Right now, I still have the factory 235/55/17 Pirellis at 20k miles. I want to move on to something stickier before I start adding power mods. For a while, I wanted to get the OEM 18x8.5 Bullitt-style wheels, but it looks like Ford has discontinued them in the last month or so. I'm going to stick with my 17x8s, as I really don't like any other styles out there, and for a stock wheel they aren't bad at 21 pounds. I live in central Texas, so snow and ice are not a concern; I will be purchasing summer tires.
Now, for new tires, I would still like to have a slightly shorter sidewall and larger contact patch. According to a tire website, I should be able to go to 255/50/17 tires on my stock 17x8 wheels. My goal is to improve over-all cornering and day-to-day driving (as opposed to runs down the drag strip). Has anyone run that size before? Do you share my concern that going with that over-wide contact patch will negate the sidewall difference? Will I want to run a higher (in relation to my 235/55) tire pressure with that setup? I run 32 psi at all four corners now.
This is my first RWD vehicle, and I have never run wheels larger than 17x7.5 (or tires larger than 225/45), so advice is welcome.
Now, for new tires, I would still like to have a slightly shorter sidewall and larger contact patch. According to a tire website, I should be able to go to 255/50/17 tires on my stock 17x8 wheels. My goal is to improve over-all cornering and day-to-day driving (as opposed to runs down the drag strip). Has anyone run that size before? Do you share my concern that going with that over-wide contact patch will negate the sidewall difference? Will I want to run a higher (in relation to my 235/55) tire pressure with that setup? I run 32 psi at all four corners now.
This is my first RWD vehicle, and I have never run wheels larger than 17x7.5 (or tires larger than 225/45), so advice is welcome.
