Help picking best tire for 18x10 rim

[bbk03gt24]

so i am about to upgrade from the stock rims and go w/ a 18x9" & 18x10" wheel setup and need help picking out the best tires for my needs.

What i'm ultimately looking for is the best set of rear tires for a future horsepower plan of over 500 rwhp primarily just for the street? I would like to be able to hook as well as possible (not really worried about wet/rainy day driving), get decent tread life, and give me the best looking rear tire setup as possible for a 18x10" wheel.

from the research that i've done, the bfg kdw is pretty good, the toyo r888 is about the best, and then nitto is thrown around in that same discussion quite a bit as well. the car will be getting some springs pretty soon and i am just trying to have all my facts straight before i start throwing money out for tires, etc.

right now i am looking to probably run at the very max a 305 or 315 size tire in the rear and would like to try and avoid any serious issues with rubbing as well.

with all of that being said, what do you guys recommend me going with as far as a tire size and brand??

 

[Cobra-21]

This thread has some good info...
http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...14206-best-315-30-18-tires-daily-driving.html

 

[bbk03gt24]

This thread has some good info...
http://www.svtperformance.com/forum...14206-best-315-30-18-tires-daily-driving.html

that's one of the threads that i actually saw during my research... i am thinking about doing the bfg 315-30-18, but saw in that very thread that someone said that they don't have the best traction on the low-end, which made me think that either a nitto or the toyos would be the way to go

 

[swordjr24]

I have always purchased nitto555 for mine but next go around I think I'm gonna go with NT05 or maybe the Hoosiers.. I really like the look of those Hoosiers..

 

[Cobra-21]

And the BFG's tend to be wider than most other brands of the same size, so maybe not a good choice on the stock 9" rim...

Look at this thread about halfway down, there is a graphic showing some examples of different brands and how wide they are.
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/4458244-post16.html

It's discussing the 10.5" rims, but still good info to consider.

 

[HURTNEM]

And the BFG's tend to be wider than most other brands of the same size, so maybe not a good choice on the stock 9" rim...
Look at this thread about halfway down, there is a graphic showing some examples of different brands and how wide they are.
http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/4458244-post16.html

It's discussing the 10.5" rims, but still good info to consider.

He's putting them on a 10" rim.

The widest I would go is a 305 on an 18x10 as that's what I run on mine and it fits just right. I think a 315 would bulge a little bit too much for my liking. My 305s actually bulge "slightly," but it's nothing bad at all and most can't even tell. I run Nitto NT555Rs (drag radials) and they handle 500RWHP fine after about 1/4 through 1st until I quit, so I'm happy with them. However, Mickey Thompson and Hoosiers will definitely handle the power even better, but won't last as long. I've been told Hoosiers hook the best. I don't think you can go wrong with Toyo R888s either, but they're the most expensive out of all the tires, but should last longer than the Drag Radials, so maybe it'll balance out.

 

[HURTNEM]

Also, you'll need Caster Camber plates once you put lowering springs on your car or you won't be able to get a proper alignment. Also, change out your IRS bushings for Delrin bushings and that plus the lower springs combined with sticky tires should help if not get rid of your wheel hop if you have it.

 

[bbk03gt24]

while doing some more research i found the below pics of a cobra with the bfg kdw's with a 295/35/18 size tire in the rear:

if this is what they look like and you aren't going to run into any major rubbing or clearance issues then i would say that these would look pretty good on the 18x10s because the this is the tire size for the above 18x10" setup. does anyone know if the bfg's will cause any rubbing issues, etc though?

 

[bbk03gt24]

He's putting them on a 10" rim.

The widest I would go is a 305 on an 18x10 as that's what I run on mine and it fits just right. I think a 315 would bulge a little bit too much for my liking. My 305s actually bulge "slightly," but it's nothing bad at all and most can't even tell. I run Nitto NT555Rs (drag radials) and they handle 500RWHP fine after about 1/4 through 1st until I quit, so I'm happy with them. However, Mickey Thompson and Hoosiers will definitely handle the power even better, but won't last as long. I've been told Hoosiers hook the best. I don't think you can go wrong with Toyo R888s either, but they're the most expensive out of all the tires, but should last longer than the Drag Radials, so maybe it'll balance out.

thanks for all of your feedback man, I really appreciate it! i've been looking into the bfg kdws and am thinking about going with a 295/35/18 with them and hope that there won't be too many clearance issues, etc. you wouldn't happen to know anything about them would you?

 

[HURTNEM]

thanks for all of your feedback man, I really appreciate it! i've been looking into the bfg kdws and am thinking about going with a 295/35/18 with them and hope that there won't be too many clearance issues, etc. you wouldn't happen to know anything about them would you?

