Mustang5 Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 I am really sick of the lack of traction I have with the stock tire wheel combination our cars come with. I know several of you have widened your wheels. For those of you that have done this, could you share the following information. Where did you have it done. How wide did you make the wheel. How much did it cost. Have there been any bad side effects, and what tire are you now using. Thank you very much in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark17357 Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 This has been an issue that has been debated regularly here. Below, I list some of the threads. You can find more by using the search feature, going to other search options and then typing in "traction" into the box and then tell it to check titles only. What I have seen as the single biggest issue when folks are trying to get traction with the Shelby cars is the driver. I am old (59) so bear with me. In the 60's we were running cars with plenty of horsepower (for the day) but that was back before we had much of anything in the way of tires. On my '66 Mustang, I had to buy Good Year racing tires in order to get 7" of rubber on the road. Sounds crazy but that is what the deal was then. We all agree that burning rubber does not equal traction and it is only a symptom of a lack of traction. If you are talking about traction for straight line racing, that is another matter and you can solve that with racing slicks and suspension modifications. If you are talking about traction in any other application, it is a matter of learning your car inside out in terms of what you need to "feed" it for gas under a given condition. How you use your clutch can also make a difference in that you can so something other than let it out in a linear fashion. You GT500 guys have a serious clutch on your cars while those of us with SGTs have something far less capable. "A given condition" takes into account a lot of things, from the temperature of the pavement, to the type of pavement, to the temperature of the air, to the condition of your tires, to whether there is any moisture present. I don't mean any disrespect with these comments. Back in the day, we learned how to launch our cars with the rubber that was available so we learned all the tricks there were to making it happen without going up in smoke. Today, with better suspensions, traction control and huge (relatively) tires, drivers do not grow up needing to know what all we had to figure out the hard way. The problem does not really show itself on most cars but when you buy a GT500 or put an S/C in a SGT, it shows up in a hurry. You can widen your wheels (and there are threads for that) but you will never be able to put down enough rubber to avoid having to learn how to feed power to the beast that you own. Look at it this way, it will be a fun learning experience. Good luck on this. Here are those threads: http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php...amp;hl=traction http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php...amp;hl=traction http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php...amp;hl=traction http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php...amp;hl=traction http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php...amp;hl=traction http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php...amp;hl=traction Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
07SGT4578 Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 +1 Jim, I might add, that even with widened wheels and tires, modded suspension, etc. something always has to give. Even with the best suspension and best tires, rear ends and other components will break under alot of torque. IMO the best choice would be as Jim suggested to learn your car, know your car, and drive it. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcthorne Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Stock wheels, widened 1.5 inches by Weldcraft. Nitto 335/30/ZR18 tires. Did a LOT for improved traction over the stock 285 Goodyears. Still got to learn to launch, but you got a whole lot more to work with. Besides, the fat meats on the rear look GREAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clark17357 Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Stock wheels, widened 1.5 inches by Weldcraft. Nitto 335/30/ZR18 tires. Did a LOT for improved traction over the stock 285 Goodyears. Still got to learn to launch, but you got a whole lot more to work with. Besides, the fat meats on the rear look GREAT. Truer words were never spoken -- those size meats look like steam rollers from the rear. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin00Stang Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 http://vmptuning.com/forum/showthread.php?t=938 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoneDoc Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 http://vmptuning.com/forum/showthread.php?t=938 nice write-up Justin. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEEKAY GT500 Posted December 4, 2009 Report Share Posted December 4, 2009 I am really sick of the lack of traction I have with the stock tire wheel combination our cars come with. I know several of you have widened your wheels. For those of you that have done this, could you share the following information. Where did you have it done. How wide did you make the wheel. How much did it cost. Have there been any bad side effects, and what tire are you now using. Thank you very much in advance weldcraft to 11.0". i cant remember the price but i think it was in the $200-250 per wheel range. dont quote me on this. i dont remember how much shipping cost me. i did not remove the bump stop but am running 1/8" spacers. i still rub the bumpstop when going over peaks/dips in the road at a decent speed. 1/4 spacers may eliminate this but from the research i did you will be able to tighten the lug nuts to stud to be safe. i know most of the areas of the roads that i drive in and will rub so i slow down to avoid it. ialso will have to jack the car from the pumpkin. the wheel will hit the bump stop when jacking from one side. this could be an issue if you get a flat but i dont take the car too far from home. i am only running 305.40.18 nitto 555r's and will need some new tires in 3-6 months. i am still undecided which tire i will go to next: toyo 315.35.18, m&h 325.40.18 or mt 345.35.18. nitto has a 315.40.18 coming out but it is too soft for me as a daily. none are exactly what i am looking for but having a few choices is nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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