What tires for summer/handling

[Laserred2v]

So right now my rear wheels are 18x10 and the rear tire is a 305/35/18 Mickey Tompson ET Street Radial and the fronts are an 18x9 with a 245/40/18 Nitto NT555. Now since my rears are done for I'm looking to replace just the rears. What size and tires would you recommend and have you had then before?

Also, does staggered rims front/rear effect a cars handling?

[Laserred2v]

Bump.........

[Det_Riot]

Is your car a daily? Will it be driven in the rain? What's your approx budget for tires? Do you frequent a drag strip or autox

[Blackmage]

Is your car a daily? Will it be driven in the rain? What's your approx budget for tires? Do you frequent a drag strip or autox

this /\ and yes, staggered will affect cornering abilities

[iRoush]

as bryan^ is eluding to we need more info on what you plan to do with your car. if you're looking for a cheap tire to just dd on. sumitomo HTR-ZII's are the way to go. for cornering a good dual purpose tire is the toyo t1r. for a grippy street tire for that inner fast & furious street racer a nitto nt555 would tickle your fancy

[iRoush]

this /\ and yes, staggered will affect cornering abilities

correct, but on the street I like staggered, makes the car feel more stable at the expense of not being able to rotate tires

[Schiffy]

correct, but on the street I like staggered, makes the car feel more stable at the expense of not being able to rotate tires

And it looks good. lol

Sent from my secretary!!!

[Laserred2v]

Is your car a daily? Will it be driven in the rain? What's your approx budget for tires? Do you frequent a drag strip or autox

It is a daily and will be driven in the rain sometimes. And my approximate price would be around $500 for both rear tires. Also I plan on taking it to the drag strip once this summer but I prefer it to handles better over being able to launch better

[Laserred2v]

correct, but on the street I like staggered, makes the car feel more stable at the expense of not being able to rotate tires

What do you mean by staggered will make the car feel more stable, how would they do that? Sorry for noob questions

as bryan^ is eluding to we need more info on what you plan to do with your car. if you're looking for a cheap tire to just dd on. sumitomo HTR-ZII's are the way to go. for cornering a good dual purpose tire is the toyo t1r. for a grippy street tire for that inner fast & furious street racer a nitto nt555 would tickle your fancy

What size would you recommend?

Edited May 14, 2013 by Laserred2v

[iRoush]

What do you mean by staggered will make the car feel more stable, how would they do that? Sorry for noob questions

What size would you recommend?

wider rear tire provides better straight line stability. this being said if you go wife on both front and rear you'll be have more grip then you know what to do with lol.

all depends on what size and width rim you have...

[Laserred2v]

wider rear tire provides better straight line stability. this being said if you go wife on both front and rear you'll be have more grip then you know what to do with lol.

all depends on what size and width rim you have...

I getcha. And I have an 18x10 rear rim. Would you recommend a thinner tire then a 305/35/18 so the tire bulges less over the rim

[iRoush]

I wouldn't go more than a 295 on a 10" wheel honestly. 9" wheel the max you should go is a 275...

[Laserred2v]

I wouldn't go more than a 295 on a 10" wheel honestly. 9" wheel the max you should go is a 275...

Would a 285 be just as good? And do you think I'll notice the difference of I go to the nittos or summutos from my current tire? And should I stick with a 35 sidewall. Current rims and tires are listed in my first post on thread

[iRoush]

Would a 285 be just as good? And do you think I'll notice the difference of I go to the nittos or summutos from my current tire? And should I stick with a 35 sidewall. Current rims and tires are listed in my first post on thread

for the street 285 vs 295 is not a big deal its when you go bigger that you're going to start noticing some tire slop from the tire being oversized for the rim. the difference you're going to notice on sumitomos is no traction lol they are purely a cheap a to b tire no grip. the nittos will be nice with straight line grip, but I think your best option since you like handling is the toyo t1r. the tires have outrageous grip for a treaded street tire, gives the car and the driver confidence through corners IMO.

and yes on a 18" rim between the tire sizes of 265-295 you should run 35 aspect ratio. any bigger and you need 30 aspect ratio because the side wall will try to roll through a corner with a 35...

