Tire Size Envy?

[Krashyman]

Already ordered Intro wheels (Ram 5, 18's all around) and BF Goodrich g-Force KDW tires (225/45/18 front and 255/45/18 rear) for my 1965 Mercury Comet resto-mod project.

Everyone on the project (Art Morrison chassis, Intro, and BF Goodrich) felt that the 225/45 - 255/45 was the best choice for fit and performance, especially in light of my planned use of the car (i.e., no racing). And, I am fine with the choice. But, after reading all of the tire threads, I feel like I might be having some tire size envy.

Can someone tell me my choice was the right one and the tire/wheel combination will still look bad**s. If you need to lie to make me feel better, that's okay.

Thanks!

Josh

[baz67]

That is a good well balanced combo. If you still have tire envy, just go buy some Enzyte(sp) and throw them on the tires. Maybe they will grow.

[hiwayman]

josh put the backs on the front go big bro!

[MBD]

Already ordered Intro wheels (Ram 5, 18's all around) and BF Goodrich g-Force KDW tires (225/45/18 front and 255/45/18 rear) for my 1965 Mercury Comet resto-mod project.

Everyone on the project (Art Morrison chassis, Intro, and BF Goodrich) felt that the 225/45 - 255/45 was the best choice for fit and performance, especially in light of my planned use of the car (i.e., no racing). And, I am fine with the choice. But, after reading all of the tire threads, I feel like I might be having some tire size envy.

Can someone tell me my choice was the right one and the tire/wheel combination will still look bad**s. If you need to lie to make me feel better, that's okay.

Thanks!Josh

I agree with the project engineers. The comets have a similar size wheel housing to the 65 - 66 stangs and those sizes fit well on a stang. In fact, the rears are on the aggressive side.

You're also going to have a nice stance with the drop in the front.

The only thing I'm wondering about is if the profile is a tad too tall. Even so, a 40 series may be a better looking choice but the 45s will give a nicer ride for this non-racing cruiser.

What width rims and backspacing did you go with?

[Krashyman]

Thanks for the comments. The taller profile was something I wanted (and I agree that the ride will be a bit better with the 45s). Also, the slight positive rake is something we are trying to achieve (and I agree that the chosen combo will give the car a nice stance). The rim widths are 7's (18x7) in the front and 9's (18x9) in the rear. The shop told me what the backspacing would be, but I don't have those notes with me (and I can't recall what the numbers are).

Thanks again everyone!

[68Formula]

C'mon, man! Don't you want to rub off that undercoating like the rest of us?

You played it right, don't worry. Just stop watching Overhaulin' and Wrecks to Riches and you'll be fine. Besides you can always try a little bigger once you've worn them down.

[fast Ed]

I'm going with 225-45-18 on 7.5" front, and 245-45-18 on 9" rear, on my 68 Cougar. We bolted them on one side last night, the look will be nice once we get the ride height down on the front a bit.


cheers
Ed N.

[Krashyman]

Ed,

Would love to see pics of your cougar once those wheels/tires are on it. Sounds like your choice is very close to what I'm getting for my Comet and the stance might be similar.

Thanks,
Josh

[fast Ed]

Josh, they should be on the car for good in a few weeks. We're trying to get a bunch of stuff done to the car before the All-Ford Nats in Carlisle PA at the beginning of June.

Right now, the car sits just slightly tail-droopy, as 1st gen Cougars usually do. I want to bring the rear up maybe 1/2", and get the front down about 1 or 1-1/4", to give it a forward rake, and position the different diameter tires in the wheelwells nicely.

Just remember, stance and wheels & tires are at least 75% of the look of the car.


cheers
Ed N.

[Bertram65]

I am running 225/40/18s and 255/45/18s, Michelin Pilots, I think I could use a little more sidewall in the front, maybe width too.

[steemin]

Josh,
Those will look good and work great on your car.
Very similar in size to what I have on my 65 fastback.
Keep in mind that those other guys may just be trying to compensate for something :slap:
Scott

[Krashyman]

Scott, I looked up pics of your fastback in another thread and it looks absolutely great!!! A real sweet ride. And I think the wheel/tire combo looks perfect.

Bertram65, your car also looks awesome (and, while its tough to tell with the angle in the pic, the front sidewall looks just fine to me).

If anyone else has a 225/45/18 (front), 255/45/18 (rear) combination (or something real close), I'd love to see pics in this thread so I can get an idea of how that combination looks on different cars.

Thanks!

[Bertram65]

Here is a little better shot of the front.

[steemin]

[quote=Krashyman]Scott, I looked up pics of your fastback in another thread and it looks absolutely great!!! A real sweet ride. And I think the wheel/tire combo looks perfect.

Thanks..
Good Luck in finding the right combo..
IMHO Wheels and tires make the ride.
Scott

[Krashyman]

Well, the tires have arrives. Attached is a pic of the rear set (255/45/18). The BFG g-Force KDWs come in two types of treads (new and traditional). I opted for the new tread and think it's pretty cool. To see the tread, you might need to zoom in after you open the zip file.

I've started a new thread on the project updates board to provide progress reports as the project moves forward:

https://www.pro-touring.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18856

Thanks,
Josh

[tripower]

Here is a little better shot of the front.

That GS is sweet! You should easily be able to go 245/40 up front. I'm running 245/40-18 and 255/45-18 tires on 18x8s allaround on my 65 Goat.

[kmcanally]

Isn't a 9" wheel a little wide for a 255 tire?

[68Formula]

Unless its a 70 series or higher, nope. As a matter of fact OEMs use that combination.

[Krashyman]

Specs for the BFG 255/45/18 say 8.0-9.5 for rim width.

[Krashyman]

Pulling back up an old thread. For the 1965 Comet, it looks like we're planning to change from the 4.6L Ford Mach 1 engine (normally apsirated) to the 2007 5.4L SVT Shelby GT500 engine (supercharged). That means we'll be getting 500hp, or somewhere around 430-460 rwhp.

So, I wanted to re-ask my question about tire size. We've settled on 225/45/18 (front), 255/45/18 (rear) and the wheels and tires are already done. The actual GT500 has 255/45/18 (front), 285/40/18 (rear). I can't imagine that being 1.18-inch skinnier in the front and rear for the 65 Comet will make that much difference for regular road/highway driving? Need some re-assurance that this is correct.

Thoughts?

[fast Ed]

Are you reconsidering tire sizes with respect to the added weight, (and) or the added power? You probably won't fit much more up front, and the rear isn't going to hook up at full throttle without drag radials ...


cheers
Ed N.

[Krashyman]

Thanks for the response Ed.

I was hoping to stay with the same tires b/c we already bought them -- and b/c I agree that not much more would fit in the front. I understand that, if I ever wanted to get a good 1/4 time (or do any racing), I would need to change tires.

But, for regular city and highway driving, I was wondering if the extra weight or power would cause problems with the tires (or wheels) I've selected. My guess is that the answer is no -- and that the only downside will be that I won't get full grip if I ever try to make her go full force from a full stop.

[fast Ed]

I think you'll be fine for the intended usage. If you look at tire sizes used on some of the heavy, high-powered European sedans, often they only have 225 or 235 width tires on the front of a 3,500+ lb. vehicle with 400+hp.


cheers
Ed N.