No 18 inch wheel eveyone e-mail ford and scream

65conv50 said:

I'll email Ford and tell them to PLEASE don't put 18" wheels on the Mustang!! It's an American icon, not a ricebox!! There's always the aftermarket for those who want to ruin handling and looks in one pass!!

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Since when does 18's make a car ricey? There are plenty of sports cars with big wheels. The 05 was supposed to thave the 18's as an option and the new corvette has 19's in from 20's in back if im not mistaken

numenor27 said:

Since when does 18's make a car ricey? There are plenty of sports cars with big wheels. The 05 was supposed to thave the 18's as an option and the new corvette has 19's in from 20's in back if im not mistaken

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But we're talking about a MUSTANG, not a sports car.

65conv50 said:

But we're talking about a MUSTANG, not a sports car.

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65conv50 said:

But we're talking about a MUSTANG, not a sports car.

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What are you getting excited about? If you don't wan't 18's don't buy them! The '05 comes with a really decent 17" wheel option. After you burn the factory tires off, you can probably get some wider ones if you want. Your car, your money. At the same time, who are you to say what belongs on my mustang?

The "mustang's ain't supposed to handle good" argument is tired and lame.

2005muzzy said:

Ihave 255/45/17s on my 95 cobra with a big gap in between the wheel well
why can't ford see that???!!! 255 vs 235 big difference in width.
On my way to work now. i work next door to a GOODYEAR SHOP.
Gonna compair tire sizes face to face. Hey FORD IF i DON'T LIKE WHAT I SEE , JUST SEND ME MY NEW MUZZY RIDIN ON DOUGHNUTS AND TAKE SOME $$ OFF. I'LL FIX THE MISTAKE MYSELF HA HA

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So lower the car and take care of the gap.

What's next are we going to complain that the Cobra isn't "sittin on dubs"?

The "mustang's ain't supposed to handle good" argument is tired and lame.[/QUOTE]

Why shouldnt the mustang handle good. This aint the 60's where all people wanted to do was go straight as fast as they can. Its a sports car not a drag racer.

Yes, the M3 comes with 18's, and maybe there is a 19" option. But the M3 is to the 3-series what the Cobra is to Mustang. The M3 rides extremely harsh, and is tuned for the fanatical enthusiast, who wants extreme handling. I don't think the GT should handle "bad", or that handling is not very important. But in reality, even with the 17" wheels, it will probably be a super handler. My point is that the majority of those in the market for the GT would not accept BMW M3 ride harshness. And the GT is NOT an M3 fighter, it's mission is a balance that is more toward the mainstream market (rabid speed-freak Stangnetters are not mainstream, trust me, we're lunatic fringe). I swear, I think the majority of the bitching on this forum is caused by the fact that Ford is releasing the GT first, but everybody's expectations are "Cobra" (although few here want to pony up the dough for a Cobra).

"Where's the trick hood"

"Where's all the scoops"

"Where's the more aggressive body styling"

"Where's the 19" wheels"

"Where's the 6-speed"

"Where's the IRS"

"Blah blah blah..."


The GT is not positioned in the lineup to be the holy grail of Mustang performance. It's supposed to be a great bang for the buck, great handling, great sporty looks, and easy to live with for a large segment of potential owners. And Ford will sell a TON by sticking close to the formula. If you want to lower yours, upgrade to bigger and fatter wheels, and so-on, well...... what a concept. MODIFY your Mustang!! Not to mention I'm certain an 18" wheel option will be forthcoming, if you'll just quit holding your breath and shivering, and just wait a bit. You guys just have ZERO flippin patience. You want everything, NOW, as if the design/engineer/manufacturing process involves a wand, a robe, and a top hat. If I see another "how hard could it be?" I'm gonna puke. Believe me, spend 15 minutes with a real automotive engineer that works for any of the Big 3, and you'll realize it's crazy how much work they have to do. These guys aren't "bozos". I'd be willing to bet that if a Ford chassis engineer came on Stangnet, that they could summarize the reason the 18" wheel option is delayed, and everybody here who's been moaning would sit back and go "Oh, wow, I hadn't thought of that....". They've obviously got something delaying them or giving them fits. Better they work it out, rather than just say "screw it, just bolt the 18's on the cars".

What, since when is there never going to be an 18" wheel offered? Everything i've read said 17" to start, and then later offering the 18" wheel. So now they say they are not going to offer the 18" ever? Did I miss something?


as a side note: USA M3's have 18" wheels, and European models came with 19" wheels. You can order the 19" in America now, and i've been seeing more and more of them.

FinlayZJ said:

What, since when is there never going to be an 18" wheel offered? Everything i've read said 17" to start, and then later offering the 18" wheel. So now they say they are not going to offer the 18" ever? Did I miss something?

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Exactly what I have been saying here.

Someone show me proof that they aren't going to offer them.

