Ford Mustang Forum banner

How wide

1K views 21 replies 6 participants last post by  JBert 
#1 ·
Have an 05 convertible has chrome bullits 18x10 i belive does anyone know the widest i can go the car is supercharged so looking for a little better hook up.I may be selling the rims and tires as they are brandnew and if its better to get into some 19 inch i will.
 
#2 ·
I had AMR 18X10 wheels on the rear of my 06 GT and the 285/40/18's were the biggest tire I would have felt safe putting on. The shop that put them on said they wouldn't install any larger on the wheels either. Also there wasn't much room even if I put it on the wheel for it to fit under the car without rubbing. They agreed much bigger would rub anyway as well. If I loaded my trunk down with stuff and hit a speed bump I had it rub once. So I wouldn't go bigger than that unless you do a spacer (which is a terrible idea) or a different offset. I don't know the most about offsets and stuff so I will let somebody else chime in on that.

Also hooking up isn't always a bigger tire is better. Traction has more to do with the type of tire than the size. You can hook up with a 245/XX/18 drag slick better than you can a 305/XX/18 crappy tire... Just a thought as well.

As far as wheel size goes I have found 19's to cost more to put tires on. 18's are middle ground for looks and cost to put tires on. 17's best cost to put tires on for the most part. Check around as I haven't compared sizes in a year or so, but did about 1.5-2 years ago when I bought my 18's for the 06 GT I had.
 
#3 ·
I'm running AM GT500 knock offs in 18x10 with 295/40/18 Nitto NT555s. They're TIGHT
 
#5 · (Edited)
. . . how can i check the rim to make sure they are 18x10 and not narrower i thought they only came in 18x10 or 18x9.5 the bullit,s that is! . . .
There are lots of different size/width Bullitt wheels available; for sure they come as narrow as 8.5" and probably narrower.

Take one off and look at the back of it -- the size should be stamped on there, usually on the back of one of the spokes. If not, then measure the width of the rim, from flange to flange. I think the correct width is measured to the inside of the mounting flange, which you can't actually measure, but you can get close.
 
#18 ·
The width of any wheel is measured between the bead seats, which is not directly accessible when there's a tire mounted on it. But you can measure the outside width of the wheel, subtract 1", maybe 1-1/8", and be close enough for gummint work. You might have to measure the width across the tire sidewalls and from the sidewalls to the wheel first.



Over the years, the Mustang's 235/50-18 tires have been mounted on both 18x8 and 18x8.5 wheels. They were 8.5" wide on my '08.


Norm
 
#8 ·
No stampings or markings on the back?
 
#11 ·
There is a special tool and way to measure rim width. The size of tire the dealer put on doesn't really mean anything as they a lot of the time put the factory OEM size or a comparable tire that they have at a steep discounted rate...
 
#19 ·
So did you find out what you have? Pictures attached are some examples of the markings that you would find on the back of the wheels . . . they can be in different formats, but almost always the size is clearly marked on there.
 

Attachments

#22 ·
OK, so now that you know what wheels you have, you can pick tires for those wheels . . . or buy new wheels and tires.


If you look up the tires on Tire Rack; you can go to the "specs" tab to see the recommended wheel width. Go with tires that have 8" width within the recommended range, better yet stick with tires that have 8" toward the high end of the range.


As I recall from looking at tires in the past, 235 or 245 is about the widest you should go on an 8" wheel.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top