Why did the tire size change from 255/45 to 245/45...

[MatteoLC]

Seems like the 94/95 Cobra had 255s, but the 96/97s came with 245s. I wonder what the reason was?
Can I put 255s onto my 97? I assume so, but it seems strange that they'd put smaller tires on a car to coincide
with a major hp increase in 96...

Wondering if anyone else noticed this - or if I've got bad info?

 

[J_lope82]

Budget/profits probably

 

[That Mustang Guy]

Budget/profits probably

Bingo just what J_lope82 said, It's all about the money C.R.E.A.M get the money dollar dollar, bill y'all. If you don't know who WuTang is know you know.

 

[J_lope82]

Lol hell yea I know wu tang wu tang

 

[Tillerman77]

Seems like the 94/95 Cobra had 255s, but the 96/97s came with 245s. I wonder what the reason was?
Can I put 255s onto my 97? I assume so, but it seems strange that they'd put smaller tires on a car to coincide
with a major hp increase in 96...

Wondering if anyone else noticed this - or if I've got bad info?

Yes you can. I run Continental DWS 255s on my 97 Cobra. They fit on the stock wheels just fine.
I suspect Ford made the change as there are more manufacturers that made the 245s, hence cost control because more competition.

 

[badass98svt]

Budget/profits probably

I wonder if gas mileage #s had anything to do with it.

 

[J_lope82]

I doubt it because it would make such a small difference that they wouldn’t be able to advertise it.

 

[ttocs]

They did a lot of cost cutting those years and I have no doubt the bean counters realized they could save a few beans and no one would notice.

I know the door panels and the seats were made cheaper, what else did they save money on?

 

[J_lope82]

Can’t really talk crap they have done better than the other major U.S. car manufacturers over the years. But yeah they were mostly motivated by cutting costs down for profits.

 

[ttocs]

things had changed a lot in the 4 short years since 94ish.

 

[That Mustang Guy]

One other thing Ford skimped on was 8.8 diff bearings. I have seen and fixed this a lot, More so on the New Edge Mustangs. They used Japan Timken bearings instead of the USA Timken bearings. Out of all the ring & pinion sets, I installed never once noticed where the bearings were made until that issue popped up. Just another dollar Ford saved just to have the consumer deal with it.

 

[chrisp427]

Seems like the 94/95 Cobra had 255s, but the 96/97s came with 245s. I wonder what the reason was?
Can I put 255s onto my 97? I assume so, but it seems strange that they'd put smaller tires on a car to coincide
with a major hp increase in 96...

Wondering if anyone else noticed this - or if I've got bad info?

I have a 94GT and run 275/40/17 on the front and 285/40/17 in the rear. I can turn my wheel all the way with no rubbing.

 

[chrisp427]

Seems like the 94/95 Cobra had 255s, but the 96/97s came with 245s. I wonder what the reason was?
Can I put 255s onto my 97? I assume so, but it seems strange that they'd put smaller tires on a car to coincide
with a major hp increase in 96...

Wondering if anyone else noticed this - or if I've got bad info?

I have a 94GT and run 275/40/17 on the front and 285/40/17 in the rear. I can turn my wheel all the way with no rubbing

 

[BHernandez]

BEAN COUNTERS WIN AGAIN!

 

[waynenorcross]

Seems like the 94/95 Cobra had 255s, but the 96/97s came with 245s. I wonder what the reason was?
Can I put 255s onto my 97? I assume so, but it seems strange that they'd put smaller tires on a car to coincide
with a major hp increase in 96...

Wondering if anyone else noticed this - or if I've got bad info?

The '96 cars had a wider rear axle than the 94/95. I don't think that should matter unless the didn't want to change the wheel backspacing to use them up.

 

[BHernandez]

It's hard to tell with folks like that. We look at it from performance or appearance point of view and think "Well it's just $0.25 or even $1.00. But when they look at something, they take into account that it's $.05 1,000,000 times. Then there is issue of what the supplier has to charge for the changes. Then the shipping changes, etc., etc., etc. By the time the review is finished that 25 cent changes costs the company 1.2 billion dollars over the span of the model run.

 

[Adfalenski]

A 1993 8.8 rear axle is narrower than a 1994-1998 rear axle.

 

[waynenorcross]

The '96 cars had a wider rear axle than the 94/95. I don't think that should matter unless the didn't want to change the wheel backspacing to use them up.

I had 275s on the front and 305s on the back but had a set of American Racing LeMans wheels specifically made for the '94/95 axle width. Still had to roll the fender lip on the rear and clearance the gas tank but bending the seam. Only cleared by a pinky finger in the back. No issue in the front. Also had the Global West LCAs that allowed no side-by-side shifting during hard cornering. '94 black Cobra ended up in Rochester, NY. I wonder if it is still alive.

 

[ttocs]

shoot when I was in Az someone posted a set of black bullet deep dish wheels that were brand new, still had the plastic on the center caps and nubs on the wheels. The guy had a fox body and got them but didn't realize that it would be a problem on his car with the 335 tires he had on them. Mind you this was in 2002 when not every sn had bullit wheels and I was still rocking the stock wheels so I got them. They would rub in sharp turns if it leaned over too far and that was still at stock ride height. The sumitomo's didn't last long enough to really be a problem when I went to 315s.

 

[Adfalenski]

Is it the same wheel? The wheel could have a different width or offset.