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We had the original set of Bridgestone tires on our 2019 SUV. They had 38K miles and were worn but still serviceable (no tread bars showing). My wife was driving in a parking lot (thank goodness) last week when one of them blew out. Turns out it was dry rot — on tires with a date code of early 2019, less than five years old.
You cannot put a 275 on a 7.5" rim. It would have a huge bulge, a lot of sidewall flex, and handling would suffer. When you look up the tire specs on sites like tirerack, they typically give you a recommended rim width. Generally you max width about 2" wider than the rim with as a rule-of-thumb. So for a 7.5" wide rim, you want to stay around 9.5" wide max for a tire width, which is 240mm.
You can probably get a 245/50/16 on there, as i've mounted that size on 16x7.5 mustang wheels before. probably the widest I would go.
245 width tires are what the Mustangs with 17x8" wheel options come with. I've seen folks stick 275's on those and even those have tons of bulge. I wouldn't recommend. You should run a 9" wide wheel for a tire that size.
I checked many online rim calculators for the max tire width for 7.5" rims; results are uneven. Many do recommend 235/245 max, at least one goes as high as 265.
I actually am not after monster tires necessarily; I am just trying to have a wider stance by bringing the edge of the tire to the outside tip of the fender (maybe a teeny tiny bit of poke position). There is about a 2" space to cover. If I can achieve that without buying new rims, all the better. Rims are very expensive; and I generally like to keep original parts if possible.
Here is another idea I just had last night; see if this will work. I mount 235 or 245 tires on these existing 7.5" rims, then use a one-inch spacer on all wheels. In this, I am moving the rim out, possibly creating even more space for the brakes and suspension. Any problem with this setup?
I checked many online rim calculators for the max tire width for 7.5" rims; results are uneven. Many do recommend 235/245 max, at least one goes as high as 265.
I actually am not after monster tires necessarily; I am just trying to have a wider stance by bringing the edge of the tire to the outside tip of the fender (maybe a teeny tiny bit of poke position). There is about a 2" space to cover. If I can achieve that without buying new rims, all the better. Rims are very expensive; and I generally like to keep original parts if possible.
Here is another idea I just had last night; see if this will work. I mount 235 or 245 tires on these existing 7.5" rims, then use a one-inch spacer on all wheels. In this, I am moving the rim out, possibly creating even more space for the brakes and suspension. Any problem with this setup?
1" rear spacers are commonly used. You aren't lowered so shouldn't be an issue with fender clearance. I wouldn't do 1" on front. The turning arc will be increased and that wreaks havoc with the inner fender liners. It will rub like crazy.
Any thought on picking up a set of Mustang 17x8 wheels? You can typically buy a used set of 17x8 bullitt style wheels for $200-400 and then run some 245/45/17 tires. Will fill up the wheel wells more than those base model wheels. Those 16x7.5's typically come on the V6 models. Only the base model GT's got the 16" wheels and most were upgraded to the available 17's at the time.
1" rear spacers are commonly used. You aren't lowered so shouldn't be an issue with fender clearance. I wouldn't do 1" on front. The turning arc will be increased and that wreaks havoc with the inner fender liners. It will rub like crazy.
Any thought on picking up a set of Mustang 17x8 wheels? You can typically buy a used set of 17x8 bullitt style wheels for $200-400 and then run some 245/45/17 tires. Will fill up the wheel wells more than those base model wheels. Those 16x7.5's typically come on the V6 models. Only the base model GT's got the 16" wheels and most were upgraded to the available 17's at the time.
Would be nice if used 17x8 can be had for $400. But on Craigslist people are asking outrageous amount of money for parts... Will see if something comes by.
Is there any general guideline on how big the wheel should be relative to the wheel well (looking from the side of the car)? I feel my current tires look a bit too small for the wheel well. An increase of 1" in radius would look more right to me, but that's just a hunch...
Standard OD should be around 25.7” for that generation Mustang. Any larger and you’ll need speedometer recalibration, which is done electronically on the 99-04 cars, so added expense unless you don’t care.
I think what is playing with your mind is the fact it’s a 16” wheel with a 225 width tire. I owned a 2003 GT I purchased new and threw a set of snow tires on those exact rims. Every spring when I swapped back to the 17x8s with 245/45/17 it made a big difference in appearance even though both wheels were the same 25.7” in OD. Some folks put a 255/45/17 on those which is 26.0” in OD so it looks a little more meaty.
