275/40-17 with 17x9.5 in the front - impossible or just crazy?

[ClayMan]

Wheels would be 17x9.5 ET33, I think I have a way of making it fit without using spacers.
Tires would be Nitto NT-05, which run narrow... 25.59" diameter, 10.79" width according to the specs.
Camber plates so I should be able to get up to -3.3 degrees if need be.

Will this work, or will it destroy the fender liners?

I know 255/40 is a known safe fit at 25" diameter, but the problem is nobody makes 295/35 for the rears anymore. I have a S54 so the front and rear tire diameters must match to minimize ABS / DSC mayhem.

If I can stuff 275/40 in the front and 315/35 in the back, the diameters would be a perfect match, both too tall at around 25.5". I recall reading about 275s in the front on the forums, but can't seem to dig up any details right now..

[Eson535]

I know 265/35/18 on an 9.5" ET35 (w/ small spacer, so roughly your desired offset) wheel can work with trimmed fender liner and -3.5°, but not sure about 275/40/17 as that's a little taller + wider and you'd be running a tad less camber. I could be wrong, but I wouldn't go so far as to say its impossible.

[z3papa]

This will likely destroy (we call it self-trimming) your liners as the diameter is too large combined with the wider tire. 275/35-17's would be better but will likely some serious rolling or a flare. Keep in mind, the OE 225 fronts are 2" narrower than 275's. It's one thing to fit wider tires out back where the tire is not expected to move around and the shock is inbound, but out front where space is tighter with the strut, its a different story.

[Mystikal]

Not a chance. Anything over 25.3" tall is very tough to fit up front.

I've run front-rear tires with larger diameter differences than 255/40-315/35 without an error btw (DSC). Just run those.

[325bob]

I know 265/35/18 on an 9.5" ET35 (w/ small spacer, so roughly your desired offset) wheel can work with trimmed fender liner and -3.5°, but not sure about 275/40/17 as that's a little taller + wider and you'd be running a tad less camber. I could be wrong, but I wouldn't go so far as to say its impossible.

I tried a 275 40 17 on the front as a square set up experiment, it caught the bumper edge and folded it and spit the marker light out!!, gonna try a 245.

[CMM3]

I test fit a 245/40/18's tire mounted on the 18x8 wheel in the same offset as my 245/40/17 tires on a 17x8.5 and the taller tire did not fit.
The 245/40/17's just squeak by with no rubs. I doubt I'd be able to get a 255's up front on my car.
I have coilovers on the front and I'm running about -3.0 degrees of camber. The car is sitting fairly low.

[z3papa]

You can fit 255/40-17 or even 255/35-18's up front on an M but you'd best be served to have the non-offset LCAB on your lower control arms and possibly a small spacer to clear the strut. This reduces caster but brings the front wheel closer in line to the middle of the wheel well.

[DagamusNM Coupe]

Thread necro. Just ordered front tires for ACS type 3s in 17x8.5 I went 255/40/17 with +43et

I have 18x10 in the rear with 275/35/18 +20

Anybody see any issues here? Not sure if I will need to space the front a bit or not. Rear should be ok. I will put wider tires on the rears at the end of summer. The rubber I already have on the wheels.

No track time, just spirited driving on mountain roads weather permitting and greasy city streets.

[BimmerBreaker]

The front tire will be mildly stretched and the rear will bulge a bit... thats not really a "matching" set and might look kind of odd. The first numbers represent the width of the tire in mm, your wheels are 1.5" width difference front to rear, the tires you specd have just under a .8" difference. Ideally you'd want the tire width differences f/r to be about the same as the difference in the wheel width, so about a 40mm (~1.5") difference in tires would be ideal. As such, on those size rims if you wanted a 255 front a 295 rear would match better, if you wanted the 275 rear a 235 front would work well.

Personally, I think thats a lot of tire for these cars. Instead of getting wider rears, personally I'd get more narrow fronts. Unless you are struggling for grip the car will probably behave better on 235/275 vs. 255/295

[DagamusNM Coupe]

Thank you. I already ordered them but I have a set of 235/40/17s I can always use. I have four of these ACS3s so maybe I will toss these on one pair and the 255/40/17s on the other pair. I can run 235/40 and 275/35 while I try and locate some 295/35/18s.

Nitto makes some and they seem reasonably priced.

[jbrannon7]

It has been done. Jason ran 285s front and 315s rear. He went by mdcoupe here but I haven't seen him on here or at autoctrosses in a few years. There is a photo of him on 2 wheels but I don't have it. It used to be captioned "Got Grip?"

[trkshoe]

It can/has been done.

I run Hoosier 255's in the front (which are actually wider than a hoosier 275 - see specs), but it took a lot of work to get there, and remain IP legal (no body work).
As for the wheel liner, forget it... you will have to sacrafice ride height with a 275 if you want to keep them.

Best,
Patrick

[z3papa]

It's been a while but I'm not certain he didn't flare his fenders to a wide body affect. I just don't wee how you'd ever get 285's up front without some flares. His car was utterly awesome and I don't think he's bee on here for a while.