Staggered or Squared Setup?

[geep81]

Improvement at what ?? Understeering ???

Traction obviously. Handles better going into and out of corners. Launches better from a stop.

If you want to go into a turn with too much speed, you can understeer with any size tire you want.

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[luc]

Traction obviously. Handles better going into and out of corners. Launches better from a stop.

If you want to go into a turn with too much speed, you can understeer with any size tire you want.

The Mustang is a front heavy understeering pig that need way more tires in front.
more tires on the back only magnify the issue
Obviously if you don’t care about handling, it’s a non issue

 

[WItoTX]

I love the anti physics/logic/reason posts in this thread, absolute gold

 

[sk47]

For just a daily I would go with squared to prolong tire life due to rotating them.

Hello; Square setup will allow for rotating and save a lot of money over time. Also makes sense on a street driven car. If money is no object then staggered.

A question about wheels to use. I suspect wheels fitting around the larger front brakes & rotors will be the issue. Might be the rear wheels of a staggered set will not clear the front.
If so at least two new wheels will need to be purchased (front wheels). If the rear wheels will fit on the front so much the better as that will save money.
But if you do have to get two new wheels that will leave you with a set of rears. You could keep them and run a staggered setup any time you felt the need.

 

[Bluey_]

If you can afford to buy 5 of the 9.5J width, fit 275s on the front to match the rear. With the extra wheel you can have a full size spare in the trunk. Apologies to those that are reading this for the second time I posted it last week. Make a square timber frame to lift the boot carpet...sorted jobs a good 'un

 

[PhillyMike]

I don't plan on tracking the car since this is my daily

While I get the logic in some of the posts above that narrower tires in front would promote limit understeer on a car already set up for understeer by weight distribution, isn't this irrelevant unless running 9+/10 on a track on the tire sizes from the OP? WTF would the OP have to do on a PUBLIC ROAD to get understeer with 285's on front in practice that wouldn't be grossly stupid?

Lack of ability to rotate front-back seems like the only real issue, right?

 

[sk47]

Lack of ability to rotate front-back seems like the only real issue, right?

Hello; Pretty much. But in the end a square setup is about saving money over time. Get to save on tire replacements with rotation over time. May save on the extra cost of the bigger rear tires replacement over time.
The ability to have a full-sized spare which can be used on any corner seems a bonus to me. I like having a spare.

 

[JAJ]

Just bought a '18 GT350 with ~7,200 miles. The Sport Cup 2's are about done on them. I don't plan on tracking the car since this is my daily and looking at replacing them with Continental Extreme Contact Sport.

Option 1:
285 /35 R19 99Y SL BSW
295 /35 R19 104Y XL BSW

Option 2:
295 /35 R19 104Y XL BSW
295 /35 R19 104Y XL BSW

Option 3:
295 /35 R19 104Y XL BSW
325 /30 R19 101Y SL BSW

So, I actually have a GT350 and since 2016 I've run a variety of tires on it in varying sizes. My recommendation is Option 1. It's just a smidge (3.3%) narrower than OEM, it's got the same front-rear rake, and it's going to be great in the dry and better in the rain. Speedo error is about 1% so it doesn't matter.

Both options 2 and 3 have either no rake or a reverse rake. Might not look good, won't handle any better, so give them a miss.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

Have you ever had a 350 on a track? Guess Ford Performance got the setup completely wrong.

To OP, this is an r setup with 325’s on the back. Same tires your after.

The Mustang is a front heavy understeering pig that need way more tires in front.
more tires on the back only magnify the issue
Obviously if you don’t care about handling, it’s a non issue

 

[MAGS1]

Have you ever had a 350 on a track? Guess Ford Performance got the setup completely wrong.

To OP, this is an r setup with 325’s on the back. Same tires your after.

Is that your old RR 350 Charlie? Love the bronze wheels with RR.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

It is. Really miss that car.

Is that your old RR 350 Charlie? Love the bronze wheels with RR.

 

[luc]

Have you ever had a 350 on a track? Guess Ford Performance got the setup completely wrong.

To OP, this is an r setup with 325’s on the back. Same tires your after.

Yes, a 17 R
What do the Gt4 come with front and rear? 11x18 wheels
Most cars are designed to understeer, including the 350, for liability reason because it’s safer for the average driver. Simple as that
The issue is not so much the rear tires sizes but rather the balance/difference between front and rear
The mustang is not a 911 that need smaller tire in front and bigger on the rear
Even my Viper came with 335/275
What do you think that the first thing people do if the track their viper ? Put as wide a tire than we can in front. 325. Oftentimes
Do that means that whoever built the car didn’t knew what they were doing…? On the contrary, they designed the car to understeer

 

[Pistol_91]

I have had a lot of different set ups on different vehicles before and I think square was my least favorite until I got them, I like square.

 

[Inthehighdesert]

The reality is just about any car can be made to understeer depending on how its driven or not driven. It goes the same for bikes. There are benefits to having a wider setup in the rear, and it doesn’t have to be a rear engine car to benefit from that. If you’ve had an r or a 500 on a track it becomes very obvious with the type of corner where the wider rears come in to play. You can absolutely feel that in your arse in the seat. That was very prevelent on the car in the picture when it was boosted. Not as much in the stock configuration but it was still there. I get why the straight setup is pushed and preferred by some and thats fine. Wether its been two wheels on a track or a car the one area out of all that I’ve never chosen to try and save a few bucks is tires. The caveat to that being trying to put it on the limit. Now this is completely different for a daily driver and even more so for those that want to enjoy there cars in inclement weather. We can all have our preferences based on our own experiences and thats fine to. The one thing in all this I will say is I feel bad for those that have these cars and dont atleast once put them in a road course. They are absolutely amazing and theres no way to truly experience that without it. Best of luck to the OP, the conti’s are a very good tire If he choses to go that direction regardless of setup.

Yes, a 17 R
What do the Gt4 come with front and rear? 11x18 wheels
Most cars are designed to understeer, including the 350, for liability reason because it’s safer for the average driver. Simple as that
The issue is not so much the rear tires sizes but rather the balance/difference between front and rear
The mustang is not a 911 that need smaller tire in front and bigger on the rear
Even my Viper came with 335/275
What do you think that the first thing people do if the track their viper ? Put as wide a tire than we can in front. 325. Oftentimes
Do that means that whoever built the car didn’t knew what they were doing…? On the contrary, they designed the car to understeer

 

[JetGray_Mach1]

The reality is just about any car can be made to understeer depending on how its driven or not driven. It goes the same for bikes. There are benefits to having a wider setup in the rear, and it doesn’t have to be a rear engine car to benefit from that. If you’ve had an r or a 500 on a track it becomes very obvious with the type of corner where the wider rears come in to play. You can absolutely feel that in your arse in the seat. That was very prevelent on the car in the picture when it was boosted. Not as much in the stock configuration but it was still there. I get why the straight setup is pushed and preferred by some and thats fine. Wether its been two wheels on a track or a car the one area out of all that I’ve never chosen to try and save a few bucks is tires. The caveat to that being trying to put it on the limit. Now this is completely different for a daily driver and even more so for those that want to enjoy there cars in inclement weather. We can all have our preferences based on our own experiences and thats fine to. The one thing in all this I will say is I feel bad for those that have these cars and dont atleast once put them in a road course. They are absolutely amazing and theres no way to truly experience that without it. Best of luck to the OP, the conti’s are a very good tire If he choses to go that direction regardless of setup.

Agreed. After attending the Mach 1 Track attack I loved every second at the track. I am hoping in the near future I can start tracking my Mach 1 but for now its my Daily.

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