JROCars

Hey everyone,

I'm getting new tires and wheels for our Mach 1. We currently have 275s all around with wheels that I'm not actually sure how wide they are, but I'm sure they are atleast 9 inches because we have 275s. But my question is: what's the best wheel/tire setup? I live in Chicago where the winters are pretty bad so we'll be running all seasons most likely, possibly winter tires but most likely all seasons. I want to have a good amount of grip in the rear end and so far the 275s have been decent (the tires are GoodYear Assymetric Eagle F1 all season tires). I was actually considering down sizing
to either a 265 or keeping the 275 in the front, and up sizing to a 295-305 in the back. I've read that the 275s in the front can be a little to jerky compared to a bit smaller tire. So far I've been fine with 275s all around but since we are upgrading tires and wheels I thought we might as well try something new. Also for the wheels, should I go with maybe a 9 or 10 in the front, and a 10 or 10.5 in the back? The car has a good amount of power adders and probably is around 340-355 crank HP. Please feel free to leave any and all input guys! Thank you

Stone629

A lot of it is strictly preference. For snow duty you're going to have to sacrifice dry traction. For dry traction you're going to have to sacrifice cold weather traction. A 275 tire up front is going to track the grooves and pull on you. Most guys stick with a 245 up front and just do a 10.5" wheel in the back. There's plenty of room back there so why not.

odypilots

A wider rear tire may slide easier in snow and slop. If it were a summer only car, a wider setup may work better, overall. My Mustang is a toy car, so I don't like driving it in the rain, even, but when I've been caught out in it, my 99 GT with 305-35 tires seems quite a bit more hydroplaney then my 88 Fox body with stock sized tires, which I drove year round.

Stone629

Or just get a cheap set of winter wheels.

odypilots

That's true.

99GTvert

For the winters, I would go with a set of winter wheels/tires (skinny, tall tires) and skip the all seasons for year round. You could still try all seasons for the other three seasons (ideally better rain traction).

Up front I would shoot for 255 width at max. 275's on my 99 rub when I turn the steering wheel all the way, and though its only when the vehicle is moving a couple mph, its something I would try to avoid anyway when looking at tire sizes.

Out back I'd try for either 275 or 315. Fat tires look really good from the rear.

PDOGG74

Hay that is a good question, I live in VA and the winters here can be mild meaning no snow and only icy roads in the morning to heavy snow and ice all day long. Fortunately I take public transportation to work and do not plan on driving my car when it is really icy or there is large amount of snow on the ground. I have the staggered rim and tire set from AM, I got the NITTO 555 Summer tires. I run the Saleen 275/17 in the front, 315/17 in the back and I dropped my car 2 inches all the way around from the Eibach Sportline lowering springs. So my car is set up for the dry and wet in the summer and cornering in those conditions. As far as snow and icy..... well I guess we will see on this forum. I can tell you this if you run my set up your MACH1 well have a nice aggressive stance and have grip for days during the spring to fall months. I ran 17 because the roads over here are horrible and I need as much side wall as possible so as not to bend my rims. Like I have done on previous non Ford cars, it great to hear ohh we can not balance your tire because your rim is slightly bent and throwing everything off. So good luck man but usually our cars are put up during the winter months and if you really are going to run your car in the snow, make sure you put some weight in your trunk to get some grip.

odypilots

I liked putting a sand bag on each side of the rear seat floor.