Tire/Wheel Help

1744 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by FoMoCo, Aug 8, 2005

madmaxtm

Discussion Starter · Aug 3, 2005

Ok, first I'd like to say hi to all the other mustang fans, I just discovered the site a couple days ago and just registered today. This forum looks like it has a good group of people and very knowledgeable for the questions I'll have.

My first question, I'm looking at putting new rims on my 05 GT which arrives tomorrow, specifically 20x8.5's on the front, then I was looking at 20x10's on the back. Will I have any issues getting the 20x10's on the back?

2nd question, assuming I don't have any troubles with the setup I want mentioned above, what kind/size of tires would you all recommend? I was thinking something along the lines of some Pirelli Z's.

Any input/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and go easy on me. I'm not a car buff by any means, thanks :kooky:

- Max

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Stoenr

· #2 · Aug 4, 2005

Welcome!! Im gonna leave the answering to others. Me working for goodyear my whole life and family owns a goodyear store, I think you would know my answer, lol. But let the impartial audience help.

This is a great site, and great members. All of them!:thumbsup

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SportsPix

· #3 · Aug 4, 2005

madmaxtm said:
Ok, first I'd like to say hi to all the other mustang fans, I just discovered the site a couple days ago and just registered today. This forum looks like it has a good group of people and very knowledgeable for the questions I'll have.

My first question, I'm looking at putting new rims on my 05 GT which arrives tomorrow, specifically 20x8.5's on the front, then I was looking at 20x10's on the back. Will I have any issues getting the 20x10's on the back?

2nd question, assuming I don't have any troubles with the setup I want mentioned above, what kind/size of tires would you all recommend? I was thinking something along the lines of some Pirelli Z's.

Any input/suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and go easy on me. I'm not a car buff by any means, thanks :kooky:

- Max

Hi Max,

Welcome! The 8.5x20/10x20 combo will fit with the correct offset. But ask yourself first what you are after with the purchase of these spiffy new wheels and tires.

Are you after peformance or show car style? For perforrmance you are headed in the WRONG direction. If bling is your thing you are going the right direction. Going with 20's you will be giving up ride, cornering, handling, acceleration, braking performance AND they will tend to get brused and sidewall cuts/punctures more often than not in pot holes and on curbs than say if you had 17" or 18" wheel & tire combination. Some ride can be regained but you will be giving up even more performance to get the ride back.

For performance applications and street use 17's-18's are a much better choice and there are much higher performance tires in these sizes. Some of the best performance street tires come in 17" and 18" sizes. Check out Tire Rack, Discount Tire Center and other on-line wheel and tire sites for info. You need to keep your tire diam. as close to 27" or slightly larger to fill your '05 Mustang GT's wheel wells right. Less than 27" and the wells start too look too large. Measure the wheel wells, 27"-29" will look best and give you the full wheel wells that can look so cool when lowered to give the right stance. Just be sure that the wheels and tires fit inside the wheel wells so that when the car is loaded you don't rub or cut the sidewalls.

HTH

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madmaxtm

Discussion Starter · #4 · Aug 4, 2005

SportsPix said:
Hi Max,

Welcome! The 8.5x20/10x20 combo will fit with the correct offset. But ask yourself first what you are after with the purchase of these spiffy new wheels and tires.

Are you after peformance or show car style? For perforrmance you are headed in the WRONG direction. If bling is your thing you are going the right direction. Going with 20's you will be giving up ride, cornering, handling, acceleration, braking performance AND they will tend to get brused and sidewall cuts/punctures more often than not in pot holes and on curbs than say if you had 17" or 18" wheel & tire combination. Some ride can be regained but you will be giving up even more performance to get the ride back.

For performance applications and street use 17's-18's are a much better choice and there are much higher performance tires in these sizes. Some of the best performance street tires come in 17" and 18" sizes. Check out Tire Rack, Discount Tire Center and other on-line wheel and tire sites for info. You need to keep your tire diam. as close to 27" or slightly larger to fill your '05 Mustang GT's wheel wells right. Less than 27" and the wells start too look too large. Measure the wheel wells, 27"-29" will look best and give you the full wheel wells that can look so cool when lowered to give the right stance. Just be sure that the wheels and tires fit inside the wheel wells so that when the car is loaded you don't rub or cut the sidewalls.

