Fellow Stangers,

I've been wrestling with the tires/wheels for a while. Square vs. Staggered, Stock wheels vs. Upgrade, Wide, Wider, worth it dang it or whatnot lol.

And then, I looked at the tire specs on GT350/GT350R. Oh boy I think I found the sweet spot as to square vs. stagger war. Not too proportionally far apart, but not quite a square. They are just one size each other. WIDE. Yeah, why not follow *this* setup. My car would be like awesome now.

GT350
Front: 295-35-19
Back: 305-35-19

GT350R
Front: 305-30-19
Back: 315-30-19

The question is: Will it fit on S197?!
By 'fitting' means no rubbing no issues whatsoever.
My car is lowered (I need to measure it) with Coilovers so the height I can adjust.

 

It depends on the offset. 295s might fit up front, 305s won't with stock fenders and a usable camber. Check out Vorshlag. They offer custom offset Forgestar wheels to run 305s up front. I'm running 255/275s and I think it's a good compromise for a staggered fitment. For the Boss, Ford did 255/285s, but I haven't driven one to see how the car reacts with that combo.

Are you going to track or autocross the car? Do you have plans on changing the sway bars?

 

I plan to. My goal is to make the car 'trackable' daily, kind of like Nissan GT-R being a daily driver supercar (not a fan of GT-R btw, I like my Mustang).

I keep hearing about the rear sways (front is whiteline adjustable) to compensate but my shop insisted leaving it stock to make rear soft. Will change it out if need to be.

Most likely I'll be custom ordering the Forgestar (unless better option), I hear their offset fits well on our cars.

 

I just realized you were posting about tracking in your other threads. I thought it was another SGM car, sorry about that!

I actually just had my Strano adjustable front sway installed and it made a huge difference! Turn in is so much sharper. I had an adjustable rear too, but it wouldn't fit with my BMR relocation brackets, so I had to leave the stock Track Pack sway on. I may just leave it as is. I haven't had a chance to push it very hard because my rear end whine and vibration came back, after my local dealer rebuilt my rear end already.

 

You can fit 275s up front no problem and maybe 285s

305s or 315s out back too

I have each on my s197 out back. Works better with a 20" wheel but can be done on 19" and it actually works better on a lowered car than stock height. Might have to remove the dust boot on the shock in rear and might also have to do the bump stop bracket mod.

 

Hmm anyone running 295+ on the front? The offset shouldn't be an issue with custom ordered wheels I'm guessing?

 

Just throwing it out there but I've had very good experiences with my square 275/40/18 setups. I have minimal suspension mods and the car is quite neutral, balanced and controllable.

I think 295 is about the widest fronts I've seen people run

 

Hey ponymuscletang,
Are you close to Moorpark? If so, we should get together and talk cars. I track my car about six times a year. I could probably give you some insight on tracking your car

 

dmicheals im looking at purchasing 101blur spoiler, did you end up buying one?

 

Is Moorpark next to Simi Valley?? I'm OC so fairly close by heh. I'd love to talk cars and get some advise!

 

Yes, Moorpark is right next to Simi Valley.
Have you taken your car to the track yet?

 

I really so wanting to. But it's mostly been casual Canyon drives on weekends with fellow car enthusiasts. We always talk about taking a trip to real racetrack though.

 

Canyon driving is fun, but obviously you're limited.
Put your car on the track and you'll be hooked! There is nothing like it.
LMK I can get you discounts on track days and any pointers and tips that would help you.
I got bit by the bug several years back. It is been a passion and I've been pursuing for years.

 

Just so you know when I track my car I run 275's upfront and 295's in the rear.
This set up for me seems to work really good.

 

I am running 275/35/19 front and 305/35/19 rear on Forgestar 9.5" wide front and 11" wide rear wheels with Nitto NT05 tires. My car is lowered with the Steeda Ultra Light springs. No clearance issues. I think you could get 295s on the front with a 10" wide wheel but the wheels would need the correct offset.

 

I have been running square 275/40-19 setup with good results at the track with my stock track pack suspension. I finally picked up lowering springs, adjustable PH bar and adjustable CC plates. Adjustable dampers are also in the works.

Once I add -2 degrees of front camber, I may have to go staggered to even out the traction front to rear. But on the other hand front tires get chewed up quick at the tracks I like to visit, and rotating them is the only way I've been able to get 5 days out of my set so far. Once I have camber on the front it should help with wear though, so I think I'll wait a season and see.

Interesting idea though, please keep us posted if you decide to go this route

 

I run 305's front and rear, but in an 18x10 with a 45mm offset. Also, I run a lot (-3.0) negative camber as well as a small wheel spacer in the front. It is not a street friendly setup.


If this is primarily a street car, I would limit the fronts to a 275.

 

How has the -3 deg camber been working out for you? I just got a set of Steeda HD upper strut mounts, and I can go up to -2.5 with these. I'm thinking of setting them to full negative for track days, and going ~-1.5 for daily commute.

 

So I got the NT555G2's mounted over the weekend. They are 285/30/20 front, 305/30/20 rear. Not quite the GT350 specs but I'd say it was pretty close.

I'd love to post some pics but looks like we're having this phrase error issues again. And the IB app is also giving me blue screen(?) error or some sort.

Before all the impressions, I must kindly ask for an advise.

When the new tires are put on the car, and if the steering wheel feels loose/lighter (still on sport mode) than before, what should we check?

 

The IB app has been dead for almost a year. Download the Garage Talk app.