[Acooljt]

Does anyone have any suggestions on picking a wheel size? I'm talking more along the lines of height than width, but I like 15's, 16's, and 17's and I can't decide which to go with. It's driving me nuts, but I'm not going with your average Torque Thrusts, my wheels will cost $400 a piece and I want to get it right the first time.

 

[dodgestang]

IF you are buying custom wheels get 17s. They will clear any additional brake upgrades you might decide to make in the future. They also give a great compromise between low profile tires and great corner performance without any of the issue 16s have with regard to clearing suspension in the front.

 

[Acooljt]

I don't know, I think that is more along the lines of your own opinion, simply because bigger calipers do not mean better stopping. Some of the fastest cars out there are running 15's.

What did you guys do to choose the size of your wheels?

 

[canadianstang]

ummmm i'd think dodgestang's advice is alot more than jsut opinion lol have u looked on www.dodgestang.com ? that 65 makes me want to stop working on my 70 cuz mine'll never look half as nice :worship i'd think dodgestang would have alot of info and i'm very happy he's willing to share it and his how to's on his website. i know i'll be lookin at the website when i get back to workin on my car. but thats just my opinion.

 

[Acooljt]

Huh? I'm not dissing his car or discreditting anything he has to say, I've known him for a long time on this board. I'm just sayin, in this thread, I think his reply is opinion based, because you shouldn't have to base your wheel size off of rotor size because there's people with 15's that are stopping just fine and have been for years. That's all I was sayin.

Now, back to the topic...

 

[desertcoupe]

I've been looking into this myself and came up with 17's for a very different reason. 14 and 15 inch tires are being phased out. Yes, there are still tires, BUT the sizes are pretty much set to stock manufacturers sizes. Look at the 14 and 15 inch rims. 14x6,7 and 15x6,7. I am currently running 14x7 and 14x8 and like the way my car looks and runs, but those back 245\60R14 tires are getting pretty scarce.

 

[dodgestang]

I don't know, I think that is more along the lines of your own opinion, simply because bigger calipers do not mean better stopping. Some of the fastest cars out there are running 15's.

What did you guys do to choose the size of your wheels?

Of course its my opinion that's all I can ever offer when someone asks about what wheel size will they like best.

Bigger rotors always means better stopping (its very rare that I will use an absolute in a statement too so I feel quite confident)...however, it doesn't mean better acceleration. What I have found personally is now that I have been driving my car on and off for 3 years or so is I am wishing I had larger rotors. I run the 17 inch rims now so I can very easily upgrade to a baer or ssbc big rotor kit when ever I want too.

If you invest $400 a wheel today and buy the 15s...once you start driving your car you might find yourself wishing you could put something larger on that the kelsey hayes style setup or the grenada disc setup.

There is a good arguement to be made for 15s as well. They fit the car nicely, enable you to run very well performing disc brakes, allow you to keep a side wall profile more in tune with the original stylings of the car, and currently have a pretty strong selection of both street and track tires.

I almost bought a set of 15s for the rear to run a slick on DT....but took a chance and bought another set of 17x8 and picked up a set of 275 40 17 BFG DRs. The car ran 12.5s at the track last weekend with nothing else done (road race suspsension, out of tune carb, 2 yr old plugs) so I am very happy with the technology behind the 17 inch tire choice I made.

I have a skewed perspective on the world since I look at everything I do to DT from the angle of triple use (street, drag, open track use) and the 17 inch rim allowed me the most flexibility in this.

 

[Acooljt]

LOL, desertcoupe, let me assure you that 14's and 15's are most definitely not being phased out. Maybe the magazine's say so, but coming from someone who use to build custom hot rods, I know that they'll be around forever.


Also, dodgestang, I fail to see how using 17's will make you any faster.

 

[dodgestang]

Also, dodgestang, I fail to see how using 17's will make you any faster.

You keep saying faster....I can't recall ever saying 17 inch rims make you faster.

You are inferring incorrect information. I did state that personally I was going to buy 15 inch rims at one point for track tires but bought 17s instead and found that I didn't give much up in straight line performance thanks to technology...so I no longer pay attention to one of the arguements FOR 15 inch rims which is slicks are made in that size.

 

[Acooljt]

Oh, sorry, you are right, I did infer the wrong information.

And they really don't make much in 17" slicks. Like Mickey Thompson makes one size of E/T street for 17's. And plus, I think 17's just look way too big on a Mustang unless you have fender flares(like Eleanor). Otherwise they just look too monstrous, like you're trying to "bling bling" your Mustang.

