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Larger diameter wheels. Upgrading wheels and tires. Resizing wheels and tires. Modernizing wheels and tires. Campy clones, etc.

George PGeorge PAdmin.
quote:
Originally posted by Lui:

What tire size/type recomendations do you make for the wider bodied GT5S?



Lui we can't make a tire recommendation without knowing the width of the wheels. The width of your Pantera's wheels is going to limit the tire sizes that can be mounted on them.

In regards to modern low profile tires, a tire should be mounted on a wheel that's a bit narrower than the tread. This squares up the sidewalls.

The OEM tires of a narrow body Pantera have 1-3/4" different diameters front to back, this is reflected in the radius of the wheel wells, and this is why staggering the wheel diameters compliments the appearance of narrow body cars. The OEM tires of a GT4, GT5 or GT5-S were about 24" OD in the front, 24.5" OD in the rear. There is very little stagger in diameter, and this is also reflected in the radius of the wheel wells. Staggering wheel diameter doesn't make sense with the wide body Panteras.

The problem with the wide bodies is finding modern low profile tires that are approximately the oem cross section (285 front, 345 rear) but only 24" to 24.5" in diameter. Most guys usually settle for using a larger diameter tire.

-G
Last edited by George P
joulesjoules"Racing is Life, anything before or after is just waiting" - Steve McQueen
quote:
Originally posted by Lui:
What tire size/type recomendations do you make for the wider bodied GT5S?

Lui,

If your 17" wheels are true wide body replacements they should be 13" wide rear and 10" wide front. The 335/35-17 tire is good for the rear and typically on the front guys are using a 275/40-17. The challenge can be in finding the same tread pattern for both in a single manufacturer. Here in the US Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 and Kumho Ecsta XS are both available for front & rear and equally priced. The rear Michelin's have come way down in price, they used to be over $400 ea now selling for $226 at Tirerack.
George PGeorge PAdmin.
Merging threads

quote:
Originally posted by Vicramos:
Someone along the lines changed the stock campys to Enkies (look very close to centerline rims). The Enkies are 14" front and 15" rears running 205 60 front and 275 50 rears. They are long past their retirement..... So I am thinking of getting new rims and tires for my 74L narrow body (#6347). Stock shocks, exhaust and no rolled front quarters.

I searched the forum and found a wide variety of rim, tire and backspace
measurements. Am very confused........

Looking at the TSW Valencia or Carthage wheel with a Ford Mustang 5x114 bolt pattern. 17 x 8 in the front and 18 x 9.5 in the rear. Both have a 20mm offset which equates to a backspace of 5.25" in the front and 6.0" in the rears. Tires would be 245 45 17 fronts and 285 35 (or 40) 18 rears.

Will this fit?? Should I go 35 or 40 height in the rears???

Thanks for any advice.

Victor
davidnunndavidnunnMember
I think you need to re-visit your wheel and tire choices. The front wheel you're looking at will work fine but a little bit more offset would be better (22mm is perfect). On the rear, 20mm is too much offset. For a 9.5" wheel, I think you need about zero offset, for it to look right. It's very important that the wheels are hub-centric too. They need to have a 62mm center bore. As far as your tire choice is concerned, a 245/45-17 is too tall up front. Consider a 235/40-17 or 245/40-17. At the rear, a 285/35-18 or a 285/40-18 will work. Keep in mind, there's enough room for a 335 width tire at the rear on a stock bodied Pantera.
George PGeorge PAdmin.

Select tires for the front of your narrow body Pantera which are 24" to 25" OD, 225 to 245 cross-section.

It is a common mistake to try and set the front tires too far outward, closer to the fender lip. What happens is you'll end up with a tire that rubs the fender lip in high speed corners.

225mm front tire: 6mm offset - 7.5 inch wheel (20mm recessed)
235mm front tire: 11mm offset - 8 inch wheel (20mm recessed)
245mm front tire: 16mm offset - 8.5 inch wheel (20mm recessed)

8" wide Campy clone wheels (Pantera East) are designed with 23mm offset, 9" wide Kinesis wheels are designed with 25mm offset.
________________________________________________________________

Select tires for the rear of your narrow body Pantera which are 26" to 27" OD. My personal preference is a tire in the range of 275mm to 295mm cross-section. The exact cross-section depends upon the tire's availability and its outside diameter. 

Others prefer tires in the range of 315mm to 335mm cross-section. Neither choice is wrong, each person knows what's best for them, or will learn from experience. The outside diameter of 315mm tires are an issue for me. 6018 had a set of them when I purchased it, I felt they were way too small for the fender opening.

275mm rear tire: 8mm offset - 9.5 inch wheel (20mm recessed)
285mm rear tire: 13mm offset - 10 inch wheel (20mm recessed)
295mm rear tire: 18mm offset - 10.5 inch wheel (20mm recessed)
315/35R17 rear tire: 12mm offset - 11 inch wheel (4mm recessed)
335/35R17 rear tire: 12mm offset - 11 inch wheel (protrudes 6mm)
335/30R18 rear tire: 18mm offset - 12 inch wheel (flush)
325/30R19 rear tire: 13mm offset - 11.5 inch wheel (flush)
335/25R20 rear tire: 18mm offset - 12 inch wheel (flush)

-G

Last edited by George P
panteradougpanteradougMember
Isn't 11" too wide for a 285? Check the manufacturers chart.

It is going to tell you the minimum and maximum recommended wheel width, then will tell you the "design" width for that tire.

It is the design width that you want to match.

The size of the tire on those wheels is not out there because of the power that needs to get to the ground.

It is for the look of the tire and what the owner thinks fills the wheel well "correctly".

All those "turbo look" Porsches don't need the tire for power.

Personally I think the car handles better with the 285 than the 335.

What happens is that you really are getting inadequate loading on the bigger tire and all you do really is just spin them.

The car is going to be similar to using racing tires on the street and that simply means the tires are constantly slipping in order to gain more traction, if that makes sense.

On the race track you practice with your set up but on the street if you drive it hard then your tires are slipping as if they are on wet pavement and is that really what you want to do?

Lots to consider with going to those wheels. It only seems simple.
jag13catjag13catMember
There was a post by George Pence back in January, 2012 (for which I made a hard copy, but cannot readily find at the moment)which stated the original Pantera diameter was about 25" front and 26.8 rear and went on to suggest 245/40/17 front and 285/40/17 rear.
I have been looking in www.tirerack.com to look for matching tread patterns, wheel width specs, overall diameter (for speedometer consideration)and sidewall profiles.
ttam23ttam23Member
so are the 235/45ZR17 ( 25.28 in )too tall for the front, will i have rubbing issues with the stock suspension. what if i take out the spring spacers? i would go with 235/40zr17 but i am finding it hard to find a matching set with a 285/40/17. I could buy 225/45/17 (25 in) that's the size recommended buy PI Motorsports, Inc. but is hard for me to believe that .28 " could make a difference
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