What is the largest tire I can get?

[Mattsmerc]

Any info would be great. I will need a set of rears soon so I was wondering what I can put on the stock rim . I am looking for the widest tire with the same diameter. :confused: :burnout:

[merc]

I don't know if this tire would fit on your stock rim :stupid:

[SergntMac]

Nice to hear your wit once again, MERC, welcome back!

[BillyGman]

Hey wait a minute Mermar. If you're gonna be installing that Trilogy set-up soon, then you'll want a good Drag Radial to hook-up all that new low-end Torque that your car will have. And from what I'm hearing from most of the guys who have the Trilogy set-up on their Marauders is that those Nitto drag radials are pretty good.

To get the Nitto 18" tires you'll want the P305/45/18 size. I'm assuming that you haven't already read the "Rim Widening" service thread in the "Alternative Automotive" forum. Check it out. I think it would be worth the extra expense if you're gonna spend the $$ for the Supercharger. The only negative thing that I've read abou the Nitto DR's is that they're not good in the rain at all, so you have to really take it slow when the road is wet. But hey, you can't have everything I guess.

But that's about the widest tires you're gonna get on the Marauder. Check out the pics in that thread.

[teamrope]

I don't know if this tire would fit on your stock rim :stupid:
I dont know if I'de want to try that one...Looks like an antique bias ply :D

[BillyGman]

If you're bent on staying w/the stock 8" rim width, then I guess the best thing for you to do is go on one of those online tire websites, and do a search for 18" performance tires to see what your options are. When you get the search results, you can click on any one of the tires that are listed, and it will usually give you a "specifications" link which will then tell you what the required rim widths are of each size tire.

It also gives you the tire height, (aka outer diameter) which should probably be kept at the 28" range since that is the tire height of the stock tires. I know that MAC got P255's on his stock MM rims on all four corners w/out problems, but I'm not so sure that you can go any bigger than that unless you widen the rims.

[RF Overlord]

I think one of these would look awesome on your ride...

[Petrograde]

I think one of these would look awesome on your ride...

hmm... I disagree RF how 'bout this?

[darebren]

The Nitto 555 295/45/18 is a great tie and good in both wet and dry, you'll lose some drag strip potential compared with the 305 drag radial, but the 555 is the better all around tire... would need rims widened 1 or 1.5 inches. and the 555 comes in a matching tire for the front a 255/45/18.

[BillyGman]

Good point darebren. I guess it depends on how important optimal ET's at the track are to each individual in question who decides to supercharge their Marauder. If you're bent on turning the best ET's possible, and don't want to spend an extra $500 just for slicks and two 15" rims for them, then you should go w/the Nitto NT555R drag radials. But if you want to compromise a bit more, and get tires that will be halfway decent on the track, and pretty good in the rain during street driving too, then you should go w/something like those 555 radials, or perhaps even one of the Pirelli "P Zero" tires like MAC has on his car.

[SergntMac]

The Nitto 555 295/45/18 is a great tie and good in both wet and dry, you'll lose some drag strip potential compared with the 305 drag radial, but the 555 is the better all around tire... would need rims widened 1 or 1.5 inches. and the 555 comes in a matching tire for the front a 255/45/18.
I was going to drop in here before, but chose not to. Now it feels better to share my opinion.

305/45/18 on a 9.5" wide rim is too much tire for the rim. The tread will wrap around to the side wall "shoulder" and look "balloonish," or over inflated. This will upset side wall integrity with a major negative effect in hard cornering. Moreover, the center of the tire gets stretched apart when you're not planting the tire squarely on the pavement, and a stretched tire is a harder tire. Hard tires stick less than soft tires, so, you're wasting the rubber you paid for, and not getting ideal adhesion.

305s need more rim, and that's rim we don't have room for on the MM. A 295/45 will put more grip to the pavement, and properly, as the tire was designed to do. The sidewalls will do their job properly too. If you could find evenly matched MMs for the test, the 295 will deliver more grip that the 305 on a 9.5" rim.

The general rule of thumb that "bigger is better" doesn mean the "biggest is best." This is true of all tires, and not a slam against Nittos, or anyone here using 305s.

It's just my .02C...

[darebren]

without having tires to compare, i have been wondering how bulgy a 295 tire on a 9.5" rim would be compared to a 255 on an 8 inch rim... since one could go 295 and 255 rear and front Nittos on widened rear rims and stock front rims,, would one be noticeable bulgier than the other? would a 285 be a better fit on the 9.5 rim?

