I am purchasing a sonic blue 05 GT and I am going
to put some after market wheels on it. I watch Overhaulin' a lot and Chip Foose puts an inch larger rear wheel and tire in back then the front (ie. 20" rear and 19" front).
What is the trade off? Should I keep the wheels front and back the same size? Would there be driveability and handling problems?
I would love the look of the fatter tire in the back...but I think there is a downside when you are trying to prolong the treadwear of the tires if you have different sizes front and back.
When you go to rotate your tires...you can only change side to side. Obviously you wouldn't want to move the 20 inchers up front and put the 19 inchers in the rear.
Then if you have a directional tire you need to take it off the wheel and remount it so it could go on the other side.
heh, I guess if a guy can afford "one off" Foose wheels he need not worry about prolonging tread life, he would just get new tires! It is a subtle but nice touch going one inch smaller in the front. That is what makes a Foose car great, piles and piles of small, classey looking touches which add up to a great finished product.
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05 Mineral Gray GT Stick
IUP, ICAP, Bullit's With Locks , Alarm, Factory Body Side Mouldings, Shaker 500. Cosmetic mods 23% tint on side glass 32% tint on back. Two 10" black matte Shelby stripes with 1.5 " space.
My Other Ride is Your Mom
Previous Toy's:
86 Z28 with ZZ4/6 speed stick, 80 Trans-Am with anemic 301, 72 Nova SS, LT1 stick car, 67 Cougar anemic 289 auto
I would not recommend changing radial tires from size to side, It is my understanding that a radial can only be mounted spinning one direction...that is to say if you change the primary spinning direction after putting some miles on the tire it could cause it to blow out....I'm not a tire guru, that's just what I have been told.
My Z06 has 18's in the rear and 17's on the front....no rotating just tire replacing...very expensive!!!!
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05 GT Premium (all the bells and whistles) - soon to be retro eleanor/like to be twin turbo
05 2500HD 4x4 desiel - when I need to feel "manly"
04 CTS-V - wifes suburban race car
04 RC51/RVT1000 - to get away from it all
01 Z06 - to try to exceed 200mph
83 S10 prostreet 454 - to scare the H#!! out of myself
..."I want the truth!" "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!"...
Everyone has their "idea" as to what is best for a car. Steeda has two cars they are touting both with 18" wheels and Nitto P285/35/ZR18 Tires. Saleen's new 05' 281 GT has 20" wheels front and rear. Same width wheels and huge tires (Not sure of size, but way big ass tires! lol) . Most of what I have learned over the years (my opinion only) is to stay with the same size front and rear if you want to rotate tires (There are even many schools of thought on this) or stay with the same size diameter wheel, but wider in the rear (8-8.5 front 9.5-10.5 rear) with matching tires to wheelsize (no rotation, but keep them balanced and proper air pressure). However you will wan't to stay with the same size rolling diameter front and rear (also this means same revolutions per mile front and rear).
If you are going to make the car a drag car, the different size wheels make sense. If it is an everyday driver, then same size wheels is the way. Think about how you plan to drive the car and what your ultimate goal is with making all these mods. Also remember the bigger the wheel and tires, you will have a stiffer ride and you may/will want to change springs, shocks, sway bars, and a lot of other front end steering components. Especially if you go with 19" and 20" wheels. This changes the whole steering geometry of the car. If you do not, you will be faced with buying new tires sooner since a poorly designed front end will result in a wornout front end quickly! Ok, don't mean to burst your bubble, but there is a lot to think about when you start changing the design on a car these days. Don't forget the rear end as well! Keep it all alligned too!
I will probably go with 18" x8.5-9 wheels front and rear with 255/45wr18 tires all around. Later I may go a little wider on the tires, but for now, stay conservative. One thing more to remember is that the bigger the tire, the more cost, the sticker the tire, the more cost! Most VR, ZR, WR, YR tires last arounf 20K miles at best. If you go having too much fun, then you will get fewer miles. and you do want good tires too, so figure $200-450 each and $250-500+ each for the wheels. So you are going to spend a lot of money (once for wheels if you are careful) and $1000+ a year on tires and front & rear end mods of $1500 to $2500. And don't forget the engine. Look at Steeda's website for ideas.
Key here is have fun, be safe and do what makes you get a big grin everytime you get behind the wheel of your Mustang!