[Laserred2v]

for the street 285 vs 295 is not a big deal its when you go bigger that you're going to start noticing some tire slop from the tire being oversized for the rim. the difference you're going to notice on sumitomos is no traction lol they are purely a cheap a to b tire no grip. the nittos will be nice with straight line grip, but I think your best option since you like handling is the toyo t1r. the tires have outrageous grip for a treaded street tire, gives the car and the driver confidence through corners IMO.

and yes on a 18" rim between the tire sizes of 265-295 you should run 35 aspect ratio. any bigger and you need 30 aspect ratio because the side wall will try to roll through a corner with a 35...

Alrighty, nice thank you for all your help, I'll look into these toyo t1r's then. Nice mustang btw looks mean as all hell.

[iRoush]

Alrighty, nice thank you for all your help, I'll look into these toyo t1r's then. Nice mustang btw looks mean as all hell.

no problem and thanks haha.

[Laserred2v]

T1R's were discontinued a while ago my local place mentioned Hancook V12's

[iRoush]

T1R's were discontinued a while ago my local place mentioned Hancook V12's

whoever you talked to is an idiot lol. they are very much still available. the v12's are a great tire but don't expect them to last longer than 6 months

http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/proxes-t1r-ultra-high-performance-summer-tires

[Det_Riot]

A lot of the terminator guys RAVE about the r888 but idk how they are in the rain

[Schiffy]

I have 18x10 rears with a 285 Nitto.

Sent from my secretary!!!

[iRoush]

A lot of the terminator guys RAVE about the r888 but idk how they are in the rain

the r888's are great dry tires, ok rain but they are a 100 treadwear track tire. driving them on the street you'll only see a couple months out of em... they are noisy as hell too

[iRoush]

if you can't find any place that sells toyo t1r's their equivalent the nitto invos are just as good. nitto and toyo are under the same parent company so they are virtually the same tire

[Laserred2v]

if you can't find any place that sells toyo t1r's their equivalent the nitto invos are just as good. nitto and toyo are under the same parent company so they are virtually the same tire

Okay thanks I may just got with the Nittos then since my typical tire shop keeps nittos in stock

[iRoush]

Okay thanks I may just got with the Nittos then since my typical tire shop keeps nittos in stock

Coo, you'll be happy with the invos, great tread pattern and lots of grip

[wmfateam]

^Second the Invos, we have them on our test mule GT500 and they satisfy my picky ass boss.

[Laserred2v]

^Second the Invos, we have them on our test mule GT500 and they satisfy my picky ass boss.

You have a test mule GT500?? Do you work for SVT??

[iRoush]

You have a test mule GT500?? Do you work for SVT??

something tells me since he's in AZ, that he works at the Ford Arizona Proving Grounds.

[Laserred2v]

something tells me since he's in AZ, that he works at the Ford Arizona Proving Grounds.

Ah, that's pretty cool

[wmfateam]

I wish!!! I work at Injector Dynamics, we are working on a 07 GT 500.

[WildWillyWalker]

I'll throw my late two cents in. I have 18x9 with 265/35/18s and 18x10 with 295/35/18s. The tires are Firestone Firehawk Wide Ovals. I love them and I'll probably get them again when I need tires. I think they're good in both the dry and wet. It's just a street car. Heck, I have trouble spinning second sometimes.

[Rolocut]

bfg kdws and secondly 555s two best tires I've found

Edited October 29, 2013 by Rolocut

[wmfateam]

Update on the Nitto's on our modded GT500, they have held up very very well to a couple track days and some very spirited driving while dialing in the suspension. They put the stock Goodyear's to shame. We have since switched to Michelin Pilot Super Sports on our stock GT500 with a double staggered setup. You definitely get what you pay for with these puppies. If I had the money, they would be on my car.