[SergntMac]

without having tires to compare, i have been wondering how bulgy a 295 tire on a 9.5" rim would be compared to a 255 on an 8 inch rim... since one could go 295 and 255 rear and front Nittos on widened rear rims and stock front rims,, would one be noticeable bulgier than the other? would a 285 be a better fit on the 9.5 rim?
I don't think they would appear bulged at all. I'm using Pirellis, 255/45 on 8.0" wheels in front, and 285/45 on 9.5 wheels in the rear. Perfect fit...IMHO, and not just in width, but in overall tire height inside the lowered wheel wells. Pirellis don't come in 295, or I would have used that size. BTW, Zack's BFG drag radials are 275/35, and man-oh-man, they stick like glue, but set off the ABS too.

[Mattsmerc]

You all have been very helpful :banana2: and some even funny :lol: . what I am looking for is the beefier :eek: (such a word?) stance all around with out going to a wider rim. And now my wife :mad: is asking me why do I need the supercharger? :confused: so that is on the far back burner. :bounce: for now regular tires will have to do.

[Smokie]

You all have been very helpful :banana2: and some even funny :lol: . what I am looking for is the beefier :eek: (such a word?) stance all around with out going to a wider rim. And now my wife :mad: is asking me why do I need the supercharger? :confused: so that is on the far back burner. :bounce: for now regular tires will have to do.
I was hoping you would get an answer, because I was hoping to find the same myself: a high performance tire that is 28" tall, but it is wider than 245 mm and fits properly on the stock rim.

[darebren]

the only combination that fits with traction control is the pirelli assymetrico 255/45/18 front and 255/50/18 rear. if you don't have track control you could do all 4 in the same 255 of any one of the above, or go to other manufacturers 255 tires... but pirelli is the only one that makes the same tire in 255/50 and 255/45 for stock rake and traction control friendly.

[RF Overlord]

And now my wife :mad: is asking me why do I need the supercharger? :confused:

Women... :rolleyes: ...

Simple...you need the supercharger because the new bigger tires require more power to turn because they have more traction and are therefor safer...it's obvious... duh...

:lol:

[Smokie]

the only combination that fits with traction control is the pirelli assymetrico 255/45/18 front and 255/55/18 rear. if you don't have track control you could do all 4 in the same 255 of any one of the above, or go to other manufacturers 255 tires... but pirelli is the only one that makes the same tire in 255/55 and 255/45.The asimmetrico tire as far as I can tell would work fine on stock rim, Would increase the width from 9.6" to 10.1".
I did not find the 55 profile at the web site, 50 was tallest I found for the asimmetrico, 28.1" tall. Thanks for info.:D

[SergntMac]

I was hoping you would get an answer, because I was hoping to find the same myself: a high performance tire that is 28" tall, but it is wider than 245 mm and fits properly on the stock rim.
255/50 on the rear = 28.01
255/45 on the front = 27.04
OEM rims, OEM rake restored, lots more rubber on the blacktop...

Play here...3rd one down.
http://www.speedworldmotorplex.com/calc.htm

[Smokie]

255/50 on the rear = 28.01
255/45 on the front = 27.04
OEM rims, OEM rake restored, lots more rubber on the blacktop...

Play here...3rd one down.
http://www.speedworldmotorplex.com/calc.htm
Thanks Sarge !!! I am not too crazy about the thread wear on the BFG's, good to have a choice, great coversion site too.

[BillyGman]

HMMMMM, I was wondering about the same thing that MAC had brought up about the 9.5" wide rims being optimal for the Nitto P305 tires, but when I looked on a website that sells them(think it was tirerack.com) it stated that for the P305's a rim width of 9.5-11.0" is required with 10" width being set in parentheses as being optimal.

So my thinking is that 9.5" is fine. But who can really tell how much the 9.5" rim width will really effect traction in a negative way? I dunno. I would think that having drag radials in the back would cause a lot more of a traction GAIN than having a rim that's half of an inch slimmer than the optimal and yet is still within the manufacture's suggested width would cause a traction LOSS. Therefore I think it would be a good trade-off, and one that would likely result in the best traction possible short of slicks.But I really wish that some of the Trilogy guys who have these tires as well as a Supercharger like MAC and Zack do would weigh in here to tell us what they think of the Nittos.

Ofcourse all of this is speculation though. It boils down to a judgement call here as far as I know. And as far as the other thing that you said MAC about Zack's BFG drag radials, I must say that it's news to me that BFG makes drag radials in any 18" tires because I looked for them and couldn't find them at all in any 18" size.

