So I currently have the following wheel/tire combo:
Front 19x9, 255/40
Rear 19x10, 285/35
I will keep my wheels because they are great (Ford Racing forged). But I'm wondering why there are not more tire brand choices for an increased size:
Front 265/40
Rear 295/35
MPSS has these, but the price is insane. Does anyone have any suggestions for decent-priced tires in this (slightly larger) size combo?

 

There's just not a lot of cars that use those sizes. 265/40/19 might be used by some European cars, Mercedes or BMW, but then you can expect that the only offerings will be Michelin, Continental or Pirelli and they'll be $$$.

Why do you want to go wider? I myself prefer the look of the meaty tires, but after having a 265/305 combo for the MPSS, and dropping down to 255/275s, the car just felt so much lighter on its feet. The bigger tires offered nothing more than looks. No extra traction, no increase in performance (actually decrease due to the heavier tires increasing unsprung weight and rubbing on my fenders).

That said, 275/35 is a much more common size than 265/40. If you're set on going up in size, a 275/305 combo should be more accessible for 19s than a 265/295, and all the factors to consider should be within spitting distance of each other, while being less expensive.

 

See what I mean?

http://m.tirerack.com/tires/TireResu...=19&zipCode=#0

 

Thanks for the info laserred. I wanted to go wider for several reasons: looks, comfort, performance, less understeer, and max grip. I know the negative affects for going too wide, and ruining the optimal sidewall - but I'm only moving up one size, so that should not be an issue. But at 255 / 285, it just looks like there is more optimal size/grip available. BMW M5s used to use the 265 / 295 tires with identical wheel widths. And the 2011-2014 Shelby GT500 had 265 in the fronts (on 9.5 wheels). I actually think 275 / 305 are too wide for 9" / 10". They might fit, but not optimally.

 

275s are fine for 9s, the upper end of the spectrum. 305s are a little wide for 10s, but again at the bottom of the spectrum. They'd both work on your wheels...your options in 275/305 are much more broad though.

Like you said, M5 and GT500. Options in 265/40 and 295/35/19 are going to be expensive because they're not popular sizes. If you shorten the sidewall the same amount as you add to width, the performance will be about the same.

 

Also, if you want less understeer, going wider is not the way to do it, especially if you add the same amount of width front and rear. You should be getting closer to a square setup if you're going to use tires to dial out understeer.

I'm pretty sure you have eibach swaybars on your car, no? If not, a set of adjustable swaybars would greatly allow you to dial in/out understeer while keeping your setup the same.

The GT500 was not the pinnacle of S197 handling too, so I wouldn't benchmark it just because they used similar tire sizes lol. The 265s on 9.5s up front were actually a bit small. 275 or 285s are perfect for 9.5s and 275s for 9s are also just fine, if not a tiny bit large. Remember Ford and Chevy ran 275/40/17s on 17x9s, on the Camaro SS and Cobras.

 

Thanks, Patrick, all good talking points, much appreciated. Regarding reducing understeer, correct, square is usually better. So, along those lines, Tire Rack does have this...265/40 and 285/35, Bridgestone Potenza S-04 Pole Position. Very good price, but I don't know much about that tire:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...r=19&zip-code=

 

I know there's a guy on here running the S-04s in 275/40/19 all around on SVE Drifts. Sterling Gray, but there's so many SGMs I always forget who lol. I do remember him being very happy with them though!

Side note, I added an adjustable front sway from Strano Parts to my car. I had the rear too, but it wouldn't work with my BMR relocation brackets so it's just the stock Track Pack rear sway. Holy cow it made a huge difference in the steering turn-in and sharpened it up quite a bit! I haven't pushed the car yet, to see how the rear end reacts to the sharper front, but even in daily driving it made a very noticeable difference. I'm running it on the middle setting (it has 3 holes). Might be something you could look into...

 

---
I have Eibach sways, front is adjustable, on the middle setting. On the track my understeer is mild, and controllable. But if I can reduce it a little, then okay. The sways keep the car nice and flat.

 

255/40/19 is slightly stretched on the factory 9" wheels, a 265/40 should fit perfectly.
The 275 will fit and be fine, but will have a slight bulge and not be optimal for cornering since in cornering you don't want the tire to bulge out at all.

In the rear that's less of an issue, and personally I'd have no problem putting the new 305/35/19 MT tires on there

 

---
Hi Gabe. Does the 305/35 make the tire too tall? I believe our optimum overall diameter is 27"...

 

It would be taller than stock, but for your uses, I would not run a 265/305 combo. I know Gabe autocrosses too, but from what I remember, he had 285s up front.

 

The 305/35/19 is 27.4" tall, not too tall at all.
I'm running 305/35/20 on the rear in the summer, no issues.

My autocross setup is 285/40/18 front and 305/40/18 rear

 

Thanks, Patrick and Gabe. I'll keep investigating. My current MPSS F255 - R285 set-up is okay, and I'll get to the end of 2016 on them, so I have a little more time to research.

 

Yeah see, I can see a 285/305 combo, but 265/305 and he's going to get understeer, which is what he's trying to get away from.

 

---
Yup, thanks. I'll take a little push, but not more than that. For my next set I will probably be at either:
F255 R285 (current)
or
F265 R295
or
F265 R285
We'll see.