[Magcourse]

Hi everyone,
It just dawned on me that when I joined (and I have forgotten exactly when that was) the site was acting goofy, and for some reason I was never able to post an intro. So, I'm Bobby, 48, widower, former cop, retired Air Force, currently a Christian apologist teaching Sunday School at church, one 19-year-old son, here in the Montgomery area of Alabama but from Columbia and Charleston, South Carolina. I've got a 2016 GT350, magnetic gray, technology package. It came with black/white stripes from the factory. I wanted to add a little color, so I put my own custom blue stripes with red accent stripe on the car. I just recently put the red Brembo brake calipers from the GT350R on to finish the touch of color I wanted to add. Other than that, I have tinted the windows and put on a tow hook. I am considering an MGW shifter. I may copy/paste this to make an actual intro post, so if you see it, you know you can skip it since I did all that here.

I put "Winter" in quotes in the title because I live in Alabama. We obviously don't get real winters here, but the summer tires on the GT350 do suffer performance issues even in our mild winters. When temps are below 60 I notice some loss, but below 50 is when it seems to become rather significant. Add some rain to the cold temps and it can make for an interesting time.

I had a 2013 Mustang GT before this with BF Goodrich g-Force COMP 2 A/S tires and LOVED them. At the time, they were the #1 rated ultra high performance all-season tire on Tirerack, and they were the cheapest too! They had incredible dry and wet traction and great handling. Right now they are rated #2, just ever-so-slightly edged out by a Michelin tire.

I recently found RTF wheels (and please tell me other wheels y'all have found) for the GT350 and began thinking about putting together a cold-weather package for the car. I want to go as wide as possible (I love the meaty tires on these cars!), and I found the BFG in a 305, but it's a 20" tire. It's the ONLY ultra high performance all-season tire of that width. I chatted with Tirerack and was told there'd be no fitment issues if I went with 20" wheels/tires. However, there are multiple options of ultra high performance all-season tires that max out at a 285 width (and that's only .8" difference) and in the factory 19" size.

I was thinking of going with a square set-up with 20" 305s on all four corners. I like the idea of having wheel/tire packages that I can just swap out rather than having to remove/replace tires on the rim. If I stay with 20" wheels but want a staggered set-up, it'd have to be 285s in front, 305s in the rear. BFG doesn't have a 295 for some reason.

One consideration I have is if BFGs in 20" 305s don't sell enough, they may stop producing them, and then I will have gone and bought 20" wheels for no good reason.

So, your thoughts.... do I put together a 20" package of 305s all the way around? A 20" package staggered? Or simply find a good ultra high performance all-season tire in a 285 width to go on 19" wheels?

 

[Spitfire]

I'd be inclined to stick with 19" rims, and I'd definitely give Continental DW and DWS a good look if you can get them in the correct sizes. And rather than plus sizing (which is what you're tempted to do at the front) I'd consider a minus size if it means getting a great tire such as the DWS.

 

[Spitfire]

PS - a Continental DWS 275/40R19 fitted to the front is almost exactly the correct rolling diameter, PLUS if fitted to a spare FRONT rim and stored in the trunk it can be used as a "real" spare wheel for the front or rear. I know it sounds confusing, and I've explained poorly, but the front and rear rims have different offets -- so in essence, what I'm alluding to is that a front rim fitted with a 275 will work well as a rear spare too since it will have all of the necessary suspension clearances etc.

This is exactly what I've done with my own car -- I bought a spare front rim on eBay, fitted it with a DWS 275/40R19, and this is my spare wheel for front and rear fitment.

 

[Magcourse]

Thanks, Spitfire, I appreciate the response.

What spare front rim did you buy on eBay?

 

[Spitfire]

I bought an OEM front wheel on eBay. There seem to be a few complete sets available, but here's a front only, which is what you want if you're interested in having a spare:

Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 2016 10053 aluminum OEM wheel rim Front 19 x 10.5 | eBay

 

[Magcourse]

OK, you really meant a front rim as a spare...lol. Just making sure. It's what I suspected, but figured I'd check in case you'd found something else that worked and that you liked.

Thanks.

 

[Spitfire]

Yes, I really bought an OEM front to use as a spare that I keep in the trunk. As long as you mount a 275/40R19 on the rim you'll be able to use it as a front/rear spare. If you mount a wider tire it will not clear the rear suspension.

