Best size tire for handling?

99YellowStang said:

What would be best tire size for handling as well as wheel size, I saw some rims i like and they come in 18x8s and 18x10s as well as 17x8s and 17x10s, what is better for handling 17s or 18s? and what tire sizes for the 17 or 18 inch rims?

Click to expand...

I want to preface my response by admitting that I am a Supra biggot
-> Mustangs don't handle! You need IRS (independent rear suspension) for that!

That off my chest, the more rubber you have on the ground (in general) the better. Also, the shorter the sidewall, the better for handling. Next, the compound of rubber that you run has at least (if not more) of an effect than the width of your tire. Lastly, the width of your tire should match the weight distribution of your car and the stiffness of your suspension. Admittedly, I am unfamiliar with the weight distribution of a rust...er...mustang. On a Supra (this is Supraforums, is it not), some (roadracers) have said that the ideal combination is 285 rubber on 18x10" rims up front and 315 rubber on 17x11.5" rims in the back. This assumes that you have appropriate suspension on that Supra to match the rubber.

okay umm i was talking about a supra, because i am interested in a SUPRA, i already got a mustang, and i mean like also that i can drive around town, i dont want 18x10s and 17x11s on around town cause that would just be goofy looking

I didn't want to get such small sidewall tires up front because of pot holes and such, but you can fit 275/40/17s in front. Don't ask me what the offset is because I don't remember.

You could run 275/35R18's on 18x10" front and 315/30R18's on 18x11.5" rear, but you would need the TRD "big ass" swaybars to maintain the handling balance. You would also need to roll/cut the rear fender lips and possibly hammer in the inner fender well on the rear just a little. I personally think a great street/track setup is the 265/35R18's on 18x9.5" front and 295/35R18's on 18x10.5" rear. This maintains the overall hieght of the stock tires, maintains the balance of the car without adding swaybars, and can be done with no modifications to the car. Of course this is the setup I have on my car.

Later, Steve

Steve Jarvis said:

You could run 275/35R18's on 18x10" front and 315/30R18's on 18x11.5" rear, but you would need the TRD "big ass" swaybars to maintain the handling balance. You would also need to roll/cut the rear fender lips and possibly hammer in the inner fender well on the rear just a little.

Click to expand...

Since a front bigass sway bar doesn't even exist yet, and several roadrace with this combo right now, I'd suggest that normal TRD+27% sway bars will do fine to balance this rubber setup. Also, 315/30R18's are hard to find (does any tire manufacturer make this combo yet?). 315/35x17's are much more readily available.

I personally think a great street/track setup is the 265/35R18's on 18x9.5" front and 295/35R18's on 18x10.5" rear. This maintains the overall hieght of the stock tires, maintains the balance of the car without adding swaybars, and can be done with no modifications to the car.

Click to expand...

Fwiw, I agree that this setup can work well, except that there's a bit less rubber on the road. For someone serious about roadracing, risking a slight ripple in the fenders getting them rolled is exceedingly trivial compared to mods like the full roll cage that needs to be installed, in order to seriously compete.

I tried 275/40/17's and 285/40/17's on the rear with 235/45/17's on the front. I felt that the car was rather sluggish with this. Even after I got teins, it just didn't feel as responsive as it was with the stock setup.

Just before I left to come over here, I got a new set. The same 285/40/17's in the rear but this time with 245/40/17's up front. The car felt a HELL of a lot more balanced than with the previous setup.

I wish I could offer a more detailed opinion, but I really only drove the car for a day before I left for London .

Does anyone have any idea if the TRD Swaybars would help me given this setup?

carcnoid said:

I tried 275/40/17's and 285/40/17's on the rear with 235/45/17's on the front. I felt that the car was rather sluggish with this. Even after I got teins, it just didn't feel as responsive as it was with the stock setup...

Click to expand...

I agree that, with stock sway bars, 235's on the front with 285's on the back will dramatically understeer. TRD sway bars will help with this, and so will getting 255's or bigger on the front.

...Does anyone have any idea if the TRD Swaybars would help me given this setup?

Click to expand...

If your car already feels balanced, changing the sway bars would probably unbalance it, and you may need to go to (for example) 255's on the front to rebalance it after the suspension change. Since Steve has had success with 265f/295r, you might try this combo...
What kind of tire are you running?

