Got My 40/45 Nittos!

[studio460]

Got my new NT-555 245/40 ZR18; 255/45 ZR18 tires on today! Car dropped 0.8" (tires are 1.6" shorter, each). Eibachs will go on this Saturday for another 1.1-1.4"!!! Total drop: 1.9"!!!!!!

Nitto NT-555s:
Front: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rear:
245/40 ZR18 25.67" . . . . . 255/45 ZR18 26.97"

Stock BFGs:
Front: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rear:
235/50 ZR18 27.3". . . . . . .245/55 ZR18 28.6"

[TAF]

uh....we always like your pics, there Shooter...:confused:

[studio460]

Sorry, I was just so excited to FINALLY have them on the car I HAD to start this thread! SORRY, but pictures only AFTER the Eibachs are installed!!! I PROMISE, new slammed Marauder pics this weekend AFTER lowering!

[TAF]

Sorry, I was just so excited to FINALLY have them on the car I HAD to start this thread! SORRY, but pictures only AFTER the Eibachs are installed!!! I PROMISE, new slammed Marauder pics this weekend AFTER lowering!
Alright...looking forward to it. :up:

[Fourth Horseman]

Got my new NT-555 245/40 ZR18; 255/45 ZR18 tires on today! Car dropped 0.8" (tires are 1.6" shorter, each). Eibachs will go on this Saturday for another 1.1-1.4"!!! Total drop: 1.9"!!!!!!

Will the difference in size of tire require a reprogram of your PCM to adjust for speedo differences? Looking forwad to seeing some pics! :)

[darebren]

Got my new NT-555 245/40 ZR18; 255/45 ZR18 tires on today! Car dropped 0.8" (tires are 1.6" shorter, each). Eibachs will go on this Saturday for another 1.1-1.4"!!! Total drop: 1.9"!!!!!!

Nitto NT-555s:
Front: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rear:
245/40 ZR18 25.67" . . . . . 255/45 ZR18 26.97"

Stock BFGs:
Front: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rear:
235/50 ZR18 27.3". . . . . . .245/55 ZR18 28.6"


pictures, side pictures please

[darebren]

Sorry, I was just so excited to FINALLY have them on the car I HAD to start this thread! SORRY, but pictures only AFTER the Eibachs are installed!!! I PROMISE, new slammed Marauder pics this weekend AFTER lowering!

pics please without springs, your a camera guy man, some of us don't want eibachs, but are interested to see how smaller tires will look all by their lonesomes

[studio460]

pics please without springs, your a camera guy man, some of us don't want eibachs, but are interested to see how smaller tires will look all by their lonesomes
darebren:

BELIEVE me, the tires look TOO small without the springs. Hopefully, they won't look too small WITH the springs! If you're not going to do Eibachs or cut coils, DO NOT get these tires! Go with the (pricey) Pirelli P-Zero 45/50-series combo or stick with the stock BFGs. OR, get the really wide Nittos for the back and get your rear rims widened--this is actually what I'll probably do when these wear out. It's the rears being a bit small that bothers me the most with this set-up.

By the way, the car isn't bouncy at all on the freeway. There is a slight increase in jiggle on rough surface streets, but not as much as I was expecting. Too much traffic today to gauge any increase in cornering ability yet . . . Well, I'm still at work, so I can't post any pictures now. Just know that if and when I do, MANY of you WON'T like the way they look.

Fourth:

Yes, my PCM does need to be reprogrammed. The tires are 1.6" shorter than stock (both front and rears). I have the SCT 9100 programmer and software but haven't a clue on how to do that!

[martyo]

Shooter: You are the only person I know with the Nittos on a 300B. Any problems with the traction control that you have noticed with the Nittos?

[studio460]

Shooter: You are the only person I know with the Nittos on a 300B. Any problems with the traction control that you have noticed with the Nittos?
martyo:

I didn't think ANYONE has tried the NT-555 245/40 ZR18; 255/45 ZR18 combo on ANY Marauder! Has anyone but me actually put these on? I know some supercharged Marauder owners have put the LARGER Nittos on the widened rims--that probably looks great.

In answer to your question--No problems whatsoever on the drive home this afternoon. The tires "feel" real nice. Not too bumpy at all. No traction control or ABS problems noticed. BUT, those rears are looking awfully small in the back--makes the car look fat! I was all worried how funny the FRONT tires would look, and as it turns out, it's the REAR tires that look most funny! I really hope the Eibachs solve the visual problem. From a drivability standpoint, however, I think they're great! I'm going out later to try some full-G turns and will follow with a report post later. It's dark here now, so sorry, all, but too dark for the photos . . .

[studio460]

YOU ASKED FOR IT! Here's the picture BEFORE Eibachs . . . the AFTER picture will post tomorrow night!

http://24framefilms.com/PICT1535-800.jpg

And, yeah, I know they look too small!

[Donny Carlson]

YOU ASKED FOR IT! Here's the picture BEFORE Eibachs . . . the AFTER picture will post tomorrow night!



