tire size on 95

[Brian95]

i am looking on getting lighter tires and rims i have 2001 cobra polished with 245-45-17. what would be a good tire size either 15 or stay 17

[TCKTME]

Depends on what you do with the car. If it's a DD, find what you like and look to see what they weigh. Pick what you want based on looks and weight. If the car is a weekend warrior, pick up some Weld's.

Jason

[SilverSmith82]

For a daily just get whatever you think looks the baddest ass and run that. For a drag car get some 15" welds. For autox be prepared to pay for a really light wide rim.

[Brian95]

as of now its not street legal but its not a dd either if i go 15 what size tire will fill wheel well and look good.

[P63]

Will a 15" wheel fit on your car?

The following is a comparison for cobra wheels. I don't know what size tire/wheel you're starting with.

Also, keep in mind that using a tire with less mass than stock can be dangerous, especially in the case of spirited driving over the speed limit.

But if a person wanted less-unsprung weight and rolling resistance, they might decide to get a 17x7" wheel (if such exists)
7" is about 178 mm
The outside dia of a cobra wheel is 2*(.45*255/25.4)+17= 26.0".

So to maintain your diameter, let's go backwards to find the necessary profile:
26.0 = 2*(P*178/25.4)+17

solving
(26.0-17)*25.4/(178*2) = p
p=64


Of course, there's no such thing as a 180/65-17... The closest thing I see at discount tire is 185/55-17 which will have an inch less outside diameter than we started with.

So lower the car along with your tire costs, and enjoy a better ride and slightly increased acceleration (about 4% more torque). All bets of safety will be out the window with respect to high speed driving, so obey the speed limits. Undersized tires can fail catastrophically.
Note also that the car will be lowered half an inch closer to the ground, but you will also get an additional 1/2 inch clearance to the fender, so your highwaters will get higher.
Your speedo will also be off.

Hope this helps.

[SilverSmith82]

Also remember that 15" wheels can have issues clearing stock brakes, especially 13"+ since most guys like to upgrade to at least the SN95 Cobra or Bullitt units.

I went with 18x9 and 18x10.5 Saleens for my weekend/great weather driving Cobra and would not have it any other way for the street. Something to be said for having a 295+ wide tire out back.

[AdderMk2]

P63, your math is wrong, mathematically, a 255/45/17 tire should be 26.03"

IMHO, a 17x9 set of wheels should run 245/45/17 front and 275/40/17 tires
17x9-17x10.5 sets should run 245/45/17-275/40/17 front and 315/35/17 rear
15x3-15x8 wheel sets should run 165/80/15 front and 275/50/15(26x10.5x15)

As for a skinny 17" wheel. There is a company (hankook?) that makes a 26" tall skinny R17 tire.

[1oldfox]

Tires are funny,, You can have 3 tires the same size made buy
different manufacturers and you might have 3 different sizes.

[AdderMk2]

Originally Posted by 1oldfox

Tires are funny,, You can have 3 tires the same size made buy
different manufacturers and you might have 3 different sizes.

which is why I said.... mathematically

[Gabe8496]

I'm happy with my 18s. Car is dropped about 1.75" all around..i'm running 265/35R18 and 295/35R18.

Its also good to have a 2nd set of wheels. 1-Show Wheels; 1-Race wheels

[P63]

Originally Posted by AdderMk2

P63, your math is wrong, mathematically, a 255/45/17 tire should be 26.03"
.

dangit, I had 1 inch = 24.5 mm. $#@!

[F8L94GT]

My car's lowered 1.5" and I had 17x9 03 Cobra's with 275/40's and it looked good. I never got a chance to weigh them but they were heavy as hell. Now I have 15x4's and 15x10's Centerline Warrior's with 165 metric's and 275/60r15's and they fill the wheel well so much better with a ton of clearence. The new wheel's weigh 25lb's each on the front's and 43lb's each on the rear's, that's tire,wheel,lug's,and center cap's. The 275/40's are 26" tire's and the 275/60's are 28" tire's but they both look to fill the wheel well pretty good.

[cobraman1024]

Originally Posted by AdderMk2

P63, your math is wrong, mathematically, a 255/45/17 tire should be 26.03"

IMHO, a 17x9 set of wheels should run 245/45/17 front and 275/40/17 tires
17x9-17x10.5 sets should run 245/45/17-275/40/17 front and 315/35/17 rear
15x3-15x8 wheel sets should run 165/80/15 front and 275/50/15(26x10.5x15)

As for a skinny 17" wheel. There is a company (hankook?) that makes a 26" tall skinny R17 tire.

You're going to call out a guy for being wrong by 0.03" ? What a dick. even more so because that tiny error isn't detrimental to the discussion.

IMHO, 245 is way too small for anything larger than 17x8. It looks funny.

[AdderMk2]

Originally Posted by cobraman1024

You're going to call out a guy for being wrong by 0.03" ? What a dick. even more so because that tiny error isn't detrimental to the discussion.

IMHO, 245 is way too small for anything larger than 17x8. It looks funny.

yes, because 1" is not 24.5mm... its 25.4!

it makes a difference

not to mention, he edited his post to correct what was up there... so keep your remarks to yourself

[SCCA_Stang]

Originally Posted by cobraman1024

IMHO, 245 is way too small for anything larger than 17x8. It looks funny.

agree'd...