After searching the internet, the only thing reliable i've found was this:

WHEELS AND TIRES
Wheel size base, 7.0 x 16 in; GT, 8.0 x 17; opt GT, 9.0 x 18 in
Wheel type cast aluminum
Tires base, BFGoodrich Traction T/A, P215/65TR-16; GT, Pirelli, P235/55WR-17; opt GT, BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW2, P255/45ZR-18

That's from Car and Driver. A few other places said basically the same thing.

FinlayZJ said:

After searching the internet, the only thing reliable i've found was this:

WHEELS AND TIRES
Wheel size base, 7.0 x 16 in; GT, 8.0 x 17; opt GT, 9.0 x 18 in
Wheel type cast aluminum
Tires base, BFGoodrich Traction T/A, P215/65TR-16; GT, Pirelli, P235/55WR-17; opt GT, BFGoodrich g-Force T/A KDW2, P255/45ZR-18

That's from Car and Driver. A few other places said basically the same thing.

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Yeah, that's what I have been reading. But for some reason, people on this board got the idea that there is no option(not even later in the build cycle). I think they got that impression because the ordering guide doesn't have it on there.

Maybe its just me... but what is up with tire size inflation these days (no pun intended)? I seem to remember that 16s were big back in the day... anyway, I want to ride in a sports car, not a 4x4. I'll stick with my 17s, which is the limit for me.. but to each his own.

Well considering the new Dodge SRT-10 Ram is on 22's from the factory, 18" wheels aren't that big anymore. I think the 18's fill up the wheel well gaps pretty well. It's just the way the industry is going. I mean, at least they aren't 26" rims, bling bling

View attachment 525353

FinlayZJ said:

Well considering the new Dodge SRT-10 Ram is on 22's from the factory, 18" wheels aren't that big anymore. I think the 18's fill up the wheel well gaps pretty well. It's just the way the industry is going. I mean, at least they aren't 26" rims, bling bling

View attachment 525351

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Ok first about the pic, that's just wrong. Now about the SRT-10. First it's a truck. And probably should not be used as a coparision on wheel fitment. As for the 18's everything I have heard is they will be available later. But the real question is how big do you want to go. I mean if we get an 18 " wheel. How wide can we go before rubbing? Or how much suspension travel before the tire hits things? These are questions the engineers have to answer.

The Lightning has 18s. Does it handle like ****?

damn.....i've posted alot today.

Ok, by conversions, the 17" wheel with tire size listed and 18" wheel with the tire size listed should be just about the exact same height. Assuming the wider 18" wheel gets a different offset, the suspension travel and lock to lock turning should be the same. therefore the 18" wheel offers better handling and a wider contact patch. I know some people have stated that the low profile sidewall hinders off the line acceleration, but given the extra 20mm of contact, they should be the comparable.

And one more thing with larger wheels. Vehicles are keep getting heavier than previous models, so braking needs to be improved. Therefore, you need a larger diameter rotor and bigger caliper, making the wheel bigger at the same time.

I also think each car can obtain a look with a different size wheel. I think 18s look real good on the 05, and 20's look great on the new bmw 7 series. Would I put 20's on an 05 stang............no. 18's look great. If ford continues to cut the wheel well openings bigger and bigger, the only way to offset it is with a bigger rim. Ok, thats all.

The Lightning has 18s. Does it handle like ****?

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The Lightning is what, 4,800 pounds? Suspended weight/mass is a huge factor in ride harshness. The heavier the vehicle, the more it resists forces sent to it via the wheels, i.e. the more mass of an object, the more that object's resistance to changes in either the speed or direction of its motion. It takes more force to move more mass. In short, to compare how a Lightning rides on 18's to a Mustang riding on 18's is ridiculous. My Lightning actually has a pretty stiff and jouncy ride. Bumps in the road send you sailing toward the ceiling! And it's a bugger getting those big wheels and tires to balance well for higher speeds, it's never been perfectly smooth over 75 mph. I can only imagine how the Dodge SRT-10 rides, but it's even HEAVIER than the Lightning by another 400 pounds I think. I know that magazines criticized it's ride as harsh and jouncy (just like my Lightning).

First. The lightning handles like a truck with a big motor. Trucks are not sportscars/coupes. So even with larger wheels. It will never handle anything near to a mustang. The weight distribution is just completely different.

Now as far as the contact patch between the 17's and 18's. Sure with a wider tire you will get more contact patch. But the taller tire adds next to negligible. And the larger rotors need larger tires is not entirely accurate. The porsche has 13 inch rotors just like the cobra. And they fit under the 18's that porsche has for wheels. And a porsche brakes just fine.

geez guys...you make it sound like the first thing anybody does when they buy a Mustang ISN'T changing the wheels....

what difference does it make what comes from the factory we're all gunna change 'em anyway.....