Have I missed something????? I'm not arguing, but I'm just trying to bring out all aspects of this issue. That's all. :burnout:

[SergntMac]

Awe come on Billy, don't get shy on me. You're one of the best here at flushing out aspects, even when you say you don't get it.

Zack's got BFGs drag radials in 18" on his MM, so, I don't know what to tell you on that.

As far as my views on adhesion and correct rim size, you can take them, or, leave them, you'll get no grief from me.

I think the Nitto is a fine tire, Billy, lots of bang for the buck. I just can't see the value in paying for tire you're not using.

A correctly mounted 285/295 Nitto will out perform the 305 on 9.5" rims.

For some reason, I think you know that...

[jspradii]

I've got BFG DR's on mine (295/35-18) and they fit well on the widened rim and outperform the Nitto 555DR 305/45-18 for the very reasons Mac has put forth, on the 9.5" rim. I intend to try a set of 295/45's next to see how much difference the height makes.:banana2:

[BillyGman]

okay guys. Maybe I should search around a little more on the net. For instance checking out the BFG website. Because I haven't found any BFG's that are 18" other than the regular BFG radial tires. I've seen plenty of the standard radials that BFG offers in 18". But not drag radials. But I think I was looking in summit racing for them, and perhaps that's why.

And as far as the NIttos, I DID go on their website, and the only 18" drag radials(which are the NT555R's) in 18" that have any width at all and are of equal height(28") to our stock tires are the P305/45/18's.

But now you guys got my attention. I'll look around the net some more. I hope I didn't cause any confusion here. That ofcourse wasn't my intent.

[BillyGman]

okay, the NITTO drag radials only come in three 18" sizes, and only one is a 28.78" height which are the P305/45's. I'll have to look for the BFG website next. I understand what you're saying as far as having the optimal rim width. I just don't know if a mere 1/4" overhang on each side of the rim is going to really make any difference at all. Especially when the 9.5" rim width is within the recommended rim width spec that is published by the NITTO tire company. But hey, who am I to state facts here when I don't have a mega-powered supercharged car, nor have I tried any of the drag radials as of yet.

but you know me, I'll be digging up more info if I can,so stay tuned. :burnout:

[jspradii]

You can order them through Sam's Club. I have a friend in town who owns a number of Goodyear dealerships which also sell BFG's, so I can get the brother-in-law price on the DR's, which is about 5% less than Sam's. You usually have to call the Web sites to get the BFG's through them, since most do not list these tires on their sites as yet.:pimp:

[BillyGman]

Okay MAC,and jspradii, I just went on the BFGoodrich website, and the Nitto website, and here's the scoop:

BFGoodrich now makes two different types of drag radials. They have two different type of tread designs, and they even look a lot different from one another as far as the tread pattern goes. But they both are infact DRAG RADIALS. The original one that I was familiar with are the original style drag radials which do NOT come in 18" models at all.

However the newer style does. Their website states that they are intended for "sport compacts" which makes me think of foreign front wheel drive cars, but this might merely be my own conception of the term "sport compact". Anyway, yes, those BFG Drag Radials do come in 18". But NONE of the three 18" tires of that Drag radial are of a 28" tire height like the NITTO drag radials are. The BFG drag radials are 25" and 26" in height. So you would be giving up 2 3/4" and 3 3/4" of tire height which will cause a smaller contact patch, and will also NOT fill up the Marauder's rear wheel well like the NITTO's do, unless the car is lowered like I believe Zack's car is.

So there you have it. As for me, I'm going w/the rim widening service, and the NITTO NT555R DRAG RADIALS since they are a full 28.78" of height as well as a full 12" of width. So they will look better on my car since I do NOT have a lowered suspension w/cut springs like you and Zack do on your cars, but I simply have the unaltered stock suspension. But as for the NITTO's, that is ofcourse merely my opinion, and my choice. I just wanted to offer all of the specs of the different Drag radial tires that are offered between the two companies of the 18" variety, so that everyone can make an informed choice of their own for their Marauders, should they also decide to go w/drag radials like I'm going to do.

That's the best thing that we can all hope to do here. And by a team effort in this thread, I think we have accomplished that. :banana2:

Ofcourse srandard radial tires are a different story. They are offered in a greater variety of sizes, diameters, and widths.

[SergntMac]

Hmmm...Sport compacts with 18" wheels...Are there a lot of those, Billy?

