Factory 18" rim option, late 05 or early 06?

[Silver02GT]

First of all, I have to say that the 05 GT is the best looking (and from what I read, the best handling) Mustang ever to come out of Detroit! I’ll be selling my 02 GT in the summer and will be upgrading to either the 05 or 06, depending on:
Will the 18” rims be an option in the summer, or will us guys that haven’t ordered yet have to wait until the 06 model year in the fall to get this factory option? This concerns me because I remember back in at least 1997 and 1998 that the speed limiter of the 16” rim and tire (m&s) combo for the GT was set to top out at less than 125MPH, much less than that of the Premium 17” ZR rated 245/45 Goodyear tire upgrade speed limiting setting of 149MPH! C&D says that the 05 is set at 149MPH while others on this site mentioned 143, I can live with either, but I wonder if the governor setting will be set higher with the factory 18” package? OK, let’s say a guy can’t wait and ordered now and upgraded to after market 18” rims and low profile ZR rated tires, would a speedometer recalibration be required in doing so? Or would the actual speedo reading be so miniscule as not to cause concern?
Don’t bash me too severely for saying that I’m also doing research on the new 05 GTO which should be arriving on our shores sometime in January or February. But like a lot of folks, I’m having a hard time finding beauty in that mundane body style. Having had 4 Mustangs over the years, it would be very hard to jump ship, a guy might end up with a bad case of buyer’s remorse!!

 

[alan518]

i really wanted to like the new gto,, but just cant

First of all, I have to say that the 05 GT is the best looking (and from what I read, the best handling) Mustang ever to come out of Detroit! I’ll be selling my 02 GT in the summer and will be upgrading to either the 05 or 06, depending on:
Will the 18” rims be an option in the summer, or will us guys that haven’t ordered yet have to wait until the 06 model year in the fall to get this factory option? This concerns me because I remember back in at least 1997 and 1998 that the speed limiter of the 16” rim and tire (m&s) combo for the GT was set to top out at less than 125MPH, much less than that of the Premium 17” ZR rated 245/45 Goodyear tire upgrade speed limiting setting of 149MPH! C&D says that the 05 is set at 149MPH while others on this site mentioned 143, I can live with either, but I wonder if the governor setting will be set higher with the factory 18” package? OK, let’s say a guy can’t wait and ordered now and upgraded to after market 18” rims and low profile ZR rated tires, would a speedometer recalibration be required in doing so? Or would the actual speedo reading be so miniscule as not to cause concern?
Don’t bash me too severely for saying that I’m also doing research on the new 05 GTO which should be arriving on our shores sometime in January or February. But like a lot of folks, I’m having a hard time finding beauty in that mundane body style. Having had 4 Mustangs over the years, it would be very hard to jump ship, a guy might end up with a bad case of buyer’s remorse!!

i think the speedo will be very small in the difference,, im buying after market 18 inch wheels now,,,,the new gto, just doesnt do anything for me,, even with the new scoops etc., it just looks to me like another boring pontiac,, which is pretty bad, because pontiacs used to look so good in the sixties, and now they just look like jelly beans...interior is nice though on the gto and the new motor is going to be great,, but i understand they are going to change the look of the gto in the not too distant future,, they must have realized they made a huge mistake,,, especially when they see the sales of the new mustang.