Both front and rear TRD swaybars are 27% stiffer, so the balance of the car wouldn't be any different than stock. You may be able to run the 27% TRD rear bar with the stock front bar to get a good balance with a 275/315 combo. Of course tires pressures and technique can be used as a bandaid.

Later, Steve

Steve Jarvis said:

Both front and rear TRD swaybars are 27% stiffer, so the balance of the car wouldn't be any different than stock.

Click to expand...

My comment here is slightly off-topic, but the TRD +27% rear sway bar seems proportionally more stiff than the TRD +27% front sway bar. From my experience, a perfectly balanced tire combo will start slightly oversteering after putting the TRD +27's on, or a car that is understeering will become slightly more balanced.

sorry i should have made it more clear i dont mean like around track racing i mean like basically for street application purposes, would you guys recommend 17s or 18s? what how wide in the back and front woudl u recommend the tires? thanks sorry next time ill make it more clear, and no that white car doesnt look goofy but those are sweet rims and i dunno that car looks mean

sorry i should have made it more clear i dont mean like around track racing i mean like basically for street application purposes, would you guys recommend 17s or 18s?...

Click to expand...

17s will be fine. For street applications, you need a taller sidewall in the back to give you better traction for launching. A narrow sidewall in the back will make the rear tires spin instead of hook.

...what how wide in the back and front woudl u recommend the tires...

Click to expand...

For ideal straight-line (light-to-light) control, you need narrow tires on the front, so 225's or 235's on oem (8x17") front rims will be fine. On the rear, you want as much 'meat' on the ground as possible (to limit wheelspin), so I'd recommend 315's on 11.5x17" rims on the rear.

pwpanas said:

17s will be fine. For street applications, you need a taller sidewall in the back to give you better traction for launching. A narrow sidewall in the back will make the rear tires spin instead of hook.

For ideal straight-line (light-to-light) control, you need narrow tires on the front, so 225's or 235's on oem (8x17") front rims will be fine. On the rear, you want as much 'meat' on the ground as possible (to limit wheelspin), so I'd recommend 315's on 11.5x17" rims on the rear.

Click to expand...

thanks for the info man, what kinda of sidewall would i need to retain stock riding height? 40 on front 35 on back? or something liek that? im talkin bout the 235/xx/17 and 315/xx/17, the xx number?

I asked a somewhat similar question a while ago that had tire info in it. Basically refering to your question I was told to get the best of both worlds. 18x9 fronts and 18x10 rears so 18's would be great... my .02

155/75R12's they are available on late 80's geo metro's. This car works great if your just going to ride around. You don't need a Supra if this is all your going to do.

Later, Steve

pwpanas said:

1) You asked about handling, not about looks
2) Imo, this doesn't look "goofy":

Click to expand...

Hey Phil

I Like those rims, how much and where did you did them at.

Wayne

Hey Phil,
Since you posted a lot on this thread I wanted to ask did you do the PCA event at Road Atlanta? If so was wondering what your lap times were.
Barry H. 94ttsupra

285 in back.

Someone mentioned that they had 285/40/17s on back with 235/40/17s up front and it handled like shit ...

Taking into consideration that the stock tire sizes at 255 for rear and 235 for the front (and the car, stock, understeers a bit when you enter a corner with no throttle), too much grip in the rear would definitely lead to nasty understeer... the front will just slide around all over the place. So for anyone looking to upgrade rear tires because of grip, make sure you upgrade the front ones as well or else your Supra will start to feel like a Civic in the corners.

I put 255s in the front with 285s in the back and I'm pretty satisfied as far as aggressive street driving goes. My stock suspension is 90,000 miles old and I never go to the road track, so I don't know how valid my opinion is, but that's what the seat of my pants tell me. This is like the fifteenth time I've mentioned this too, so pardon me if I look like a retard.

pwpanas said:

Also, 315/30R18's are hard to find (does any tire manufacturer make this combo yet?). 315/35x17's are much more readily available.

Click to expand...

I'm actually planning on doing 315/30/18's.. the only tire I've found in that size is the Pirelli Pzero Rosso Asimmetrico (nice eh...gotta get 18's just to fit the name) They also have 265/35/18 and 275/35/18, which will work pretty well up front. According to the TireRack's ratings, they're excellent performers but don't hold up too well in the treadwear department... Going with a 315/35/17 actually makes more sense, I just happen to be a wheel whore and demand a wide set of 18's for various reasons. I just hope I can get the proper offset and backspacing to make it work without too much banging around in the wheelwells.

-R