[BillyGman]

I hadn't even thought of that MAC, but that's what it says on the BFGoodrich website about those latest Drag radials that they manufacture. I don't know if that makes a difference or not. From the factory none of the sport compacts have 18" wheels to my knowledge, but perhaps they offer them for those cars because of the trend among the young ricer boys to but bigger and bigger wheels on their cars.

Therefore there are alot of ricers that I've seen w/really big wheels on their egg beaters. Some of them I've seen look even bigger than 18".

[MI2QWK4U]

Well...here we go again. The Nitto 305s DON'T bulge on the rim. There are pictures posted here that show that.
I even went so far as to call BF Goodrich 3 weeks ago and talked to one of their engineers and a development executive (Guy that decides what tires and sizes are produced). The engineer didnt recommend the BFG DRs cause they would trip the abs and other stuff i dont understand. The development guy said he would check into producing a size simular to the Nitto 305s. The Nittos are the only game in town for good old fashioned hooking up and looking good. Everything I read on the Nittos verifies what Billy said about the proper rims size, the 305s are recommended for rims that are 9.5 to 11 inches. Look for yourself, there is no way that 1/4 of an inch is going to throw things off after some of the stuff we have already done to the suspension parts and lowering of the car. At least the Nittos are the closest to stock height that anyone has found up to this point. And I can attest to the myth that the Nittos are bad in rain. On the way back from Ennis last year, we drove through about 200 miles of severe and heavy thunderstorms, and the Nitto equipped car was doing 85mph with the rest of us with no problems.

Here is another good thread: http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3006

Good luck! You will like the setup.....

[BillyGman]

Thanks for your input Dave. I was wondering if any of you guys who already have the Nitto NT555R drag radials were going to weigh in on this. I'm glad that atleast one of you did. :)

[martyo]

You gotta admit that the rear end of dave's car sure looks sweet with that tire set up!

[MI2QWK4U]

Marty, Billy, do you notice any tire bulge in those pics? Those tires and widened rims fit like a glove.

[martyo]

Marty, do you notice any bulge in those pics?
Dave: You rear does not have any visible bulges!

[BillyGman]

LOLOLOLOLOL!!!!! :D :D :D

[MI2QWK4U]

Dave: You rear does not have any visible bulges!


Nothing like the front eh Marty?!

[martyo]

Nothing like the front eh Marty?!
So many responses, so little time....

[jrzygrl]

It's taking every ounce of my being not to EVEN post on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jrzygrl]

Dave: You rear does not have any visible bulges!BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA, it's just too much!!!!!!!!

[martyo]

It's taking every ounce of my being not to EVEN post on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!! Chicken!!!

[Zack]

I have 295/35/18 BFG G-Force T/A Drag Radials.
These are perfect TRACK tires because they are 2" shorter than stock which equates to a taller gear ratio. They tripped the ABS light when I drove around on them.
Heres my 2 cents...
Driving around on drag radials is kind of pointless if you ask me. I had mine on for a day before I got tired of them. I had to lower the pressure to about 25 to not devastate the tires. They still spun though. I am probably one of the most aggresive drivers here, so maybe this has something to do with it. Ill tell you one thing though, Id rather burn up my 100 dollar tires rather than my 200 dollar tires.
It must be that low end torque Vortechs are known for.

[MI2QWK4U]

It must be.

[jgc61sr2002]

The tires sure do look great. :D :up: I am sure the perform as good as they look.

[TAF]

Uh.....well................... .............................. ....no.

[BillyGman]

It must be that low end torque Vortechs are known for.[/QUOTE]



Oh, so are you implying that centrifugal superchargers provide more low-end torque (or even as much as) roots type blowers such as the Eaton ones do? If so, that would be news to me. Or have I misunderstood your comment? If the latter is the case, then please excuse me. It's just a simple question. :)

[SergntMac]

Oh, so are you implying that centrifugal superchargers provide more low-end torque (or even as much as) roots type blowers such as the Eaton ones do? If so, that would be news to me.
Have you driven a Vortech lately?

[BillyGman]

Nope. That's why I was hoping to get a direct answer.

[studio460]

FWIW . . .

Well . . . my factory BFGs have FINALLY begun to wear out! I'm going to throw in the Eibachs (lowers 1"), then a set of these: Nitto NT-555 245/40 ZR18 fronts; 255/45 ZR18 rears, whose lower-series' profile will drop the car by nearly another whole inch for a total drop of nearly TWO INCHES!!! Hope the wheel wells don't look too empty with this set-up! Can't wait to try it!