Wheels-Tires GT500 Wheels on an SN95

WhiteCobra95

Mod Dude
May 2, 2006
563
145
74
This question has probably been asked a million times before, so I will be very specific for this case.

A good friend has a 2011 GT500 base model. He has gone bananas and is now pretty much converting it for drag-race-only duty. He wants to unload some parts including his factory wheels to help support the budget for the final phase of the conversion. Much like me, he doesn't want to mess around with selling parts on Ebay, Craig's List, or FBM. He will sell them to me for a really good price for simplicity. He says they are the 18" x 9.5" base GT500 wheels, and I'm fond of the style since these are the double spoke ones that still look like SVT wheels (before they started painting the centers black or charcoal).

Since I have been looking for wider wheels for bigger road race tires to replace my current 17x8s, this might be a good deal if they actually fit. However, I'm not a big fan of wheel spacers, especially for road racing, so I'm curious to hear if anyone has attempted this with the 18x9.5 GT500 wheels on their SN95. Does this work or is the back spacing too deep? I can find a lot of speculation on regular GT S197 wheels, but nothing specific to the base GT500 wheels.

Questions I will answer in advance:
Why don't you drive over and test fit them? - He lives four hours away. I really don't want to drive all of they way out there just for a wheel fitting test, especially if this is already a known no-go. It would be a lot easier to send him the money and then pick them up later when I can make a long weekend out of it since he lives pretty close to Lake Michigan.

Thanks in advance!
 
  • Sponsors (?)


The backspacing of the 05+ cars is in fact deeper. If you can find out the offset and BS specs for the GT500 wheels, you can use this calculator to see how they would sit relative to the SN95 wheels



SN95 17x8 OEM wheels are +30mm offset, 5.72" backspace and 245/45/17


EDIT: The GT500 wheels are 18 x 9.5 and +45 offset, 7.125" BS

It actually doesn't look too bad, but the deeper fit over the front wheels might lead to reduction in turning radius as the rims will hit the control arm. The 2003 Cobra had different control arms to help with clearance of the OEM 9" rims, so putting 9.5" rims on might lead to the same results.
 
Last edited:
Thank you very much for this information! I really appreciate the help. It seems like it's plausible but borderline without spacers. I installed the 2003 Cobra A-arms (FordRacing D arms) when I setup the suspension for road racing, so that's already in place. Maybe it's worth having him ship one of the wheels to give it a test fit before committing.

If that's not going to work, I wonder how robust the LMR wheels are for high stress applicatoins like track days. I'm uneasy about the knock-off wheels and where they're made. It's a shame that Ford Racing no longer offers the wide range of SN95 wheels they used to. I should have jumped on a set of '95 Cobra R wheels when they were a cheap solution for 17x9s. I've never had or heard of an issue tracking the OEM wheels.