Bigger tires and wheels

[NJC]

Has anyone tried bigger tires and wheels? I thinking about trying either 285 or 295 just wondering if anyone out there has tried it yet. Kenny Brown has some good tire and wheel packages. They say 285 is the biggest that the fenders will allow but I have seen a GT with 295 on it. Any ideas?

[dwtalso]

You can fit up to a 315 section under the rear with the proper offset. If the tolerances are off and you are lowered you might need to roll the fender lip but it will still work and rolling the fender is not a hard thing to do.

You can fit a 315 Nitto DR on the stock 9" wide rim but that's because they run narrower. I've also seen 295's on the stock rims but I didn't like the look of the sidewalls.

I'm waiting for the AFS '03 Cobra stock look-alikes. They are making one that's 17"x10.5" offset for the IRS. It should handle the big meats nicely :).

[Tim Probst]

I'm running 17 X 11" rears with 285/40/17's on back and 17 X 9.5 on front with 255/45/17's I getting ready to switch to 315/35/17's on back with the 275/40/17's on front. I'm not sure the 315's will fit without hitting the IRS bolt. the 285's are fine thoe, I've had them on my 01 and now my 03 with no problems.

Tim:)

[NJC]

Im going to get some HRE wheels. Front for shure 285/30/18 and the rear I am going to get 315 or 305 but I can not make my mind up. Does anyone have any pictures of 315 or 305 or even 295s on a mustang.I really want to go as big as I can get but not look weird.

[rachrse]

Tim nice pic of your car, got a sleeper look about it. If I could I would go for the sonic blue. Rachrse

[Tim Probst]

Thanks! Yea I like to surprise people. It's not real flashy. I'm getting ready to change pulleys, i need another 40 HP. LOL

Tim:jawdrop:

[rachrse]

Tim are you still using the stock boost gauge or did you install an aftermarket. I got a three gauge pillar and gauges for christmas and though if you had installed a boost gauge you could let me know where you hooked it to the supercharger. If anyone else has done this mod your input would be appreciated.Thanks Rachrse

[NJC]

Tim what is the offset of your wheels an the rear?

[Tim Probst]

Yea: I'm still using the stock gauge. I know I have at least 10 pounds of boost!:rolleyes: Sorry I'm not going to be much help with your gauge pod.

I pulled the rear wheel off today and checked it. it has a 6 3/4" Backspacing. Beefcake(Terry) a friend of mine had the same wheels on his 99 Cobra, and he was running 315/35/17's The only trouble he had was, the car was lowered and the tires rubbed the fenders. He took it to a body shop, and they rolled the fenders for him. Problem solved! I'll make a set of wheel spacers if I have to. But Terry swears I won't need to. If the weather holds up I'll stick them 315's on next month.

Tim:p

[rachrse]

Thanks Tim after I started to install the gauge pod it turned out to be a piece of cake. Had no problem with any of the gauges. Rachrse

[CobraT3]

I was browsing through AFS' website. I was looking at this package..

· 2 – 18”x9” - 2003 Cobra style wheels – 5-lug +26mm
· 2 – 18”x10.5” - 2003 Cobra style wheels – 5-lug +27mm
· 2 – Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 tires – 255/35 ZR-18
· 2 – Kumho Ecsta Supra 712 tires – 275/35 ZR-18

Would these seem a bit to extreme on an 03?

[NJC]

That is not too extream. I just ordered 2- 18x9.5 with a 20mm offset and 2- 18x11 with a 10mm offset with some 285/30/18 pilot sports for the front and 315/30/18 for the rear.

[mot]

I am wondering about diffirent tire wheel combos also. I have been told on other posts here that 18's were a bad choice because of the reduced sidewall. If that is true than 17 should be the way to go. Knowing that you can't put 315's up front how far will the a.b.s. and trac. control allow diffirent tire sizes in the front and back. I would like to increase the rear tires by an inch in width to fill the void in the wheel wells. I also saw something about hitting an i.r.s. bolt. If I go to a 10 inch wheel in the back should all of the offset go out compared to the stock 9's? :cbra:

[dwtalso]

Originally posted by mot
I am wondering about diffirent tire wheel combos also. I have been told on other posts here that 18's were a bad choice because of the reduced sidewall. If that is true than 17 should be the way to go. Knowing that you can't put 315's up front how far will the a.b.s. and trac. control allow diffirent tire sizes in the front and back. I would like to increase the rear tires by an inch in width to fill the void in the wheel wells. I also saw something about hitting an i.r.s. bolt. If I go to a 10 inch wheel in the back should all of the offset go out compared to the stock 9's? :cbra:

All the reduced sidewall really impacts is road feel. The lower sidewall on the 18" rims creates a harsher ride. I know the road racing Cobra community is in love with 17" rims but I'm fairly certain that's more to do with cost than anything else.

The ABS and ATC are both robust when it comes to differences in wheel diameter. In most cases you can get a wheel and tire combo that's within a half inch of stock and that's well within the variability caused by tire inflation alone.

The bolt is a really only a concern for 315's on 10.5" wide rims with 6.9" backspacing (27mm offset). The side wall of the tire extends out enough to cause clearance issues when the suspension is near it's travel limits. A 7/16" spacer fixes the clearance. A smaller section width will also solve the problem.

[mot]

So 10 inch rims should be fine then. I realy don't want to roll my fender lips either. I hung a plumb line off the inside of the lip and see that anymore out will probably hit. The look from the out side says that it should be fine though. I don't carry a lot of weight in my car I only hall a... I am considering lowering 1 inch with probably stiffer springs also.