Mikelly Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 OK Guys, Here is the deal... the wife had an alignment issue on her Mustang I wasn't privy to until it wore out the insides of some 255-40-17s... these tires, and the 275-40-17s thaqt match them are on a set of 5 lug Mustang Cobra R knock offs... The Factory Mustang wheels were on my grey Z (See my pics) with good 245-45-17s on them, so I figured I'd just swapp wheels out while I was changing oil on Sunday. Car was on the lift already, so why not, right? Anyway, I was just gonna throw the fronts on until I could get a pair of the 245-45s swapped over to the Cobra Rs, but I figured I'd just swap all four over for now... Anyway, I put a 255-40 on the rear with a 1/2inch wheel spacer and I had plenty of room with the tire coming out close to the edge of the fender lip. So then I tried the 275s on the back and they come out to the fender lip. Since I've got 12 inch eibach coil overs, I'm guessing that if I could get the coil over perch above the rear tire by using a shorter spring then I could actually move the wheel in a 1/4 inch and get the 275s under the fender lip completely. This is on a NON-Flared Z. The only real issue is if the tire would rub under acceleration squatt... Pete P. is dealing with that right now, but a few turns of the coil perch could eliminate that all together. I'll have to take some pics... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 You're compromising suspension performance for looks and style? Shame on you Mr. Intelligent Suspension... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted May 27, 2003 Author Share Posted May 27, 2003 Man, tough crowd today... I didn't CLAIM it was intelligent... I just said YES they would fit... For some of us who are tractionally challenged with REAL HP, the larger tires will aid in fending off that issue! Oh, and this isn't on the track car... I've got flares for it... This is on the "looks matter" street car, So, yea you could say I'm sacreficing performance to Pimp some ultra wide treads... So shoot me! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 Mike, like I said on the phone, after you roll the lip on the stock fender, the wheel house is the next issue. a half inch above the fender lip, the wheel house juts out almost horizontal, then rolls upward. That is the area that tires will hit. Yes, jacking the car up can help this, but that's a compromise. My next set of tires on the rear will probably be 245/45-17s. That's to get away from this issue. John has a point. For the track whore, a narrower, really sticky race tire, is probably the hot ticket. As soon as the tire tilts, traction is compromised. The Z front and rear have such camber change (can be altered) that a narrower, rounded (as opposed to a square-edged tread) that is really sticky is supposedly the ticket. Mashing the gas pedal out of a corner means the car will be leaning. A flat, sqaure-edged, wide tire isn't going to hook well, no matter how wide. In fact width begins to hurt you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted May 27, 2003 Author Share Posted May 27, 2003 Pete, You would be correct... However, do a search on tire sizing and see how many times people ask what is the widest tire you can fit... And as I mention above, this is just a test, and the car is still a shell... I have no doubt your issue of tire rub under squat may be an issue. Again, this is only a test and is NOT gonna be on the track car. We're still sorting out tire/ wheel options and sizing for it... Sticky is good though, and I'm also a fan of WIDE and sticky... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted May 27, 2003 Share Posted May 27, 2003 I agree guys that most people want to know how WIDE a tire will fit, but more contact patch can be gained with how TALL a tire will fit. Especially true when reducing inflation pressures as the tire bows a little, but the length of the contact patch grows exponentially. So in order to maximize traction, you want to maximize tire height as much as possible and as little tire pressure to maintain at speed stability. A 275 60 15 would be optimum for the drag strip, but most likely it will rub on the inside of the outer fender, but much higher up. They BARELY fit on my 69 Camaro and rub on the inside of the passenger side on a left hand turn. So if you really want max drag strip traction in the Z, look into a 255 60 15, but that kinda' defeats the purpose of your 17" rims, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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