295 question
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2nd Gear Member
Joined: Sep 2006
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295 question
I've decided on new wheels... struggled with 18s vs 19s vs 20s.... finally settled on 18s. Question: do 295/40-18s extend out beyond the top of the rear wheel fender? Hoping to keep tire inside the S197 lines. I'm going with 255/45-18s up front (27.1" OD) but can't decide on the rears [either 285/40-18 (27" OD) or 295/40-18 (27.3" OD) ]. Pros/Cons of 295s? Thx.
5th Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,497
From: Near Wash. DC Posts: 13,541
Everyone who has put 18's on their car has hated them when given the options of 19s or 20s. I've done about a dozen customer's mustangs and one guy had me make a one-off set of 18" wheels which ran $3000, he put them down on my shop floor with a fresh set of $1000 tires and let me keep them free of charge the next day.
I've always told everyone that went with 18's that they won't like them because they simply don't look big enough on mustangs with aftermarket wheel styles.
Also if you plan on turning your steering wheel that exact tire combination you chose is one of the worst possible.
If one of the reasons you don't like 20" wheels is because the car will ride worse, I can tell you that's simply not the case and anyone that has ridden in a Saleen knows it's not overly harsh due to the tire choice. Infact you can put the same tire size as on a Bentley or S-class on the mustang which won't fit on the vast majority of other cars and those other cars with their rubberband tires have gotten 20's a bad reputation.
Furthermore the Maserati MC12 has 19" wheels for a reason. They are the best performing street size currently and that's according to some of the guys at Pirelli I'm consulting with on a handling product for the Mustang I'm developing.
I've always told everyone that went with 18's that they won't like them because they simply don't look big enough on mustangs with aftermarket wheel styles.
Also if you plan on turning your steering wheel that exact tire combination you chose is one of the worst possible.
If one of the reasons you don't like 20" wheels is because the car will ride worse, I can tell you that's simply not the case and anyone that has ridden in a Saleen knows it's not overly harsh due to the tire choice. Infact you can put the same tire size as on a Bentley or S-class on the mustang which won't fit on the vast majority of other cars and those other cars with their rubberband tires have gotten 20's a bad reputation.
Furthermore the Maserati MC12 has 19" wheels for a reason. They are the best performing street size currently and that's according to some of the guys at Pirelli I'm consulting with on a handling product for the Mustang I'm developing.
Last edited by Legion5; Aug 20, 2009 at 02:44 AM.
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Thanks for the input... not sure I follow on the "turning your steering wheel" point above. Why is the 255/45 (F) and 295/40 (R) on 18s one of the worst possible combinations?
6th Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,635
From: state of confusion
The widths of the wheels involved and the conditions that you'll be driving on them matter.
A quick look through the Tire Rack, Nitto, and Discount Tire sites isn't showing any hits for 295/40-18. So I don't know what the recommended range of wheel widths might be. That said, I wouldn't suggest mounting a 295-wide tire on anything less than 10" wide, with 10.5 or 11 being better if you can make it all fit.
Perhaps the technical reasons for 19" wheels on the MC12 include the 15" front brakes and 200+ mph capability vs engine power curve and overall gearing. A 3000 lb car shouldn't need that much wheel otherwise.
Norm
A quick look through the Tire Rack, Nitto, and Discount Tire sites isn't showing any hits for 295/40-18. So I don't know what the recommended range of wheel widths might be. That said, I wouldn't suggest mounting a 295-wide tire on anything less than 10" wide, with 10.5 or 11 being better if you can make it all fit.
Perhaps the technical reasons for 19" wheels on the MC12 include the 15" front brakes and 200+ mph capability vs engine power curve and overall gearing. A 3000 lb car shouldn't need that much wheel otherwise.
Norm
4th Gear Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,692
From: Ontario, Canada
Norm
I wonder how much influence the marketing department had on the MC12 getting 19" wheels? Is it possible that "bling" overruled good engineering?
I wonder how much influence the marketing department had on the MC12 getting 19" wheels? Is it possible that "bling" overruled good engineering?
Last edited by Sleeper_08; Aug 20, 2009 at 08:56 AM.
6th Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,635
From: state of confusion
Always possible.
