THE Tire Thread

[2112]

And is the flatspotting permanent?

 

[2112]

. I'm surprised that others haven't expressed concern over the weight differential..

I believe Stormcat has if not others.

 

[MNJason]

02-06

---same dated code that was on my GT at time of delivery 3/06!

Jeff, pardon my ignorance, but you are ok putting 5 year old tires on your car?

 

[MTV8]

Having considered a multitude of options over several weeks, I have settled on Bridgestone tires as replacements for the overpriced, poor handling, noisy, low grip, OEM Goodyears.

My choices were:

Front RE050A 255/40-18
Rear RE050A Scuderia 345/35-19​

Rationale:

1. With diameter reductions of 0.30" front and 0.41" rear, these sizes are wider yet very close in diameter to OEM, and match up well to one another.
2. Front and rear tires are (Y) speed rated at 186+ mph. Unbracketed Y rated (i.e. Pole Position) are speed rated for a maximum of 186 mph
3. Front and rear tires are compound matched 140 A A (not as sticky as the Pole Position's 280 AA A rating, but 1 lb. lighter)
4. Although the front tires are 2 lb heavier than OEM Goodyears (28 vs. 26), I rationalized this based upon the tread depth differential - 11/32" vs. 6/32" or 8/32" for OEM (conflicting data). 2 lb. is a ton in terms of rotating mass / centrifical force but this is one compromise I had to accept. There is no perfect tire for the GT and I shouldn't be too worried about increased stopping distance or turn-in since my car is highly unlikely to ever see a race track. I'm surprised that others haven't expressed concern over the weight differential. I recall when the FRPP rotors were first introduced, many owners jumped all over them simply because they were 2 lb. lighter than OEM. To emphasize the point, think of the centrifical force generated by swinging a 2 lb. weight on a 6" string (the simulated effect of a heavier brake rotor) vs. swinging a 2 lb. weight on a 14" string (the simulated effect of a heavier tire). Accordingly, one should be far more concerned about a 2 lb. increase in tire weight vs. a 2 lb. decrease in rotor (hat) weight.

I purchased the tires from Tire Rack whose well trained sales staff demonstrated patience and a willingness to work through all the fine points with me.

Thanks also to everyone that contributed to the thread. I read each and every post which was of great assistance.

The front Bridgestones are also available in stock sizes at the same weight as the Goodyears, although the diameter is slightly larger.

 

[PL510*Jeff]

Jeff, pardon my ignorance, but you are ok putting 5 year old tires on your car?

Yes I did do that. I don't really have a problem with that.

They've been stored in the warehouse correctly. Very cool with no sunlight. The tires are brand new although they were built in '06.

I was informed by the tire mfr, the shelf life for tires, stored correctly, is approximately 10 years.

And I'm hopefull the Goodyear, or some other mfr will, once again, make the spec tire for our GT's.

 

[fjpikul]

The Bridgestones are slightly softer than the Goodyears, plus wider. I put 44 lbs of pressure in for the winter, so we'll see what happens. Usually, the flatspots will go away when you run them for a good distance on a hot day, but we'll see.

 

[ViperJoe]

The front Bridgestones are also available in stock sizes at the same weight as the Goodyears, although the diameter is slightly larger.

True, except in combination with the 345/35 rear tires, the rear drops 0.41" so the orientation of the car is more "nose up" compared to stock. The combination of 255/40 and 345/35 reduces this measurement to 0.11" which IMO is acceptable. I'll bet if the 255/40's are shaved from 11/32" to 7/32" (~ the same tread depth as OEM GY's) the weight would be very close to 26 lb. (also the same as the 235/45 OEM GY's).

 

[MNJason]

I put 44 lbs of pressure in for the winter

+1

 

[paul b]

+1

Why not jack stands?

 

[Derry]

I am running 235/45/18 Bridgestone on the fron and 345/35/19 on the rear and am very happy. I set at 42 psi, no flat spot issues.

 

[Specracer]

I have found the flat spots work their way out pretty quickly

 

[KJRGT]

Why not jack stands?

+1 !
Seems like an easy cure, unless I'm missing something.

 

[Howard]

I overfill the tires and use carpet samples under each tire for long term storage (all winter). No flat spots.

Howard

 

[FikseGTS]

255/40-18 Front (102.00) -3.54%
345/35-19 Rear (120.75) -4.17%

considering going with these tires, has anyone done any gearing change calculations when going with these rear sizes?

I searched and couldn't find the stock gear ratios and corresponding max MPH at redline in each gear....

thanks!

 

[NJF]

What kind of mileage are people getting from their tires? I know a lot depends on driving style and how hard you drive the rear tires. I have not been hard on my rear tires and have only 2,900 miles on the original Goodyears and they already need to be replaced. I thought I would have got more miles than this.

 

[BlackICE]

How hard one drives is a subjective question. For EP the tires would have lasted until the rot caused them to leak. I got about 5K miles out of a rear set could have stretched it to 6K and I would say most of the miles were easy, other than the Rally events. I have seen Mark Mcgowan wear out a set in just a few laps!

If you are getting much faster wear than you expect, check your wheel alignment it could be off.

 

[HHGT]

How hard one drives is a subjective question. For EP the tires would have lasted until the rot caused them to leak. I got about 5K miles out of a rear set could have stretched it to 6K and I would say most of the miles were easy, other than the Rally events. I have seen Mark Mcgowan wear out a set in just a few laps!

If you are getting much faster wear than you expect, check your wheel alignment it could be off.

And the tire pressure...

 

[PL510*Jeff]

I regularly get 10-12,000 miles on the rear tires (Goodyear). Varied roads from city, freeway and race tracks.

I replaced the fronts at 75,000, worn a bit but far from worn out.

I can count on three fingers on one hand the number of smokey burnouts I have done. Just not my style.

As the rocktman said "if the tires are spinning, you ain't "winning".

You can decrease the wear rate on the center of the Goodyears by lowering the air pressure buy 3-5 psi.

I really don't understand how much abuse must be given to wear out any street tire in 2,500 to 3,000 miles.

I guess we need to thank Ford for putting in a clutch & transaxle that can take that kind of driving sytle.



that's mu $ .02.

 

[NJF]

Now I am really confused. I have only lit er' up once in those 2,900 miles, and even then it was nit THAT good of a burn out...

 

[RALPHIE]

Rear Tires (Stock Goodyears):

1st Set: 9,652.0 miles *
2nd Set: 8,989.6 miles *
3rd Set: 11,748.7 miles
4th Set: 13,918.3 miles

* - not quite down to wear bars when changed, but at a convenient time as I would be traveling a good distance shortly afterward.