Bill
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"Safety Fast"
2008 Bullitt, #0546, Black
2005 GT Coupe, Performance White
I appreciate all the feedback, especially Bills.
I had not thought of the cost factor involved.
Also the change in direction of rotation of the tire is something I did not think would be a problem but sounds like it is. I like the look of the 20's and 19's but I am not willing to give up ride quality so I will probably end up with 18's. I like the BFGoodrich ad with the 05 Stang and the Bonspeed Delta Billet Wheels, it just really grabbed me.
.... Also remember the bigger the wheel and tires, you will have a stiffer ride and you may/will want to change springs, shocks, sway bars, and a lot of other front end steering components. Especially if you go with 19" and 20" wheels. This changes the whole steering geometry of the car. If you do not, you will be faced with buying new tires sooner since a poorly designed front end will result in a wornout front end quickly! Ok, don't mean to burst your bubble, but there is a lot to think about when you start changing the design on a car these days. Don't forget the rear end as well! Keep it all alligned too!.....
Bill
Can you elaborate on the "other" front end components. Starting to see a lot of 20's on mustangs.... 19/20's are looking good filling up all of the wheel well space. I haven't decided which wheels I will get, but I have seen some cool looking 19/20's posted. Thanks...
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2005 GT Min Gray, picked up on 4 Mar
All of the fixin's less ICAP and wheel option (looking for aftermarket)
MODS: Tint 35 sides / 20 back, 10" black stripes "painted", Pro Kit Springs, Paint the stock bullits black
Future MODS:
Someday MODS: Tires and wheels
Yeah, there can be a lot to consider... do your homework, save on problems and headaches as much as possible.
1. Decide how much you are willing to spend each year on tires.
2. Decide if cost is more important than looks.
3. Stick with tires that are the same size front to back unless your budget is unlimited.
4. Do your research about what tires you want to run on a site like the tirerack, when you have it narrowed down to a short list, decide on diameter and widths needed for the rims on your short list (no point in choosing rims that are only made in a size which is tough to get one of your top 3 tire choices based on cost/performance/treadlife=value).
5. Consider running multiple tire/rim combos if you are going to do multiple types of events... track days, shows, daily driving, burnouts, winter driving, etc. Each activity has optimum combos that can justify the extra setup.
Another couple of things to consider. The larger tire/wheel combo usually weigh more then the stock steup. Thus increasing unsprung weight and rotation weight is greater, which means the brakes may also need upgrading. Larger tire/wheel can also rub on the body and suspension/steering if not sized right. By going with plus sizes doesn't reduce the gap between the fender and the tire, so you will need to lower the car to make the larger wheels look right. Have you've seen the BfGroodrich add with the Sonic Blue 05? It was lowered and also has larger brakes, looks great but at what cost. For the present I'm staying with the stock "Bullitt" wheels and possibly the car first sometime later this year, after other people have done the "BETA" testing. For a everday driver stay with same size front and back, driven only on weekends fit the sizes that look best and live with any decrease in ride quality. I personaly like the Halibrand Cobra III's, but I haven't seen them with correct backspacing and 19" or 20" diameters. P.S. I love what Chip Foose does to the cars on overhaulin', he cleans up the bodylines and removes unneeded styling elements. Kinda like what Ford did with the 05 Mustang. :thumbsup
Kevinrox here are some of the parts you may want to consider: Thicker anti-sway bars (front & rear), Sport Springs (F&R) (Lowers car), Shocks (F&R), Camber Adjusters (F), X-Ball Joints (F), Bump Steer Kit (F), Strut Tower Brace (F&R), Lower Trailing Arms (R) to name a few. Look at Steeda’s web site for all this and more. There are other sites that offer similar upgrades, so shop around. I plan to upgrade only my Sway bars and end mount pieces, since I am going to 18” wheels this Fall. (Already spent $1500 in upgrades so far and another $1000 coming up soon! All engine and exhaust mods.) Hopefully Ford will have a Chrome version of the Bullit wheels available by then.
If any of you are interested the local mustang club - Rocket City Mustang Club here in Huntsville, AL is sponsoring a Mustang Show 13-15 May at the US Space & Rocket Center. Hopefully it will be a big one!
Bill
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"Safety Fast"
2008 Bullitt, #0546, Black
2005 GT Coupe, Performance White
Wheel and tire question 
