[jsando1]

Hey everyone just trying to get an opinion on some new wheels I def need them. I was checking AM and saw these:
2 18X9 w/ Sumitomo HTRZII 265/35-18 front
2 18/X10 w/ Sumitomo HTRZII 285/35/18 rear

Your thoughts on messing w/ the staggered rear wheels is appreciated. Please tell me your sizes/rims in case you have a better look than the one i am trying. thanks!! Really appreciate it!!

 

[ReverendDexter]

Those Sumis aren't the greatest tires. I know they're cheap, but you definitely get what you pay for.

The only problem with a stagger setup is that if you get directional tires, you're SOL for rotating. At least with same size you can rotate front to back.

Also depends on how you use the car. If you're into handling at all, you know that the Mustang understeers. Adding more tire to the back doesn't help with that at all. If this is a straightline or show car, that doesn't affect you.

 

[jsando1]

Your right i do want to rotate the tires more than lose handling. Can i still do 18X9 front and back? what tires would you recommend if it were your tires? Thanks !!

 

[Boostang]

most ppl go with the nittos.. but ive been seeing this whole "splitting" thing starting to go wrong with them soooooooo... i wouldnt get them?

 

[jsando1]

thanks for the heads up!!

 

[dcook_14]

Those Sumis aren't the greatest tires. I know they're cheap, but you definitely get what you pay for.

The only problem with a stagger setup is that if you get directional tires, you're SOL for rotating. At least with same size you can rotate front to back.

Also depends on how you use the car. If you're into handling at all, you know that the Mustang understeers. Adding more tire to the back doesn't help with that at all. If this is a straightline or show car, that doesn't affect you.

Reverend is spot on as always, take his advice on prettymuch everything.

This might be a dumb question but if adding more tire to the back creates more understeer, does adding a wider tire on the front give it a little more oversteer? I don't really know what under/oversteer means I'm assuming that understeer kinda pushes you through corners and oversteer kinda sucks you into the turns?

 

[ReverendDexter]

For cheap tires I like Kumhos. For an allseason the ECSTA ASX is grippy and cheap, and for a summer tire the ECSTA MX and XS has done very well in tire comparisons done by GRM.

I had a set of ASXs on the Cobra for 15 or 20k. They started to lose some dry traction, but stayed nice and grippy in the wet. Weren't the best autocross tires, but kicked ass for being mud and snow rated.

I'm planning to run either the ECSTA XS or Falken RT-615s on the foxbody next season. Either one can be found for < $150/tire, and they're both very grippy tires with decent treadware ratings. I'm not sure how either of these tires do in terms of straight-line launching, though.

For slightly more money, I've had good luck with Toyos. I run RA-1s as my race tire, and they're about as grippy as you can get with a DOT approved tire. (treadwear rating of 100, if you drive 'em on the street, count yourself lucky to see 5k miles, hahaha).

Personally, I'm not a big fan of 18s, but were they my tires, I'd run matching all around. 18x9 is about as big of a wheel as you can reasonably fit in the front, though I'd stick with 265s myself just so you don't rub on the swaybar.

Are you going to be purchasing wheels, or do you have them already? If you don't, pay attention to the weight of the wheels - a pound at the wheels (unsprung rotating mass) is worth about 30 pounds anywhere else. It's *very* worth it to get the lightest wheels you can afford.

 

[wrr1020]

I just made a thread a couple of days ago asking about two new rear tires for my car. After looking at all kinds of different tires i went with BF Goodrich G-force Sports. Heard there good tires and grip well which is what i'm looking for. The Kumhos i have on the rear now were pretty bald and were not cutting it at all traction wise so these should be a big step up when i get them installed. Ordered them today so hopefully they'll be on the car in a few days.

 

[ReverendDexter]

This might be a dumb question but if adding more tire to the back creates more understeer, does adding a wider tire on the front give it a little more oversteer? I don't really know what under/oversteer means I'm assuming that understeer kinda pushes you through corners and oversteer kinda sucks you into the turns?

Heh, oversteer scares the passenger, understeer scares the driver.

Technically, oversteer is when the car turns more than the steering input you gave it should make it turn. Understeer is when the car turns less than your steering input should make it.