You're welcome. Nitto NT555s and NT555Rs run more narrow than other brand tires in their same size, so that's why you hear about them fitting on a rim that most tires are too wide for. The BFG 295s are probably as wide as the Nitto NT555s, so you'll be fine with either. However, on a 10" wide wheel you'll be ok with 295s and 305s from any manufacturer. You may have to get the Maximum Motorsports IRS bolt (it's shaved down shorter than the factory IRS bolt). I have my fenders rolled and spacers on my 18x10s, so I have zero rubbing. Not sure if the 295s will work without rubbing if your fenders aren't rolled. I'm sure many folks on here have experience, but I rolled my fenders before I put my 18s on, since I knew I was going for wide look.

 

[bbk03gt24]

wow... i am slowly beginning to realize that there is a lot more to swapping out the stock rims for 18x10's and getting the look that i want than i originally thought, haha.

i really want the wide look in the back as well, but i am not so hot on rolling my fenders. like i said above though, if i could get the same look that the sonic blue cobra has in the pics that i posted without having to roll the fenders then i am down for going ahead and ordering the 295 bfg's. I also wouldn't mind going with a spacer or getting the MM IRS bolt, but i honestly want to do as little to the car as possible in regard to customization to get the wheels to fit.

does anybody out there know whether i will HAVE to roll the fenders, get a spacer, etc. to avoid any rubbing and/or clearance issues if I go with the 295/35/18 BFG's on a 18x10" wheel or not??

 

[red351wcobra]

Toyo R888 FTW!!

 

[big dad]

wow... i am slowly beginning to realize that there is a lot more to swapping out the stock rims for 18x10's and getting the look that i want than i originally thought, haha.

i really want the wide look in the back as well, but i am not so hot on rolling my fenders. like i said above though, if i could get the same look that the sonic blue cobra has in the pics that i posted without having to roll the fenders then i am down for going ahead and ordering the 295 bfg's. I also wouldn't mind going with a spacer or getting the MM IRS bolt, but i honestly want to do as little to the car as possible in regard to customization to get the wheels to fit.

does anybody out there know whether i will HAVE to roll the fenders, get a spacer, etc. to avoid any rubbing and/or clearance issues if I go with the 295/35/18 BFG's on a 18x10" wheel or not??

I have 18X9 in the front, and 18X10 in the rear rims. In the front I run a 275X35 KDW, and in the rear a 295X35 KDW.
The fenders are NOT rolled, and I have no interference issues with IRS bolts.
Hope this helps.

 

[mach1033]

Being that this isnt going to be driven in the rain then you can go with a nice drag radial. I had the mickey thompson's size 305 35 18. They hook great with over 600 hp so with 500 it will be no sweat. And speaking of the rain I did get caught in the rain with these and they handled just fine at 40mph. These tires were still new so take that into account. Here is a pic.
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[Cobra-21]

Nice, can we see a shot from the back?

 

[bbk03gt24]

I have 18X9 in the front, and 18X10 in the rear rims. In the front I run a 275X35 KDW, and in the rear a 295X35 KDW.
The fenders are NOT rolled, and I have no interference issues with IRS bolts.
Hope this helps.

that helps quite a bit actually! i really appreciate it man; however, i wanted to ask whether you were on the stock springs or whether you were running lowered springs or not?

thanks again

 

[bbk03gt24]

Being that this isnt going to be driven in the rain then you can go with a nice drag radial. I had the mickey thompson's size 305 35 18. They hook great with over 600 hp so with 500 it will be no sweat. And speaking of the rain I did get caught in the rain with these and they handled just fine at 40mph. These tires were still new so take that into account. Here is a pic.
281751[/ATTACH]"]

that looks awesome man! i will not be driving it in the rain so if i can get more grip out of these then i might as well go with them for that reason. i wanted to ask whether you were lowered or not as well? also, no rubbing issues or anything with these if i go w/ the 305/38/18??

 

[mach1033]

that looks awesome man! i will not be driving it in the rain so if i can get more grip out of these then i might as well go with them for that reason. i wanted to ask whether you were lowered or not as well? also, no rubbing issues or anything with these if i go w/ the 305/38/18??

I have the MM coilovers and I'm lowered 1.5 inches. I was lowered almost a full 3 inch and it still didnt rub. This was with just a passenger not any in the back seat. This is a great tire for grip and you wont ever go back to a regular tire trust me. When I had Nitto NT 555 extremes my car wouldnt hook worth a shit with a little over 500 wheel horsepower. I did buy the flush mount IRS bolt just for insurance.

 

[mach1033]

Nice, can we see a shot from the back?

I never took any from the back but I will post some pics that I hope will give you some idea of what they look like from the back.
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[bbk03gt24]

I never took any from the back but I will post some pics that I hope will give you some idea of what they look like from the back.
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i think this just helped me make up my mind about the tires that i want to go with, haha. thanks for the pics and feedback man!