Correct tire size for 17x9 and 17x10.5?

[philofab]

I have a set of 17x9 front and 17x10.5 rear wheels for my car. I just mounted some 245/45/17 and 275/40/17 tires to them and it seems my tires might be to narrow? The wheel itself is the widest part of the combination, would I be better off with a wider set of tires or will it handle better with the narrows? What is everyones thoughts on this?

[race-rodz]

275's on the 9's, and 315's on the 10.5's

[Tom.A]

You could go bigger tire on the 10.5" rim. I have 18 x 10 in rear with Nitto 295/45/18 NT555 Series (fit wheel fine). On the front I have 17 x 8 with a 245/45/17, so I am sure you could fit more tire on front as well. I would be sure what you have will fit on your type of car before buying bigger tires. IMO I think bigger tires = better traction. I plan on changing front to wider rim and tire. So the good part for you is just tires. Remember that fitting and looking good are two things. Some combo's look funky either spread on the wheel or big bubble over hang. I would look at the members section on this forum that has detailed description of what each car has in terms of wheels and tires. It is always nice to see what the combo actually looks like before you buy. I should have taken my own advice:rolleyes:

[Alex396ss]

Hi!

I think a 255 tire fits best on a 9" rim.

Alex

[philofab]

I'll probably go with these and then try 275s and 315s when I put new tires on. I have to tub the car anyways so I'll make plenty of room. I was planning on Nitto 555s but I hear they dont make a 315? Maybe a Toyo, Falken, or Kumho?

[race-rodz]

the idea with the 275's would be so you only "need" to purchase 2 more tires. that and they are fairly common sizes paired together... as with the staggarded rims, the tire "bulge" is pretty close front to back.

one of my past projects ran 285/30/18's on a 18x9.5(that was a 4 hour long PITA when i mounted them), with that size there is zero sidwall bulge....too much bulge seems to translate into sidewall flex, even with lower profile tires......good for potholes...bad for consistant feedback. i usually try to match the tread width to the overall rim width, then adjust accordingly to the sizes available.

sounds like you got it under control...hope we helped:thumbsup:

[TonyG]

275 is perfect for 9's That is what comes factory on the 03-04 Cobras. 275/40 and 315/35 are the typical size tires for 17X9 and 17X10.5 that the mustang crowd uses. No unusual sidewall flex.

[philofab]

So... my distributer has two tires in that size.... the Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3 and the BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KD. Which is a better tire? The Goodyear costs a little more but not enough to make a difference. I'd really like a Nitto NT 555RII but they don't make them in a 315 :(.