Wheel Tire Package

Ok, after a lot of inter-web surfing, researching and thinking, I've settled in on what wheels and tires I think I want on my '73.

Front:

P225/45/R18 on 18x7 alloy wheels with a 4" backspace

Overall tire dimensions 26" diameter, 8.9 tread width, 4" sidewall

Rear:

P255/45/R18 on 18x8 wheels with a 4.5" backspace

Overall tire dimensions 27" diameter, 10" tread width, 4.5" sidewall

I'm wanting about as much tire as I can reasonably fit and want the rears both larger and wider than the fronts, but proportional enough that it's not real obvious.

Ok, those of you who've been through shodding your ponies with bigger rubber, let me know if I'm About to make an expensive mistake.

Thanks, and fire away....

Sorry LC,

Can't help you there as i am a 15 inch rim dia guy only. Old school for me i guess.:-/

Greg.

Ok, after a lot of inter-web surfing, researching and thinking, I've settled in on what wheels and tires I think I want on my '73.

Front:

P225/45/R18 on 18x7 alloy wheels with a 4" backspace

Overall tire dimensions 26" diameter, 8.9 tread width, 4" sidewall

Rear:

P255/45/R18 on 18x8 wheels with a 4.5" backspace

Overall tire dimensions 27" diameter, 10" tread width, 4.5" sidewall

I'm wanting about as much tire as I can reasonably fit and want the rears both larger and wider than the fronts, but proportional enough that it's not real obvious.

Ok, those of you who've been through shodding your ponies with bigger rubber, let me know if I'm About to make an expensive mistake.

Thanks, and fire away....

Click to expand...

I'm running 245/45/18, 18x8 frt.and 285/40/18, 18x9 rear. There is plenty of room to go larger in the rear. Overall tire dia is 27.1.

Can you please send pics of rear tires on car. Like to see what that looks like.

I'm in the same boat..have 245 / 18 in rears and want bigger..thinking 305

Ok, after a lot of inter-web surfing, researching and thinking, I've settled in on what wheels and tires I think I want on my '73.

Front:

P225/45/R18 on 18x7 alloy wheels with a 4" backspace

Overall tire dimensions 26" diameter, 8.9 tread width, 4" sidewall

Rear:

P255/45/R18 on 18x8 wheels with a 4.5" backspace

Overall tire dimensions 27" diameter, 10" tread width, 4.5" sidewall

I'm wanting about as much tire as I can reasonably fit and want the rears both larger and wider than the fronts, but proportional enough that it's not real obvious.

Ok, those of you who've been through shodding your ponies with bigger rubber, let me know if I'm About to make an expensive mistake.

Thanks, and fire away....

Click to expand...

I'm running 245/45/18, 18x8 frt.and 285/40/18, 18x9 rear. There is plenty of room to go larger in the rear. Overall tire dia is 27.1.

Click to expand...

Mine has 245/40/18 on 9x18 front and 285/40/18 on 10x18 rear.

The front is a compromise to allow the lowering.

With the standard blue one inch drop 620lbs coils up front I ran a 255/45/18 on the same 9 inch wide rims with no issues at all. After I cut one compete turn off the coils I had slight rubbing issues so I went with a smaller and narrower tire.

My tip would be to not go wider than a 8 inch rim up front but the with an 245/45/18 or even 245/50/18, depending on the ride height of your car.

Btw, at the rear I have room left to go wider than the 10 inch rim & 285 combo.

Important note: if the car sits at normal height it will look awkward with the 18 inch rims and the low sidewalls!!

That's one thing many people forget. Rims that big need to be tucked in so that you can't see the top of the tire.

I have 2 sets of rear tires 255/45/17's and 315/35/17's (on 10 1/2's) Both clear everything fine without rolling the fender lip or anything visible being modified. I did use a hammer to caress a bit of the inner wheel well to make some room, but it was not really necessary.

Both of these tires are 26" tall. I previously ran some 28" tall 295-55-15's before I switched to disc brakes. As you get close to the limit, backspacing becomes pretty critical. It is important that your rear springs and shocks are in good shape. Slop in the bushings or shackles can allow the rear end to move side to side. Rolling the fender lips is worth while if you get within 1/2" of them when sitting still

You can see my 18" combo in my build thread-- post #90

http://www.7173mustangs.com/thread-green-72-fastback-former-429-460?page=9

this is with 285/40/18, 18x9, 5.25 backspacing. There is alot of room left to go bigger with no rubbing.

235-50 15 on 8 inch wheels, 275 rears with 9.5 inch wheels, good clearance all the way around.

235-50 15 on 8 inch wheels, 275 rears with 9.5 inch wheels, good clearance all the way around.

Click to expand...

Both those set ups look great, thanks for the pics.

My constraint at the moment is the wheel I've chosen only comes in 7" and 8" widths. I looked at going to a 265/40R18 rear tire but they're telling me I need a wider rim for that tire.

I do plan on dropping the car about an inch front and rear once I have the new tires on.

One way to stay proportional is too run 17s front/18s back. The tire to rim proportion will look identical with the right choice in tire/rim width. And no one will even notice the difference.

After thinking it out a little more, I made the final decision and ordered my wheels and tires today.

I'll be riding on B&G Rod Works Rodders with BFG G-Force Comp 2 tires

Fronts will be 17x7 with P225/45/R17s

Rears will be 18x8 with P255/45/R18s



I chose this style because it's reminiscent of Cragar S/S wheels that were immensely popular in the mid 70's and because they are the same Argent silver color that was also very common on the factory wheels of all Big 3.

The stock 14" tires are 8"x26" all around. New fronts will be 8 3/4"x25" and rears will be 10"x27". That should drop the nose slightly while raising the rear slightly. The difference in sizes front to rear should help sell the eyes on the stance without having modify the suspension. They should be in and on in about 10 days and I'll post pics once they're on.

Ok, tire shop screwed up. They had me scheduled for my install this morning only to arrive and find out the BFG Comp 2's for the rear were not ordered last week. Rather than trailer back home and try again I elected to punt...

We looked over the inventory to see what sizes they had in matched tires in stockg. We reset on Yokohama YK580's in 215/45/R17 front and 245/45/R18 rears.

Here's the results:




The before pic:

Looks really nice. I like the 5 spokes.

How has the handling changed? Probably a huge change. Good luck.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

How has the handling changed? Probably a huge change. Good luck.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Click to expand...

Feels good in corners, brakes great. The car's steering is loose and now that's more pronounced. The road walk above 60 mph will keep you busy.... Got to look into adjusting the steering box if it'll help.

Check your rag joint while you're at it.

New wheels look great! I really like the Cragar SS style.