 

[dodgestang]

Well.....I can make some good arguements for 17s that have nothing to do with bling....although...I think DT looked darn good coming back the return road

http://www.dodgestang.com/track2.jpg

With a 17 inch rim, you shrink sidewall, but not enough to create a degraded ride expereince that some people mention. With the smaller stiffer sidewall you decrease tire deflection entering and exiting turns giving the car a much more responsive feel. I bet I can take an exit ramp alot faster than you think possible :halo: The other marginal benefit of a 17 over 15 is there are quite frankly a much broader selection of tires and compound to chose from for street use, couple that with the ability to more easily fit a plus sized tired in 17 than 15 because of the smaller sidewall bulge and corner deflection it just seemed (to me) to be the best choice in my application.

You may or may not remember, DT's first new sneakers were 225 50 15 on 15x7 TTds wheels. The performance of the car with the 255 40 17 rear and 245 40 17 front now is difficult to even compare back to the 15s. What ever choice you make I am sure will look great. If you are building a street cruiser 15s may be all you never need and fit into your current 'notion' of proper proportioning for the classic mustang. I always look at things from an upgrade perspective because I always want more so I try to thoroughly vett purchase decisions and compare how they may or may not impact future choices on the car.

 

[desertcoupe]

LOL, desertcoupe, let me assure you that 14's and 15's are most definitely not being phased out. Maybe the magazine's say so, but coming from someone who use to build custom hot rods, I know that they'll be around forever.

You used to build custom rods? And you don't know what backspacing on a rim is? hmmmm.

By the way, I don't read much Hotrod magazine or whatever. I discovered the "shortage" of 14 inch tires sizes by trying to by a set for my car. Seems that the only choices I currently have are BF Goodrich (they get nice and hard and wear out way too soon) or Cooper. Sure, I can find the front size in one brand, and the rears in another.

 

[Acooljt]

Well dodgestang, my car is going to be a street cruiser and drag racer, but no road tracks or anything of the sort. I mean sure, I'll take it out to the country roads and get wild, but that's about as far as that goes. Unfortunately for me, I have no way of viewing a 65-68 car with 17's in person because no one around here has one. It also looks like 17's make the car ride a bit higher, which would create more drag.

 

[dodgestang]

It also looks like 17's make the car ride a bit higher, which would create more drag.

Optical delusion I assure you.

The OD of my tires is 25.5. Stock mustang was approx 25.5.

You might also be seeing things that are hard to quantify....

For example.....I will lay odds that...

Larger % mustangs you see with 14s and 15s are still running 20, 30, 40 yr old suspension parts than all new suspension parts...resulting in a sagged to lower than original ride height stance

With 17s I would go out on a limb and say that the larger % of mustangs you see with 17s have much newer suspension...at the same time...many 17 inch rim runner also use lower components with the new suspension however...many have found that even after lowering the car..it sat a little higher than it did when they still have the old sagging suspension parts.

:wavey

 

[Acooljt]

Perhaps, but most of the pictures and vehicles I've referenced are restored cars, and I would certainly think of all things, they'd replace the suspension. It's like, I love the look of the 17's on Eleanor, but man, I can't stand the sight of 17's on any other car I've seen. Maybe they only look good on Fastback's since they have the slightly different 1/4 panels, or perhaps it's the fender flares on Eleanor, but some Mustangs it just looks like sh*t. I'd like to see a picture of a 65-68 Coupe or vert with 15, another with 16's, and another with 17's. But I made a post, and got very few replies, I thought people in these forums actually owned Classic Mustangs, not just talked about em. But it's hard for me to make a decision when I can't see all the options and look at all of them side by side. In fact, in the post, no one even posted one with 16's.

 

[dodgestang]

Well...here is some side by side 15s vs 17s

http://www.dodgestang.com/cf5/cf-11.jpg
http://www.dodgestang.com/cf5/cf-12.jpg
http://www.dodgestang.com/cf5/cf-9.jpg

 

[Acooljt]

Those pics don't help too much since as I said, Fastback's 1/4 panels are a bit different. All I really need is one pic of a 65-68 coupe/vert with 15's, another pic of one with 16's, and another with 17's. Then I could just look at all 3 pics. This whole topic makes me really edgy since as I said, the wheels are a little over $400 a pop, so I need to get this right the first time around.

 

[caveman]

Have you got a picture of these $400 wheels? I can't imagine spending that much on wheels. Then again, I've never had alot of "disposable" income (5 kids). As far as brakes go, I've got the stock disc brakes on my MACH I with 15's and it stops great and looks great. If I had had the money, I would have bought 17's.

 

[Acooljt]

They're the Cobra replicas, the same thing as what's on Eleanor. They're so expensive because they're not made anymore except for a few businesses(actually, I only know of 1). So that's why they're so much. Also, I chose these wheels because I didn't wanna be another TORQUE THRUSTS FOREVER person. I can't stand em. Yeah, they're nice, but man, I can't drive down the road without seeing 15 cars with em, it's gettin outta hand. The only Torque Thrusts I can stand are the style that's on Bullitt which are rarely seen anymore(not even sure if they're still made).

 

[keoni1978]

I'm dumping my wheels. Let me know if anyone is interested