Better tires or wider wheels?

[bob6ggt]

Greetings and thanks in advance.
First Muscle cars ive ever owned. I have a 2018 gt 10 speed (non perfomance pack) on stock pirelli all seasons with black package 19x8.5 wheels, When i am in sport+ around 30mph and i punch it i lose traction and traction control kicks in.
Should i go with a max performance summer tire 255 40 19 with the stock wheels (kumho ps91 or falken fk510 etc) or should I invest in wider wheels? What has yall experience been or how have yall handled this issue if yall have encountered it.

I dont go to the track at all. I do spirited driving when the road is empty and the ocassional roll race. Future plans are only a tune.

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[GrabberBargeCaptain]

Tire compound is going to make a bigger difference than wheel width

 

[bob6ggt]

Tire compound is going to make a bigger difference than wheel width

I understand and that's what I'm thinking also. But recently I drove a friend's car. Same specs as mine except tuned with wider all seasons tires (20x9 20x10) and it gripped more than mine. Maybe the Pirelli p zero all seasons are just not that good ? Idk

 

[GrabberBargeCaptain]

The Pirelli All seasons ARE crap-i just removed mine and good riddance. They are kind of scary at times, and i only had 4500 miles on mine.

It's hard to say without knowing what tires your buddy was running, but yeah those Pirelli tires are junk. They'd be fine on a car with 250hp or so. I'm guessing you have the 10 speed auto which puts even more pressure on those suckers since most manual drivers arent gonna be downshifting to 1st at 25 mph which an auto will easily do.

 

[tosha]

Crappy compound in 285 size will be same crap as in 255.

255 tires on mustang are a joke, 255 pirellis are insult to an injury.
Just my opinion - if you already spend money on new tires, invest once in a nice set of flow formed wheels (either square or staggered) in a proper size.

 

[robvas]

Both...9.5 or 10" wide wheels, and better, wider tires.

 

[Skye]

Welcome to the Forums.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/introduce-yourself.6728/

Lots of variables to play with. Too many to provide a single, definitive answer. Giving us some more insight into seasonal conditions and your budget will help narrow the scope.

I feel it's a given that, going with a wider width will result in better traction, even with the same type and brand of tire. The contact patch is simply greater.

The S550 can accommodate at 19x10, +35 rim without issue. Simply bolt them on. You can do a bit of a refresh with possible weight savings along the way. Apex, LMR and Steeda have some fine offerings.

Regarding tires, Summers will give you better traction, but if caught in the rain or cold, they could be an issue. Do you need all-seasons? Will you be driving year-round? Rain? Snow? Cold?

If you need all-seasons, Continental and Michelin offer some fine pairings.

Summers, Michelin gets great reviews. There are probably other vendors with good feedback.

Can you give us a price band you can commit to? If it's on the low end, it might simply be a tire only choice. At the other end of the spectrum, new rims, with tires.

 

[MROCGUY]

i can't say it enough that tires made a huge difference for me.
i had factory 20x9's 265/35R20 goodyear F1 assymetricals and they spun like crazy in 1st and 2nd. i just could not hook up.

i did my research here and asked questions. i went with a lighter and wider wheel ( SVE 357's ) in a 19x10, 19x11 staggered setup. as for rubber, i went with a very popular continental extreme contact sport 02's ( 275/40R19 Front and 295/35R19 Rear)

doing this got my 1/4 mile and 0-60 down from 13+ and 5+ to my personal best last night of 12.44 and 4.36 on the E85R tune.

and the best part...no spinning. i went full send and that pedal stayed planted until past 130

 

[MrMike]

Better tires or wider wheels?


yes

 

[bob6ggt]

The Pirelli All seasons ARE crap-i just removed mine and good riddance. They are kind of scary at times, and i only had 4500 miles on mine.

It's hard to say without knowing what tires your buddy was running, but yeah those Pirelli tires are junk. They'd be fine on a car with 250hp or so. I'm guessing you have the 10 speed auto which puts even more pressure on those suckers since most manual drivers arent gonna be downshifting to 1st at 25 mph which an auto will easily do.

Got you , I just edited my post and you are correct 10r80

 

[bob6ggt]

Better tires or wider wheels?


yes

Good answer ! Lol thanks.

 

[bob6ggt]

i can't say it enough that tires made a huge difference for me.
i had factory 20x9's 265/35R20 goodyear F1 assymetricals and they spun like crazy in 1st and 2nd. i just could not hook up.

i did my research here and asked questions. i went with a lighter and wider wheel ( SVE 357's ) in a 19x10, 19x11 staggered setup. as for rubber, i went with a very popular continental extreme contact sport 02's ( 275/40R19 Front and 295/35R19 Rear)

doing this got my 1/4 mile and 0-60 down from 13+ and 5+ to my personal best last night of 12.44 and 4.36 on the E85R tune.

and the best part...no spinning. i went full send and that pedal stayed planted until past 130

Yeah man I really didn't want to get wheels because I like the stock wheels. But it seems like upgrading both really helped you out.
I come from the Honda world and rwd is a different animal . I had 350 wtq on a Honda and it would spin like crazy but solved it with better tires and no more wheel spin. With mustangs it's totally different so I want to make an informed decision. Don't want to put new tires on it only to find out I need wider wheels also.

 

[bob6ggt]

Welcome to the Forums.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/introduce-yourself.6728/

Lots of variables to play with. Too many to provide a single, definitive answer. Giving us some more insight into seasonal conditions and your budget will help narrow the scope.

I feel it's a given that, going with a wider width will result in better traction, even with the same type and brand of tire. The contact patch is simply greater.

The S550 can accommodate at 19x10, +35 rim without issue. Simply bolt them on. You can do a bit of a refresh with possible weight savings along the way. Apex, LMR and Steeda have some fine offerings.

Regarding tires, Summers will give you better traction, but if caught in the rain or cold, they could be an issue. Do you need all-seasons? Will you be driving year-round? Rain? Snow? Cold?

If you need all-seasons, Continental and Michelin offer some fine pairings.

Summers, Michelin gets great reviews. There are probably other vendors with good feedback.

Can you give us a price band you can commit to? If it's on the low end, it might simply be a tire only choice. At the other end of the spectrum, new rims, with tires.

I live in the Caribbean, just rain once in a while and summer all year round. I'd like to stick with just tires so far budget wise. If I do wheels and tires I have to wait a while .

 

[GTP]

I live in the Caribbean, just rain once in a while and summer all year round. I'd like to stick with just tires so far budget wise. If I do wheels and tires I have to wait a while .

I was about to say buy someone else's take-offs for a good price, and then you can have both wider wheels and summer tires.

But then you said Caribbean, so not sure about that tip.

 

[shogun32]

I live in the Caribbean

better tires then. And 'where'? PR?

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