[DeTomaso] Tire advice

[Asa Jay Laughton]

You -are- talking about tires for a GT model right?
Stock tires on a standard model came in at 27" diameter as I recall. 
That "diameter" (or close to it) looks correct on my car, even if the
larger wheels look a bit odd.  I ran lower diameter (24") Toyos on my
Pantera a few years ago with the stock 15" wheels and they made the car
look very weird.  The wheels/tires failed to fill the rear wheel well;
the car didn't look like it sat properly; the speedometer was between 5
and 10 MPH off at 60 and the mileage sucked.

I don't know what the proper diameters were supposed to be for the GT
series cars, but for a stock L model, I do know, and 24 inches ain't it.

Here is a comparison,  15" wheels with Toyo R888's 235/50ZR15
http://www.racingagainstautism.com/images/stories/photos/P7100083.jpg
http://www.racingagainstautism.com/images/stories/photos/KandNdecal.jpg
http://www.racingagainstautism.com/images/stories/fuzb2011scr.jpg

and here are the 18" wheels with Sumitomo HTR ZIII 265/40ZR18
http://www.teampanteraracing.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=5677&g2_serialNumber=1
http://www.teampanteraracing.com/gallery2/d/6343-1/da8ae29c61e80695418223d6e6e290c1.jpg
http://www.teampanteraracing.com/gallery2/d/6362-1/100_1493.JPG

Asa Jay

Asa Jay Laughton, MSgt, USAFR, Retired
& Shelley Marie
Spokane, WA
******************************     
http://www.racingagainstautism.com
http://www.teampanteraracing.com
http://facebook.com/racingagainstautism


On 2/15/2014 7:06 PM, Mike Drew wrote:
> Hah! Not even close! Stock 345/35-15 tires are 24 inches high and 285/40-15 are about 23.5 inches. Tires for 18-19 inch wheels in the appropriate widths are 26-27 inches or even more.  That's why widebody cars, especially GT5 with the big side skirts, look like jacked up SUVs with big wheels. 
>
> This blue GT4 does look much better than most, I freely admit!
>
> Mike
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Feb 15, 2014, at 18:04, dave londry <davel at emspace.com> wrote:
>
>> But the wheels get bigger and the sidewalls get smaller. Same rolling height, if you take care??
>> dave
>>
>>> In a message dated 2/15/14 12 42 24, michael at michaelshortt.com writes:
>>>
>>>
>>>> I concur with Julian, if buying today I would go
>>>> 17/18 (or a bit more radical at 18/19) to ensure a supply of readily available performance rated tires in the future at relatively normally prices.
>>>
>>>>>> ...but they look so awful, especially on a GT5 or GT5-S....ugh. :<(
>>> Mike (likes 'em low and mean-looking....)
>>>
>>>
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