Sorry if this has been asked already.
I noticed the Nitto NT555 275/35/19 offered from Late Model Restoration in their RTR wheel/tire package is only 26.6" in diameter, while the Stock Pirelli tires are 27.7". That's quite a difference. What are the side effects I should consider, if any. More fender gap? More gearing? Speedometer errors?

That's a great price for the package, but I want to be sure I'll be happy. Maybe I should buy a different tire that matches my stock tire's diameter.

I noticed that the 275/40ZR-19 CONTINENTAL Extreme Contact DWS is a perfect match and probably will get me longer tread life. I've heard good things about this tire. Thanks for any info.

 

I run Falken 452 275/40/19 rear and 255/40/19 front. It has a little rake to it, but they look great and fit the wheelwells good with BMR springs. I had 285/35's and thought they were a little short. The 275's would be pretty short IMHO and it would be hard to find a front tire that was not taller than them.

295/35 is another option that I am considering, but have only been able to find them in the BFG that has an aggressive (truck?) type tread.

 

What IS the stock tire size on your '10? If it was relatively the same as the 05-09, then the stock OD should be about 27.2". If so, then your odometer would be off by 1.5 MPH. If that bothers you then get a custom tune so you can use the handheld to adjust your tire RPMs. Besides, you'll gain another 10 RWHP or so over your current OE FRPP/Bullitt tune.

FWIW, I went with 275's all around and if you have roads that are rutted from truck traffic you'll be tramlining like crazy. If I had to do it again I'd go 255's up front and 285's in back.

 

Tire Rack has my stock tire as 27.7". As far as tire size, I'd like to stay same width all around so I can rotate. The roads in my area are pretty darn good so I'm not real concerned about tramlining being an issue.

 

When I traveled from Kentucky to Chicago about every 2-4 weeks for 2 years, the roads in Illinois were very bad and the tramlining was miserable. Now, In Mississippi, it's not nearly as bad.... so far.

 

Supposedly the OE size is 245/45-19, which ends up gaining more from the bigger wheels than it loses due to the 245/45 having shorter sidewalls than any of the 18" tires.

Somebody at Ford must have been listening to all the crybabies about wheel gap, but couldn't or wouldn't lower the car or tighten up the wheel openings any. So they made the wheels/tires still bigger instead


Norm

 

I think I'm going with the 275/40ZR-19 CONTINENTAL Extreme Contact DWS....50,000 mile rated and the exact 27.7" size as my OEM. I certainly don't want any extra fender gap.

 

The new Contis are supposed to be pretty good tires.

But don't get so carried away with tread life ratings that the really important stuff like dry and wet braking and cornering control gets pushed into the background.
Treadwear rating is only one of several tie-breakers to use when choosing among the best performing tires that you can afford.

If, at 10,000 miles into the life of a set of tires, you find yourself needing every ounce of stopping power that they can give you - having a 50,000 (or whatever) mile guarantee isn't going to be worth squat if the performance isn't there.


Norm

 

I was going to buy the conti DWS tires but the rears have been on backorder for months so I went with the DW summer tire instead since I don't drive it in the winter anyway. I went with 245/45/ 19 front and 275/ 40 19 rear. Hopefully I'll get them on today. I've heard they are really good tires.