 

[Spitfire]

Are you any closer to knowing which wheels and tires you might fit for winter use in Alabama?

 

[Magcourse]

Actually, I just bought an entire set of OEM GT350 wheels on eBay and went with the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ in 285/35-19 (the widest I could get in a 19" tire from any manufacturer). I watched the video of the test between it, Continental DWS, and the Pirelli P-Zero all-season on Tirerack. Although the Pirelli won out overall, I still decided to go with the Michelin (obviously, duh). I really thought for sure I was going to go with the BFG since I knew from experience that I liked them, but it kinda came down to aesthetics. The Michelin will look better (vs. the BFG, I didn't really consider the others), most closely resembling what's on there now, and it came in just a tad cheaper with a discount currently being offered.

I did all this before I saw your warning about not going wider than 275 to be able to use a front tire as a spare in all positions.... oh well.

I like the idea of having an entire wheel/tire set to swap, rather than having to swap tires on/off the rims each time. And I'm glad my son works at our Ford dealership. The TPMS valve stems are usually $100 each, but half that with his discount.

I'm almost willing to bet if I went (or one day go) with the 20" A/S tire in a 305 square set up, I'd probably just stick with it year round. The performance difference isn't really going to be all that noticeable in day-to-day driving, and my GT350 is a daily driver. I only get 10k miles out of the Micheline Pilot Super Sports.

 

[Spitfire]

Our stock 295/35R19 fronts have a diameter of 27.1", and the 305/35R19 rears are 27.4".

Are you going to be okay fitting 285/35R19 on all four corners? The diameter is 26.85".

There's a good explanation here which suggests keeping to within 1% of the original tire diameter when upsizing/downsizing. But I'm no expert.

https://www.thoughtco.com/plus-and-minus-sizing-your-tires-3234471

 

[Magcourse]

Well I'd obviously prefer someone make all-season tires in the factory sizes...lol, but yeah, I should be fine with the 285/35-19s. I have a go-to tire size conversion website that I use, and believe me, I looked at so many sizes from so many angles that my head was spinning. All the information I've seen over the years has said not to exceed +/- 3%, so I'll certainly have to take a gander at the link you've provided. Ideally, of course, I would like to keep it within 1% or less, but that ain't happening. Well, IDEALLY, I'd rather have direct bolt-ons, but so far that's just wishful thinking. It'd be nice if Ford provided two sets of tires with the car, summer only and at least all season.

Admittedly, I'd rather err on the plus side. Since I'm actually going a little bit smaller here, it's gong to take more revolutions per mile (774 vs. 758), so my already poor fuel mileage is going to take a hit. The 275/40s you suggested are +1.1% while my 285/35s are -1.8%. Ignoring the +/-, they're only .7% different. But at least the 275s are a larger diameter. These numbers are, of course, as measured against the rear tire size. I'm only concerned with those because they are the drive tires.

The site I use also lists actual vs. speedo speed. From 40 - 70 mph, I'll be traveling roughly 1 mph slower than my displayed speed (.7 mph at 40, 1.3 mph at 70). Now here's my question: do new vehicles self-adjust for different tire sizes? I ask because someone actually told me that newer (couple of years old and newer) vehicles don't need to be calibrated because they measure/calculate vehicle speed a different way. I have no idea if this is accurate or a bunch of baloney (but it sure sounds like baloney). Either way, I don't think the difference is great enough for me to worry about a speedo calibration, although I'm ate up enough that it annoys me for it to be off even that little bit. And of course I wonder if one speedo does adjust itself and maybe the other one doesn't. I drive using my digital speedo. I wonder if it might remain accurate regardless of wheel/tire diameter while perhaps the analog speedo suffers. Or neither adjusts. Or both do. It'll be interesting to see. I get the tires today and the wheels tomorrow. But I won't put them on the car for several more months. Heck, by then it may be time for my third set of Pilot Super Sports to boot.

 

[Spitfire]

... now here's my question: do new vehicles self-adjust for different tire sizes? I ask because someone actually told me that newer (couple of years old and newer) vehicles don't need to be calibrated because they measure/calculate vehicle speed a different way. I have no idea if this is accurate or a bunch of baloney (but it sure sounds like baloney) ...