[Laserred2v]

^^ thanks for the update I ended up going with the Nitto Invo's. And so far there prtty good

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

[Solar]

I have invos on mine and I love them. Quiet, great traction on wet and dry.

So explain me this iRoush. How come I see many track cars with staggered setups if they aren't so good to have? Not giving you a hard time, just really wondering.

[iRoush]

I have invos on mine and I love them. Quiet, great traction on wet and dry.

So explain me this iRoush. How come I see many track cars with staggered setups if they aren't so good to have? Not giving you a hard time, just really wondering.

Depends on the chassis of the car. The Fox/SN95 chassis is poorly designed and hence causes severe understeer in most setups. by adding bigger tires in the rear than the front you're just further increasing the already prevalent understeer issue. How do you fix the understeer? Insanely high spring rates and a bigger rear sway bar. This being said that's not realistic for most street cars to run a 500# front spring rate. hence why I do not recommend a staggered setup on the sn95 chassis and even if you did run that high of a spring rate I still wouldn't stagger the wheels until you have an adjustable rear sway bar to tune out the understeer.

[Solar]

Depends on the chassis of the car. The Fox/SN95 chassis is poorly designed and hence causes severe understeer in most setups. by adding bigger tires in the rear than the front you're just further increasing the already prevalent understeer issue. How do you fix the understeer? Insanely high spring rates and a bigger rear sway bar. This being said that's not realistic for most street cars to run a 500# front spring rate. hence why I do not recommend a staggered setup on the sn95 chassis and even if you did run that high of a spring rate I still wouldn't stagger the wheels until you have an adjustable rear sway bar to tune out the understeer.

I see, but would the staggered setup make a difference solely on the size. I am running 265 fronts and 295 rears. Personally, I see an improvement overall but then again I haven't taken it to the track. Also, it is a street car more than a track car.

[iRoush]

I see, but would the staggered setup make a difference solely on the size. I am running 265 fronts and 295 rears. Personally, I see an improvement overall but then again I haven't taken it to the track. Also, it is a street car more than a track car.

yes. no matter what staggering the car will induce understeer. the bigger difference between the fronts and rears will cause even more understeer. Not to mention, especially on a SRA car, the front tires will wear out much faster than the rears, so it's nice to be able to swap. The racecar gets the r-comps cycled front to rear, side to side to help wear everything down evenly.

The improvement you're likely feeling is the car's stability. adding a wider rear makes it more stable, having the smaller size in the front induces understeer. if you had 295's up front (just as an example) to match your 295's in the rear, you'd freak with the amount of front end grip you have and the rear end stability as well.

[Solar]

yes. no matter what staggering the car will induce understeer. the bigger difference between the fronts and rears will cause even more understeer. Not to mention, especially on a SRA car, the front tires will wear out much faster than the rears, so it's nice to be able to swap. The racecar gets the r-comps cycled front to rear, side to side to help wear everything down evenly.

The improvement you're likely feeling is the car's stability. adding a wider rear makes it more stable, having the smaller size in the front induces understeer. if you had 295's up front (just as an example) to match your 295's in the rear, you'd freak with the amount of front end grip you have and the rear end stability as well.

So for my track setup...I'd go with 275 fronts and rears. Charlie Sheen winning bitches!

Sorry to off track on OP...but yes, Invos are awesome.

[iRoush]

So for my track setup...I'd go with 275 fronts and rears. Charlie Sheen winning bitches!

Sorry to off track on OP...but yes, Invos are awesome.

what offset and wheel size do you have? if you can stuff 285's under there I'd recommend it. I have BFG 285's (actual measured size is 305's) front and rear. All it needed was a fender roll, and slight pull up front.

[Solar]

what offset and wheel size do you have? if you can stuff 285's under there I'd recommend it. I have BFG 285's (actual measured size is 305's) front and rear. All it needed was a fender roll, and slight pull up front.

Front: 18x9 +24mm Offset

Rear: 18x10 +22mm Offset