Lets stick to the facts:
Op stated he has 01 Cobra wheels in his original thread.

If you run a 245/45/17 front tire on a stock 01 Cobra wheel (17x8) that would be the smallest I would run on there, otherwise the beads tend to balloon out wider than the tred and it looks horrible. If you like the look of a stagered set (backs wider than the fronts), then run a 275/40/17 in the back to match your 245/45/17 fronts. they will fit comfortably on your 17x8 rims and look killer. not only that, they will fit n your fender well with no modification.

If you do not like the look of a staggered set, you can even go as wide as a 275/40/17 in the front without rubbing on a '95 (I do it with my autocross wheels).

If you want to go wider than a 275/40/17 in the back, be prepared to spend some coin on a set of wider wheels because a 295 will physically mount on a 8" wheels, but it isn't really that safe. and if you decide you want to go with a 315 wide rear you need nothing less than a 10.5" rim and remove your quad shocks for clearance.

My setup ('95 GTS)
Street: is 245/45/17 front 275/40/17 rear on Stock 01 GT Bullits 17x8

Autocross: is 275/40/17 front and rear on 17x9 Aftermarket Bullits from American Muscle.

[micky]

I am running a 325 50 15 nitto dragradial on my 00 gt with a 15-10 with a 6 and half backspacing draglights and a 95 gt rearend with the car lowered 1 inch and half, looks great

[cobraman1024]

Originally Posted by AdderMk2

yes, because 1" is not 24.5mm... its 25.4!

it makes a difference

not to mention, he edited his post to correct what was up there... so keep your remarks to yourself

So what if he mistyped? Its not enough of a difference to cause any problems with the OP trying to find the narrowest possible tire he can use.
As far as keeping my remarks to myself, fat chance. This board could do without your constant mr. know it all attitude and continous snide remarks towards people coupled with your holier than thou demeanor. You're no better than the rest of us so shove it.

[cobraman1024]

Originally Posted by SCCA_Stang

If you want to go wider than a 275/40/17 in the back, be prepared to spend some coin on a set of wider wheels because a 295 will physically mount on a 8" wheels, but it isn't really that safe. and if you decide you want to go with a 315 wide rear you need nothing less than a 10.5" rim and remove your quad shocks for clearance.

My setup ('95 GTS)
Street: is 245/45/17 front 275/40/17 rear on Stock 01 GT Bullits 17x8

Autocross: is 275/40/17 front and rear on 17x9 Aftermarket Bullits from American Muscle.

275 will also fit on a 17x8 but just barely, its really meant for a 9" wide rim.
Personally if you're going with a 17x8, the width should be at least 255. Its what came on my '95 Cobra from the factory and it just looks "right".

[ripnitup]

im running billet specalities 15 x 10 with 6.5 back spacing with a M\T 325\50 drag radial .....looks good and fits good on a 95 gt

[Brian95]

ripnitup did you have to remove the quad shock and did u have to clearence anything. i would like to go either 275 or 315.

[AdderMk2]

Originally Posted by Brian95

ripnitup did you have to remove the quad shock and did u have to clearence anything. i would like to go either 275 or 315.

275's dont require the removal of the quad, however you might need to flip it end for end. Im not sure if the quad can stay with the 315's because I had already removed mine... I doubt they will, realistically... because I had to bend my inner fender lip slightly due to rubbing.

[Brian95]

i have been told that sn95 have more room in the rear for bigger tires than fox cars. just looking to fill wheel well up without cutting lip. i guess looks like biggest i could go is 275

[cobraman1024]

Originally Posted by AdderMk2

275's dont require the removal of the quad, however you might need to flip it end for end. Im not sure if the quad can stay with the 315's because I had already removed mine... I doubt they will, realistically... because I had to bend my inner fender lip slightly due to rubbing.

I had some 315 BFG drag radials on my '96 Cobra and even with flipping the quad shocks the tires still rubbed so they had to be removed completely.
Eveyone knows that not all tire manufacturers keep a consistent width so maybe you could get away with using quads with Nittos but not BFGs.

[ZFann88]

315s fit fine. I could see 325s fitting with the proper offset. Here are my 315s with plenty of room

[Methodical]

My car is lowered well past 2" using MM adjustable coilovers and heavy springs. With that set up, I have the AREs Torque Thrust IIs 17x9s (10' lip to lip) up front and 17x11s (12" lip to lip) out back with 275 40s (front) and 315 35s (rear) Nitto tires. I don't know if I had to remove the quad shock but I did it because I installed the MM lower control arms and coilovers all at the same time. I went with Nittos DR in the rear because they were just a bit narrower than the other tires so I could clear the fender lip. I did not want to have the rear of the car up high to clear the tires, which is greatly aided by the MM adjustable coilovers; they allow me to adjust as necessary. I have no rubbing of the tires. You can get an idea of the rear by the picture in my avatar. Oh and they look nasty, too.

[Dubbsy]

I have 315 NT555s under my 95 over 17x10.5 95 R replicas. My biggest issue is clearance to the inside (as little as 1/2" at some points) which became an issue during autoX even with a panhard bar installed.

The wheels fit fine with the quad shocks and stock tailpipes (both of which have since been removed) - only thing I had to do was bend the e-brake bracket on the lower control arm.