Oversteer is usually referred to as "fishtailing" or drifting. Understeer is "plowing". In Nascar terms, you're talking "tight" or "loose".

Or, the best way I've seen it put: Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car. Oversteer is when you hit the wall with the back of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, and Torque is how much of the wall you take with you.

Most production cars are set up to understeer. This is usually safer, as the steering gets heavier as you approach the limit. It also prevents people who aren't trained to deal with evasive driving maneuvers(sp?) from spinning out as they wildly overcorrect.

Tire size is just one component of the handling dynamic of the car. Putting a wider tire up front should reduce understeer, however, you're also decreasing the PSI between the tire and the road, and potentially decreasing traction (this is why skinny tires work better when roads are slick). There's a lot of other variables involved, biggest being the weight distribution of the car and the relative spring rates of the front and rear suspension. Swaybars are one of the easiest ways to adjust that springrate, which is why they're used as a tuning tool to dial out undesireable under/oversteer.

To complicate it further, there's entry over/understeer, mid-corner over/understeer, exit over/understeer. A car might understeer on corner entry, but oversteer on exit.

I could go on, but I'm sure if you're interested, you'll post questions, hahaha.

 

[maverick0817]

I have a staggered setup, 275's in the front, 295's outback. I really don't notice a whole lot of understeer. Maybe I just haven't pushed the car enoguh. lol. I also can't say enough good things about bfg kdw2's. Ive had them for over a year.

 

[DickH]

Wider tires is the back = win, but wide sumitomos= lose

 

[00mustang00]

not to thread jack but how do you feel about the new nitto nt05 i was gonna get 275/40/17 for the front and 315/35/17 for the back( i just bought black 03 cobra rims
17x10.5 and 17x9s)

 

[ReverendDexter]

I have a staggered setup, 275's in the front, 295's outback. I really don't notice a whole lot of understeer. Maybe I just haven't pushed the car enoguh. lol. I also can't say enough good things about bfg kdw2's. Ive had them for over a year.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that a stagger setup would cause understeer, just that it would exacerbate it.

not to thread jack but how do you feel about the new nitto nt05 i was gonna get 275/40/17 for the front and 315/35/17 for the back( i just bought black 03 cobra rims
17x10.5 and 17x9s)

Guy in the autocross club runs 'em on his C6 Z06. They seem to be good tires. I don't have any personal experience with them, though.

 

[BakerFX4]

im rocking Kumhos up front and LOVE them. Will get them again. i have nitto drag radials out back though 305/35/18

 

[DickH]

just get some 555Rs and call it a day.

 

[dcook_14]

Hankook's got a new tire out called like a ventus v12 or something like that. They are supposed to be one of the best, low-price tire. Car and driver just did a test of a bunch of tires and the Hankook finished second. The Kuhmo Ecsta finished like 3rd I think, so they are a good tire as well. I'll see if I can find a link to that tire comparison.

 

[dcook_14]

Tire Test: Nine Affordable Summer Tires Take On the Michelin PS2 - Comparison Tests - Auto Reviews - Car and Driver
In the "In This Story" section below the picture you can jump around to the different tires and see how each did.
The top three were:
1. Dunlop Direzza
2. Hankook Ventus
3. Kuhmo Ecsta

 

[ReverendDexter]

dcook - which kumho ecsta? There's a bunch, ASX, SPT, MX, XS, and a few others. They range from basic allseasons to "you REALLY don't want to drive with this tire if it even looks like it's gonna rain".

 

[00redgt]

i have sumitomos,and i really like them

 

[dcook_14]

dcook - which kumho ecsta? There's a bunch, ASX, SPT, MX, XS, and a few others. They range from basic allseasons to "you REALLY don't want to drive with this tire if it even looks like it's gonna rain".

Ecsta XS, they say it does great in the dry, not so much in the rain.

Car and Driver said "Want to go fast at a track? The Ecsta XS is your tire. Just be very cautious if it rains."

The Hankook Ventus v12 was fairly good in dry conditions, but it was great in the rain. Car and driver, "In the wet, however, the V12s were as sporty and connected as they come, with grip second only to the PS2s’ and the best braking. "

I'm getting the Hankooks 285/30/19s for my new rims I think. Pretty cheap, a little over $200 per tire which is a a steal for that size