steeda and/or BMR packages, just for a point of comparison; to see what you get for your money.

I have Ford progressive springs, with Bilstein struts/shocks, on my car now; and I think I liked the way it rode with the Steeda Sport springs better. The progressive springs are softer at the beginning of their travel and I think this gives it a more "bouncy" ride, but not entirely sure what is going on or what I am perceiving (it's very hard to compare, very subjective and we quickly forget what it was like before the change)

 

Hey Bert, well I took your advice and here is the result. Crazy. And it'll probably cost me another grand to have it installed.

I'm not sure it's worth 3K to upgrade the suspension at this point.

 

yeah it definitely can get out of control fast . . . that brings us back to the original idea of only buying the "key" parts . . . for example, Bump Steer isn't really a big deal if you are lowered only about an inch or so, plus setting up Bump Steer is a "whole nother thing" . . .

I don't remember exactly what you were trying to do, but if I just wanted a simple lowering/suspension upgrade, I'd probably go with Steeda Sport springs, Koni STR-T or Sport struts and shocks, and call it a day . . . but then there are the strut mounts and panhard bar to consider and then it all starts again . . . LOL