And, yeah, I know they look too small!
I predict you will ve very pleased with the look of your car with Eibachs. Mine have been on a week as of Tomorrow, and I have gotten nothing but compliments on how how my car looks.

I'd say now that I've lived with them a week that I enjoy them more than I expected to, though it did require a bit of "de-learning" regarding potholes, broken pavement, and speed bumps. The stock MM is very forgiving, much like it's brother GM's, but the Eibachs telegraph the shock of a pothole or whatever right up your tailbone. You have to learn how to handle these bumps to avoid the shock. But, this happens infrequently and for the vast majority of the time the ride is perfect. Where it pays off is at higher speeds around corners. Truly impressive. And ride stability at high speeds is excellent.

[studio460]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Donny! I sure hope those Eibachs do the trick (visually)!!! As funny as those little tiny (but wider) tires look un-Eibached, BOY, DO THEY IMPROVE THE CAR'S CORNERING!!! Those 40/45-series, 10mm-wider (I know, not by much) tires are GLUED to the road! I have yet to break traction around a curve! Gotta get some clear asphalt soon and REALLY try to put them into a slide!

P.S. What size tires are on your Marauder, Donny?

[Fourth Horseman]

Wow! Your new tires look fantastic. I love the low profile look. Once you lower the car a bit they'll fill up the wheel wells better. Nice move!
:up:

[Patrick]

Another Mod to contemplate!!! I hope lowering will help visually! No disrespect intended!!!!! I just I could find a better tire for rainy weather. I wish Goodyear made an Aqua tread for the size I need. I had Goodyear Aqua tread 3's on my Mark VIII and I could drive like crazy in the rain!!!! Sorry back to your tires. I am glad you like and can for more pics!!!!! And performance results!

[studio460]

Patrick:

No disrespect taken--I know they look funny. You may be thinking of the Nitto NT-555R "Extreme Drag Radials." The ones I have are the NT-555 "Extreme ZRs" which are normal street tires, and are okay in the rain . . . According to the Nitto site, "The NT-555 [has] three-circumferential grooves [which] channel water efficiently, while the lateral grooves break up the water wedge. This combination of grooves and channels reduces the chance of hydroplaning."

[Patrick]

Patrick:

No disrespect taken--I know they look funny. You may be thinking of the Nitto NT-555R "Extreme Drag Radials." The ones I have are the NT-555 "Extreme ZRs" which are normal street tires, and are okay in the rain . . . According to the Nitto site, "The NT-555 [has] three-circumferential grooves [which] channel water efficiently, while the lateral grooves break up the water wedge. This combination of grooves and channels reduces the chance of hydroplaning." Thanks!! I just never liked those low profile tires. Just me! I will wait till you get it lowered and get your impressions on the performace of the tires.

Later Patrick

[TAF]

Shooter...I think the tires look great. I think that the lower profile does just accentuate that the stock height setting of the cars is too high for a true "performance sedan", though. Which is not inherent to the Marauder or Ford, but to most ALL production cars produced for the "pedestrian marketplace".
Once you install the Eibachs, resulting in the front lowering around 1.2" and drop the rear with the air-bag adjustment an inch or so...I think you'll fill those wheel wells nicely. :up:

[Donny Carlson]

Thanks for the words of encouragement, Donny! I sure hope those Eibachs do the trick (visually)!!! As funny as those little tiny (but wider) tires look un-Eibached, BOY, DO THEY IMPROVE THE CAR'S CORNERING!!! Those 40/45-series, 10mm-wider (I know, not by much) tires are GLUED to the road! I have yet to break traction around a curve! Gotta get some clear asphalt soon and REALLY try to put them into a slide!

P.S. What size tires are on your Marauder, Donny?
I think your new tires will work great with the Eibachs. And look fantastic!

I'm running stock OEM's, recently replaced.

One fun thing I did before my Eibach install I stole from Todd. Back when Todd and I parked my then non Eibach car next to his with Eibach car, I could stick my hand between the fender and the top of the front tire with plenty of room to spare. On Todd's car, I cold only get my fingers in, my palm wouldn't fit (I got a fat hand:D ). The night before leaving for Atlanta, I had a friend stick his hand between the fender and upper tire tread saying "when I come back, you won't be able to do this." The first thing he did when he saw my car when I got back was try to stick his hand between the top of the tire and the fender, which, of course, he couldn't do. "Wow, it really HAS dropped. Cool!"

One other interesting effect on my car is now the underbody lights are 1.4" closer to the ground, which causes the light to be diffused more than it used to.

[Fourth Horseman]

One other interesting effect on my car is now the underbody lights are 1.4" closer to the ground, which causes the light to be diffused more than it used to.

Do you have any night time pics of this?

[studio460]

Thanks for the kind words, Fourth, Todd, Donny.

See the new thread here! (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?p=132757#post13 2757)

[Patrick]

Thanks for the kind words, Fourth, Todd, Donny.

See the new thread here! (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?p=132757#post13 2757)

Add Patrick to your kind words list!!!!
:bows: :bows: :bows:

[studio460]

And Patrick!