18"/19" Wheel and Tire Advice

I know folks have put 18s all around on a stock bodied car but 19s I'm not so sure. Personally, I think 19s would overpower the car.

And be sure not to forget the LED windshield washer nozzle and the wheelwell neon lighting...

Seriously, watch the overall diameter and width, keep them near original and I imagine you could fit all sorts of weird sizes in there. I really feel 19's would be too much, and 18's push things a bit too far for my tastes.

But what do I know? I bought a thirty year old rust-prone Italian Hot Rod that most folks think is a kit car....

Larry

Talk to Cyboman, he has 19's and 18's and they look great.

Bring your check book though, because they will cost you mad money.

They are the Kinesis K-58 and K-59.

Steve

MotorCity72,

Is that you Walter?

On the second page of the thread listed below is a formula to determine tire width, sidewall height, and overall diameter. It will help you narrow down tire selection:

http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6450045562/m/6490069782/p/1

I went with Kinesis K58's for the front, and K59's for the rear. This is their 5 star pattern wheel. They measure 18 x 11 and 19 x 13. The tires are Michelin Pilot Sports, 285/30/18 front, and 345/30/19 rear.

The formula shows the tires to be:
Front: 11.22" wide, 3.37" sidewall, 24.73" overall diameter.
Rear: 13.58" wide, 4.07" sidewall, 27.15" overall diameter.

The difference in sidewall height is .70" (almost 3/4") Look in the thread below at a profile picture of my Pantera to get an idea how the sidewalls relate to each other front to rear.

http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/765004...860058643#3860058643

When you decide how much of a difference in sidewall height you like, use the formula to narrow down which tire sizes will look best with each other (front and rear). I think a 9" rim in the front is about the max you can go on a stock bodied car. If anyone knows otherwise, please chime in. If you're going with a 19" rim on back, I believe that diameter will clear the upright/lower control arm nuts, so you can go 13" (or wider). The tire height may be an issue though, so measure very carefully.

If you want to know if a 20" tire will fit the rear, use the formula to determine overall diameter. For instance, a 345/25/20 is 26.9" tall with a 3.4" sidewall. A 335/30/20 is 27.91" tall with a 3.96" sidewall. Probably too tall. This tire wouldn't even have fit in my wheel opening. The front has it's own limitations. If you go too tall overall, the tire will hit the underneath of the fender when the suspension travels up high! You also have to worry about rubbing when turning, and the ride height being increased too greatly. Goran Malmberg feels the magic number for the overall diameter in the front is 24". He wrote a whole technical article about tire sizing which can be found here:

http://www.panteracars.com/Goranwheels1.pdf (Note it's a PDF file)

There was a balance that I was trying to strike in terms of sidewall height to rim diameter. I wanted to go as far as I could diameter-wise to accentuate the GT5-S flares, but I still wanted to retain sidewalls that looked in proportion (not like rubberbands), and gave me a livable cushion too! I feel I achieved my goal, but it took alot of formula use and measuring

Play around with the formula, and I bet you'll narrow down pretty quickly what will work for you.

Michael

If anyone has backspacing measurements for MotorCity72, I'm sure they'd be helpful to him. He has a stockbodied Pantera, so stock wheel backspacing would work, and so would a set of 16" or 17" fronts and 17" or 18" rears. If you can, post how far the sidewall of a front and a rear tire is in from the fender lip. Pictures also speak a thousand words!

Michael

quote:

Originally posted by LF - TP 2511:
And be sure not to forget the LED windshield washer nozzle and the wheelwell neon lighting...

Seriously, watch the overall diameter and width, keep them near original and I imagine you could fit all sorts of weird sizes in there. I really feel 19's would be too much, and 18's push things a bit too far for my tastes.

But what do I know? I bought a thirty year old rust-prone Italian Hot Rod that most folks think is a kit car....

Larry

Oh, I plan on doing exactly that along with converting my exhaust system to two 6" coffee-can like tail pipes-- chrome of course! Maybe even some airbags so I can set her on the ground.

Haha...j/k Some of those rice burners are absolutely rediculous.

quote:

Originally posted by Cyboman:
If anyone has backspacing measurements for MotorCity72, I'm sure they'd be helpful to him. He has a stockbodied Pantera, so stock wheel backspacing would work, and so would a set of 16" or 17" fronts and 17" or 18" rears. If you can, post how far the sidewall of a front and a rear tire is in from the fender lip. Pictures also speak a thousand words!

Michael

Thanks for all the help Michael. I was already looking into tire sizes once I received your email response. With that formula you linked me to, I should be able to come up with something pretty quick. Then all I have to do is start making some phone calls. I will keep everyone posted as to my findings as far as my wheel/tire combo goes.

