Need help with tires for 19x9.5" wheels

[Fly2High]

I would just go by the "measured rim width' field. That is the size a tire is made for. You can find that value for each size of tire. I would not be surprised if some are made for slightly bigger and other for smaller. That value comes from the manufacturer for the best results. I would just go with that.

Either that or I would stick with what the car manufacturer suggests. They setup the suspension, camber, caster, etc. for that tire. When you deviate from OEM, you tend to get worse and spend a lot of money. It is all tied together. Take a look at suspension/traction tuning videos and websites and you will see what I mean. You have a better chance balancing several plates on sticks than guessing what needs to be done piece by piece.

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[NightmareMoon]

FWIW in another thread I made, someone mentioned getting rid of my BMR rear sway bar and going back to OEM or just a PP one. I'm not sure how much that has to do with what Im feeling, but I was debating trying that also.

I found this quote from a motoiq article I read a few days ago:
“For ideal handling: when sizing a tire for a given wheel, I usually target a tire’s TREAD width to be as wide as the WHEEL width, or 0.5” narrower than the wheel width.”
Do you guys think thats a good general rule to stick to in picking new tires?

The Motoiq article is ok. If you're limited on tire size, but not wheel size, then yes you want to go 0.5" wider with the wheel. In general tho often we're limited by both the wheel AND tire fit and going narrower just to get a stretched fit doesn't always make sense. Grip does not equal response, so sometimes you might sacrifice some feel or response to get the most grip, etc etc. 'handling' feel isn't changed all that much, but its not worse with a narrow tire on a wider wheel

Its a good article tho and generally valid. You'll note that Ford does some mildly stretched OEM fitments (GT350) and some square ones (PP2).