Also what plays into it is that the fenders on that generation were quite large. Most folks incorrectly slam the cars down to try and fill that gap, but if you go any lower than 1” you need to reconfigure a few other suspension parts as that era suspension doesn’t like the revised geometry once you start dropping down 1.5-2” or more. Just starts hitting the wallet. The OE springs for the 01 bullitt and 03-04 mach1 were perfect with a 3/4” drop. Combined with some bigger wheels it sat perfect for a street driven car.
Try some of the local FB groups for Mustangs. CL is kinda been phased out. Most folks sell in local groups. I had a decent set of 01-04 17x8 bullitt wheels sit on there for 3-4 months at $350 before I sold them. I’ve seen them in that ballpark as well.
I have seen V6 cars with the 16” wheels and oversized rubber. It looks like an off-road truck because as you add diameter to the wheel to fill the well, it also lifts the car up as well.
Standard OD should be around 25.7” for that generation Mustang. Any larger and you’ll need speedometer recalibration, which is done electronically on the 99-04 cars, so added expense unless you don’t care.
I think what is playing with your mind is the fact it’s a 16” wheel with a 225 width tire. I owned a 2003 GT I purchased new and threw a set of snow tires on those exact rims. Every spring when I swapped back to the 17x8s with 245/45/17 it made a big difference in appearance even though both wheels were the same 25.7” in OD. Some folks put a 255/45/17 on those which is 26.0” in OD so it looks a little more meaty.
Also what plays into it is that the fenders on that generation were quite large. Most folks incorrectly slam the cars down to try and fill that gap, but if you go any lower than 1” you need to reconfigure a few other suspension parts as that era suspension doesn’t like the revised geometry once you start dropping down 1.5-2” or more. Just starts hitting the wallet. The OE springs for the 01 bullitt and 03-04 mach1 were perfect with a 3/4” drop. Combined with some bigger wheels it sat perfect for a street driven car.
Try some of the local FB groups for Mustangs. CL is kinda been phased out. Most folks sell in local groups. I had a decent set of 01-04 17x8 bullitt wheels sit on there for 3-4 months at $350 before I sold them. I’ve seen them in that ballpark as well.
I have seen V6 cars with the 16” wheels and oversized rubber. It looks like an off-road truck because as you add diameter to the wheel to fill the well, it also lifts the car up as well.
I found a 255/50R16 tire, that the company site claims to fit rims 7"-9". This is a lone case that I found. Do you have any advice on the fitment of this particular tire?
I found a 255/50R16 tire, that the company site claims to fit rims 7"-9". This is a lone case that I found. Do you have any advice on the fitment of this particular tire?
I found a 255/50R16 tire, that the company site claims to fit rims 7"-9". This is a lone case that I found. Do you have any advice on the fitment of this particular tire?
I checked many online rim calculators for the max tire width for 7.5" rims; results are uneven. Many do recommend 235/245 max, at least one goes as high as 265.
I actually am not after monster tires necessarily; I am just trying to have a wider stance by bringing the edge of the tire to the outside tip of the fender (maybe a teeny tiny bit of poke position). There is about a 2" space to cover. If I can achieve that without buying new rims, all the better. Rims are very expensive; and I generally like to keep original parts if possible.
Here is another idea I just had last night; see if this will work. I mount 235 or 245 tires on these existing 7.5" rims, then use a one-inch spacer on all wheels. In this, I am moving the rim out, possibly creating even more space for the brakes and suspension. Any problem with this setup?
Aside from what BostonMike mentioned, the issue with spacers are that it creates an added load on the wheel bearings. Same applies for wheels with less backspacing than stock. Since the wheel is no longer centered over the hub it creates more force on the top of the wheel bearing. It can also change your suspension geometry and wear out other components. Some folks will argue that it does nothing, but I can tell you from personal experience that's not true.
I bought a Ram 2500 truck some years back with a set of rims with negative offset to fit the 35's and ended up replacing both hub assemblies within 15k miles. I swapped the wheels fairly quickly after that and after another 80k+ miles, never had another issue.
One other consideration is that if you do run wheel spacers, don't buy cheap ones that are not hub centric. Otherwise they won't hold the wheel central and support the weight. You'll be strictly relying on the bolts to hold it in place. You'll never be able to fully balance the wheels and they're fairly dangerous to use.
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