HTH

Thanks for the responses guys

Well, as far as performance or show car style..I'm not really leaning heavily towards one side or the other. I'd like to stay somewhere in the middle and try to get the best of both worlds. I guess the only reason at this point I have for going with the 20x10's in back and 20x8.5's in front is because it looks really nice and I've always liked the low profile look.

Later on down the road I plan on putting a few performance upgrades on here and there. Mainly exhaust, headers, and possibly a supercharger later on down the road. So with that info, and the same wheel sizes as before, which tires would you go with?

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Stoenr

· #5 · Aug 4, 2005

I would say 18"s and a tire size something like 255/45ZR18. That has a nice low profile to it. And fairly common size, so if you have a tire failure, a replacement is not as hard to find. And its near stock diameter.

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loudog

· #6 · Aug 4, 2005

Stoenr said:
I would say 18"s and a tire size something like 255/45ZR18. That has a nice low profile to it. And fairly common size, so if you have a tire failure, a replacement is not as hard to find. And its near stock diameter.

Good advice with this size...

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SportsPix

· #7 · Aug 4, 2005

loudog said:
Good advice with this size...

Yup, good advice, a 255/45 x18 will work for the street, give you decent handling performance and good tire life because you can rotate them. When you go to the strip you can always get a set of 15-16 rear wheels for race slicks or DOT slicks.

HTH

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05GT68RSSS

· #8 · Aug 4, 2005

Welcome to the forum. There's been some really good advise from our other members on your link. I, too would stay away from 20's. They really take away from the '60's muscle car look and you would be one pot hole away from destroying a tire and bending a wheel. I decided to go with 18's and found that a 18 x 9" front and 18 x 10" rear fits the bill. Tire size to use to keep the stock 27" tire diameter is 255/45/18 front and 285/40/18 rear. The 255's are one inch wider and the 285's are two inches wider than stock. I went with BF Goodrich T/A KDW N/T's. Another mfgr. Toyo also makes the same sizes. If you want the same size all around then go with the 255/45's as mentioned previously.

This to our Goodyear friend: I really like the Eagle F-1 and have a set on my '68 Camaro 255/45/17 front and 285/40/17 rear. They handle like nothing else. Only problem for the Mustang is the tire doesn't come in a 285/40/18 the closest is a 275/40/18 which is 26.6" dia. vs. 27" stock. Let's get Goodyear to make a 285/40 in the F-1 and I'll buy 'em next time. I do, however, like the Goodrich's too.

Good luck and let us know what you ultimately do. Regards, Mike

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Poonstan

· #9 · Aug 4, 2005

Damn that looks nice. Foose, Nitrous 20x8.5 with +34 offset and 20x10 with +40 offset. Falken, Azenis tires. 235/35zr20 and 275/35zr20 in the rear.

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05GT68RSSS

· #10 · Aug 7, 2005

There are two really good reasons to stay away from 20" wheels on a Mustang No. 1 Braking suffers and No. 2 Acceleration suffers. I just purchased a set of D-SPec struts and shocks from Tokico and their user's manuel covers wheels and tires. Here's what they have to say: (Quote) "Large diameter wheels increase rotational inertia, which will in turn reduce acceleration adn braking ability. Another factor is the increase in unsprung weight. This can reduce traction by making it harder for the shocks to maintain good tire contact. The shorter tire side wall will reduce compliance. This can also reduce traction." (Unquote) They go on to say that plus one or two is not a major problem. Plus 3 (20's) may have negative affects. So, if you are going to use 20's, better upgrade your brakes and shocks and expect slower 1/4 times. Doesn't sound like the thing to do. Stay with 17's or 18's.

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FoMoCo

· #11 · Aug 8, 2005

Sounds like good advise to me :hihi:

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Tire/Wheel Help

madmaxtm

Stoenr

SportsPix

madmaxtm

Stoenr

loudog

SportsPix

05GT68RSSS

Poonstan

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