Unless the speedo is based upon GPS measurements, it's baloney in my opinion. And it's unlikely that an OEM would use GPS for this calculation 100% of the time since GPS doesn't work in tunnels and it's flakey in what we refer to as "urban canyons".

But your third party digital speedometer might be using GPS for the calculation since (I expect) the manufacturer probably doesn't expect you to rely upon it 100% of the time.

BTW, GPS-derived velocities are VERY VERY ACCURATE, far more accurate than anything delivered by a traditional speedometer.

 

[Magcourse]

Agreed, there are too many variables that make GPS as the source for velocities for land-based vehicles unreliable. While very accurate, GPS is a line-of-sight system; thus, just as you said, tunnels and "urban canyons" (among many things) render them useless as a full-time tool.

But the digital speedo I was referring to in my last post is the digital speedo in the GT350's information display, not a third-party speedometer. While I doubt it and the analog speedo are fed by different systems, I'm not positive they don't get their info from different systems or process the information in different ways. And I doubt it's correct to think of them as redundant systems in the sense that we had redundant systems in aircraft. Sometimes I wish we had a Dash 1 for the car like we did for the plane. Our GPS system had to have X number of satellites in view for the most accurate course, speed, and location information (I know, duh). For every number less than X number of satellites, algorithms in the system would weight the information from other components differently. For example, with all satellites locked in, it might weigh the GPS 99% and the INS (Inertial Navigation System) 1%. As the satellites dropped off, the system may only give the GPS 30% weight and the INS 70%. So sometimes I wish we had a Dash 1 that gave us more of the nuts and bolts about how systems work, how they process information, how they weigh information from various sources, and so on and so forth.

 

[Scott]

Anyone put snow tires rather than all season tires on the factory rims?
I've seen posted elsewhere that this one is good.
Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie III at $389 per tire 295/35R19 100V
It was suggested that you use 295 front and rear.

I just called the Ford Performance hotline to check. They gave a suggestion, but didn't reply in a way that gave me faith that this was something that had been done and tested.

They recommended Bridgestone Blizzaks
255/40/19 on the front
275/40/19 on the rear

Any experience/suggestions?

 

[Slomo]

I've heard the Sottozeros are pretty good. I'm probably gonna mount them on a set of wheels dedicated to winter use. I'll report back how they perform on the car.

 

[FastEddie9]

If you go with a smaller diameter tire, consider ground clearance. I have problems scraping as it is.

 

[extrachrispy]

Anyone put snow tires rather than all season tires on the factory rims?
I've seen posted elsewhere that this one is good.
Pirelli Winter Sottozero Serie III at $389 per tire 295/35R19 100V
It was suggested that you use 295 front and rear.

I just called the Ford Performance hotline to check. They gave a suggestion, but didn't reply in a way that gave me faith that this was something that had been done and tested.

They recommended Bridgestone Blizzaks
255/40/19 on the front
275/40/19 on the rear

Any experience/suggestions?

I've run Blizzaks on an SUV, and they are great snow/ice tires for that application. I don't know how they fare on a high performance car (unless you drive it gingerly). The last time I had occasion to run performance snows, they were Dunlop Wintersport 3Ds, but that was in a much smaller size, on a 2008 WRX. They were magical, though.

It looks like the Nokian Z-Line A/S is available in appropriate sizes, within 1cm of the diameter of the stock tires. Nokian makes the mighty Hakkapeliita, which is also available in what appears to be appropriate sizing, if you're mad enough to drive your Shelby in the white stuff.

https://www.nokiantires.com/

 

[DrEric1]

Hi All - up in Philly, getting ready to purchase a 2019 GT350. Obviously need some tires I can drive in winter. Two questions: (1) What All-season tires can I put on stock rims (305 & 295 -35 - 19, and (2) What is a decent aftermarket wheel I can put on the car and be sure it fits? Thanks!

 

[Studly]

Hi All - up in Philly, getting ready to purchase a 2019 GT350. Obviously need some tires I can drive in winter. Two questions: (1) What All-season tires can I put on stock rims (305 & 295 -35 - 19, and (2) What is a decent aftermarket wheel I can put on the car and be sure it fits? Thanks!

Wow, this thread is old. I'm going with Pirelli Sottozero in 295 35 19 square all around on new 19" rims for winter. 10" wide front and 11" wide rear. Excited to keep driving. 2020 1k miles.