But I suspect that 15" for the rotor plus two times something for the caliper bridge plus two times another something to get from the inside of the wheel barrel to the bead seat measuring point gets you to or past 18" before you even start to think about how well the airflow out the rotor vents is going to make that 90° turn so it escape the wheel itself.
Norm
But I suspect that 15" for the rotor plus two times something for the caliper bridge plus two times another something to get from the inside of the wheel barrel to the bead seat measuring point gets you to or past 18" before you even start to think about how well the airflow out the rotor vents is going to make that 90° turn so it escape the wheel itself.
Norm
5th Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,497
From: Near Wash. DC Posts: 13,541
You do have a point with the 15" brakes. 15" seems to be the standard supercar size across the board these days with very little deviation and 15" brakes require 19" wheels minimum to function (18.5" actually). So because most of the best brakes are 15" ones most of the best tires are 19" ones.
The comment about the best tires being 19" ones from the Pirelli consultant was regardless of anything else - besides the MC12, the Ferrari Challenge Straddle and the Porsche GT3 are also on 19" wheels as examples that I would bring up. These cars are the ones that define handling.
In terms of sizing your tires to handle well your decision can easily inferred from the sizes mentioned here on this ebay listing, i know it's not what you decided on:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SALEE...=p4506.c0.m245
These awesome 19" wheels however feature such awesome options like: The proper offset, the new fad that's replacing putting on wider tires to get closer to the fender, getting rid of balloon tire traumatic disorder.
Due to scientific understanding of proper sizing by a team of Saleen(R) tire sizing monkeys you'll no longer be plagued by having one of the worst handling tire combination a typical sane person installs.
Get your aftermarket 19" wheels, not the 18" aftermarket kind that all have STD's (probably AIDS!).
Don't be the next person to throw away thousands of dollars of 18" wheels ha ha.
400 RWHP capable.
approximate +.4 g to your skid pad
$1600 with tires, negotiable. Those tires ALONE cost $1416 + $60 shipping from tirerack..
Wheels, in fact JUST for you $31 per wheel + shipping!
Chrome Finish!
Fast Shipping!
Centercaps!
Look Cool!
Ride Well!
Be Cheap!
Be Xtreme!
Be fo' rizzle dawg!
BUY NOW.
The comment about the best tires being 19" ones from the Pirelli consultant was regardless of anything else - besides the MC12, the Ferrari Challenge Straddle and the Porsche GT3 are also on 19" wheels as examples that I would bring up. These cars are the ones that define handling.
In terms of sizing your tires to handle well your decision can easily inferred from the sizes mentioned here on this ebay listing, i know it's not what you decided on:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SALEE...=p4506.c0.m245
These awesome 19" wheels however feature such awesome options like: The proper offset, the new fad that's replacing putting on wider tires to get closer to the fender, getting rid of balloon tire traumatic disorder.
Due to scientific understanding of proper sizing by a team of Saleen(R) tire sizing monkeys you'll no longer be plagued by having one of the worst handling tire combination a typical sane person installs.
Get your aftermarket 19" wheels, not the 18" aftermarket kind that all have STD's (probably AIDS!).
Don't be the next person to throw away thousands of dollars of 18" wheels ha ha.
400 RWHP capable.
approximate +.4 g to your skid pad
$1600 with tires, negotiable. Those tires ALONE cost $1416 + $60 shipping from tirerack..
Wheels, in fact JUST for you $31 per wheel + shipping!
Chrome Finish!
Fast Shipping!
Centercaps!
Look Cool!
Ride Well!
Be Cheap!
Be Xtreme!
Be fo' rizzle dawg!
BUY NOW.
Last edited by Legion5; Aug 20, 2009 at 02:53 PM.
6th Gear Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,635
From: state of confusion
The comment about the best tires being 19" ones from the Pirelli consultant was regardless of anything else - besides the MC12, the Ferrari Challenge Straddle and the Porsche GT3 are also on 19" wheels as examples that I would bring up. These cars are the ones that define handling.
I'd rate a properly done Caterham or similar clone at least as high. Higher under circumstances where aero isn't of as much concern. Note that the 24 hours of Nurburgring event now refuses to accept Caterham entries as they represent a huge potential for embarassing the bigger names.
No 19's there.
Norm