-Walt

Good luck, Walt! If I can assist you further, just reach out, I'm always around.

Here's a picture that I'm sure will interest you. I'm told that this Pantera has 345/30/19's on 13" wide rims in the rear, with 18"s in the front. I'm not sure what rim width or tire size is on the front, but you can figure something out.

Michael

Here's another angle.

I've been investigating this too - I've found that when you look at the specifications of the tyres they usually vary a little from the results you get from the formula.
So use the formula as a guide - but get the specs on the tyres as a double-check (especially if the clearance is small) before parting with any $$$.
I noticed this difference when looking at the BF Goodrich web-site.
I found Toyo, Yokohama, Pirelli and Goodrich web-sites pretty helpful.

Originally posted by MotorCity72:
Oh, I plan on doing exactly that along with converting my exhaust system to two 6" coffee-can like tail pipes-- chrome of course! Maybe even some airbags so I can set her on the ground.



DON'T FORGET THE CURB FEELERS!!!

you wouldn't want to mess up the new wheels on the curb!




p.s. I LOVE BIG WHEELS ON THE PANTERA!!

Cyboman, Beautiful car! Do you have any more pictures?

This whole tire/wheel upgrade issue is so typical of our beloved Panteras. And you wouldn't find such a discussion over at the ferrari, lambo sites

I love the fact that we are free to do as we please with our cars, and still have the support of other owners. These cars beg for personal touches, and yet they are all still Panteras. I mean, the Concorso had dozens of other exotics, but when you had seen one model, you had seen them all. The Panteras were each different, and even viewing each one wouldn't have shown all the possible variations.

Choose the upgrades that suit you - blaze new territory, or gather various tried and true solutions. You'll have your own car, but it will still be a Pantera.

Larry

Some very excellent advice from the premier Pantera expert on what can be done with wheels http://www.panteracars.com/Goranwheels1.pdf

Mike

My thoughts on the low profile tire issue:

I like the look of the low profile tires, so don't think I'm just old & stuck in the '70s or something! LOL . The black Pantera Michael posted pictures of is beautiful, just awesome.

My concern is that as the sidewall narrows, the possibility of tire pinching or wheel damage from a pot hole increases.

At this time, I would be comfortable with 17" wheels in the front & 19" wheels out back. Assuming you're running close to stock OD tires (25" front, 26.5" rear) that gives you approximately the same sidewall front & rear. I base my comfort level on the fact that I've hit some scary pot holes with my 245-40-17 front tires running 26 psi air pressure without sustaining damage (so far). So I'm comfortable with the 3.85" sidewall dimension of that tire (the tire is about 24.7" OD).

A 17" front wheel allows plenty of room for oversize (13") brake rotors.

Every once in a while I see a car on the side of a pot-holed road with a ruined tire & cracked wheel. The wheel / tire package is always an ultra low profile combination. The pot hole issue is my only concern about going any lower in profile, if you guys with lower profile tires / larger diameter wheels, like Michael, can report you're hitting pot holes at speed without damage, it would be nice to read your feedback.

Your friend on the PIBB, George

Husker,

I do have more pictures. I'll gather them together and post an album this week.

George,

One of my biggest fears was that the front tire I was choosing was too low a profile to survive. The sidewall height is 3.37". I went with it anyway because I felt it was the right tire for my combo. The stock 285/40/15 has a sidewall height of 4.49". That is a huge difference (1.12")!

I was more than surprised to find the change in ride quality almost undetectable! The only thing I can attribute this to is the lack of a heavy engine pressing the front axle into the asphalt. However, the improvement in handling is quite noticable. The car glides right over potholes. I think this is due in part to the front tire being so wide (11.22"). I'm guessing that it covers the pothole, or there is enough left on the pavement that it doesn't dip in. Maybe a tight suspension helps too. I'm talking about East coast, NYC, Cross Bronx Expressway (int. 95) roads (if you can call them that)! I've been unable to avoid some 'Oh my God this is gonna hurt' potholes with no ill affects so far.

I still can't believe what a homerun these wheels were for my Pantera in terms of looks and handling (my opinion, of course). You simply must see them in person to get the full dimensional feel for the width of the flares and the depth of the wheels. Couple that with the low flatness of the Pantera and I can't help but go outside and look at it more than I should at this point! Pictures do the wheel combo no justice.

The wheel combo also updates the look of the car and makes it look much more modern. Yesterday, someone asked me if it was an '05 or '06. When I told him it was an '86, he didn't believe me! That was awesome.

Michael

The only folks who have problems with potholes are the "kiddies" who feel that their car, like themselves, is indestructible.

Michael, thanks for the feedback!

Your "low profile" friend on the PIBB, George