Tire Size: 265 35 OR 40 18's?

35s

 

It shouldn't seem fine, it should be spectacular. I would find the OEM sizes. I'm not an expert though.

 

maybe try 275/35 it would be closer to the correct sidewall height.

 

The 265/35ZR18s are over an inch smaller in rolling diameter.

265*0.35*2/25.4+18 = 25.03
265*0.40*2/25.4+18 = 26.34

Now it is perfectly possible that the previous owner had the front end raised to compensate for the loss of ride height (or not!). The roll axis inclination* does nto move much as the front end is raised or lowered.

(*) the roll axis inclination is how one tunes the oversteer/understeer relationship without changing anti-roll bars or tire sizes or tire pressures.

If you lower the front AND the rear by the same amount, you will retain the roll axis inclination--as long as you don't grind the bottom off the car for it being too low.

 

If you cannot find the stock rear size of 265/40-18 ...... then ........ 285/35-18 or 295/35-18 will work nicely ....... of those two ..... the 295's are nearest to the stock diameter.

I have run all three sizes with good results ...

 

+1, get the correct oem size, otherwise the 285/35 or 295/35. I am running Michelin Pilot Super Sports, 225/40/18 front and 285/35/18 rear. All good...amazing dry grip with these tires.

 

You can probably tune it with tire pressures. I'm at 245 front and 275 rear and had to play with the pressure a bit to get the handling neutral, 37 front 34 rear and it's very nice. I started at 38 front and rear and had oversteer on exit, got max grip from the rear tires at 34 psi and then had just a hint of understeer on entry so then dropped one psi front and it was good. I would think if you stick with 225 front you'll have to find max grip and raise the rear 3-4 psi to even it out. I'm running the Direzza Z1's fwiw, different tires will probably like slightly different pressures. I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to dial in using tire pressures. I'm running factory alignment specs but car is on HR springs so sits about an inch and a half lower than stock with factory rake (front is set at max height and rear was set to match, about half way through the adjustment range).

 

I have 265/40-18 Pilot Super Sports on my '95 F355. I was contemplating going to 35 and even going wider, but decided to stay stock size. The tires are amazing. The 265/40-18 were hard to find, but was able to locate a seller on eBay that had a few sets in stock. All local dealers had a 2 month backorder when I was looking. The stock front size for PSS are very easy to find for the F355 as you most likely already know.

 

295-35 rear looks and drives awsome. 245-40 fronts.

 

Any issues with rubbing the fenders?

 

Shouldn't be. There have been a number of threads in the past of people installing 295's without issue.

 

+1 ....... I have 225/40-18 fronts and 295/35-18 rears on my 355 now ....... they fit great

Should be fine ......... you will like them

 

As a tire nutcase, i'll weigh in on this one. You don't want to put 35's in the back, the profile is too low and will decrease the rake angle of the car. If anything I would just buy the 360 Modena size tires for this car, they are a better fit for the F355 wheels (7.5x18 f, 10x18 r). The OEM 225 is just a little to big for a front end wheel that's only 7.5" wide, a 215/45R18 will keep you basically at the same height (maybe 0.1 to 0.2" taller) and will be a tighter fit on the OEM wheel, giving better steering response. On the rear we have the reverse situation, the 265 is too small for the 10" wheel, especially on the rear of a car. Go with the 275/40R18 on the rear. It would be even better to go with a 285/40, but I don't know if any decent tires are made in both 215/45R18 and 285/40R18 sizes.