Original Tires

[rauder775]

I know some on here are not fans of the original tires that came on our rides and they are tough to find. Are the rear tires side specific? Lefts vs. rights or no difference?

Thanks

[RubberCtyRauder]

I don't believe the original ones are available any longer. I think they are discontinued. better choices out there for cheaper too.

[justbob]

I know some on here are not fans of the original tires that came on our rides and they are tough to find. Are the rear tires side specific? Lefts vs. rights or no difference?



Thanks


I believe they were printed "this side out" was all, but I don't believe they were directional. It's been quite awhile since I ran that sad excuse of tire.


Builder Of Badassery

[kirk]

I still have originals on mine. They are not directional.

[fastblackmerc]

The original tires were good. The two problems were the front alignment specs ducked leading to bad inside wear and the incorrect pressure was specified for the rear tires leading to premature wear in the center.

[Bluerauder]

The original tires were good. The two problems were the front alignment specs ducked leading to bad inside wear and the incorrect pressure was specified for the rear tires leading to premature wear in the center.


Tire pressures are always a balance of ride, handling, tire wear and fuel mileage. The '03 MM specified 32 psi all around for OEM tires. This was increased to 35 psi when the '04 MMs were introduced because of early complaints from owners about tire wear. OEM fronts 235/50/18 usually were good for 36K+ unless alignment was off and inner wear was evident. Rears 245/55/18 were a completely different story and many owners have bumped their rear pressures to 38-40 psi to reduce the center wear on the drive wheels. Even so, I can only average 20-21K on the rears. Lots of owners have recorded less. Switching to the 255/55/18 Goodyear F1DS-G3 did not work out for me because I dropped to 15K miles and the rear end seemed much "looser" especially when wet.

OEM fronts 235/50/18 BFG T/A KDWS are still easily available since they were a common tire on many Mustangs.

Rear OEM 245/55/18 BFG T/A KDWS are very hard to find. Last I heard was that only "blemished" tires (I.e. Blems) could be gotten and they had the "This Side Out" notice stamped on the wrong side of the tire. Be wary of the manufacture date on any rears that you find since many of them are more than 10 years old and may be subject to dry rot. Dates are shown as a 4-digit DOT code on each tire (e.g. 0526 means the 26th week of 2005).

[kirk]

Tire pressures are always a balance of ride, handling, tire wear and fuel mileage. The '03 MM specified 32 psi all around for OEM tires. This was increased to 35 psi when the '04 MMs were introduced because of early complaints from owners about tire wear.

For what it's worth, at the 2004 panther event at Ford's Dearborn Proving Grounds when Ford engineers were giving us high speed rides around the track, they were running 38 PSI as noted by the tags on the cars.
http://i260.photobucket.com/albums/ii12/Kirk_D/car%20shows/Proving%20grounds%202004/Marauder%20tire%20pressure_zps giy5rbg3.jpg (http://s260.photobucket.com/user/Kirk_D/media/car%20shows/Proving%20grounds%202004/Marauder%20tire%20pressure_zps giy5rbg3.jpg.html)

[rauder775]

Thanks, non directional as I hoped. I have one "new" one, tracking down another. For some reason rear tires wear out quicker... :)

[Ron]

I've haven't visited here for sometime but wanted to see my options for Rear Tires.
Original Owner, 2003 SB 300B, 4.10, DR Tune, K&N CAI, Delta 50 FlowMasters w/ Delete Tips.
Original Rear Tires are Smoked @ 19K miles (no thread left in the centers!)

Looking to keep running the factory fronts........need to do some homework here for new rears.
........Chime in if your running the Factory Fronts w/ what Rear Tires. I no this questioned was asked probably many times, just tryin to save on the Homework. thanx.

[RubberCtyRauder]

Ifyou have original fronts then they are over 12 years old.not recommend for use. tires degrade a lot after 6 years. Plenty of choices depending on daily use, summer use etc. Cooper zeon rs3a, nitto motivo, nitto 555, firestone wide oval