Best Tire Widths for Handling?

[pinero61]

I come from the truck world where wider is almost always better, so setting this car up to handle is quite new to me. What's the best tire widths (f&r) to have this car setup for corner carving?

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[jayman33]

What wheels do you plan on running? Would need to know the widths of those first.

 

[pinero61]

The tire widths will dictate the rim widths in this case. I'm planing on forged wheels, but I'm holding of buying until I figure out the tire sizes I want to run.

 

[Budwise]

Wider is still better, just make sure the rims fit the tires properly. 295s squared is very popular for track days.

 

[NDSP]

Yes, bigger is still always better for these heavy cars. 295's is most likely the biggest you'll be able to get with a squared setup. 18x11 front and rear.

 

[pinero61]

Awesome, I was reading among other threads of people complaining about the handling characteristics of wide tires up front. I'm guessing they were just having issues with bump steer..

So, 11 wide will be sufficient for 295's? Also, who's the best brand for strong/light wheels?

 

[Stuntman]

I like to match the tires tread width with the width of the wheel, if not have the wheel slightly wider than the tread width. Tirerack has all of the specs of each tire.

Ideal width depends on a lot of factors with tire compound being a big one as well as its intended use.

 

[BmacIL]

Keep in mind, the wider you go, the more the car will follow road crown/cambers on highways and such. As others have said, generally for a heavy car like this, wider is better. That said, if you plan to autocross, narrower tires will come up to temp quicker. For track days, that's not as much of an issue and wider would be better. 285-295 should be plenty with good rubber.

 

[Grintch]

So who is succesfully running a 295 tire on a 11" wheel up front? The widest I have seen so far is a 285 on a 10" wheel for the front.

 

[w0ss]

that is my question as well. I saw another thread where someone said 10" was rubbing at full turn. I would like to run either a 285/295/305 square setup on either 10" or 11".

 

[OppoLock]

Narrower tires tend to produce better intangible handling characteristics. Wider tires will help with outright grip.

 

[NDSP]

11's are perfect for 295's. I daily drive with 275's up front and have never had any wondering problems. And on track days weekends I drive to the track, sometimes 100's on miles, on 285's up front and have never had wondering issues. Maybe it is because I live in Texas, don't know. I think it has more to do with the roads, than the size of the tires.

 

[Budwise]

Tramlining can be worse with different brands of tires as well. 11's are great but 10's are more easily fit. You can run 295's on 10's just fine though 285's are perfect.

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