Wanna get rims

Vanilla Mustang

Vanilla Mustang

New Member
May 31, 2002
30
0
0
Ridge, Long Island
#1
So,

Its either 8.5x20's or 9x18 and 10x18,

What do you guys think of 20's, not how they look or the style but the effect it will have on my car. Has anyone taken the plunge or known someone who has and actually know the effects on MPG and handling/ride? I'm lookin for facts here not just an idea or assumptions, got pleanty of those :D

Let me know what you think of either setup and what it will actually do to my car.

Peace Stangers!:SNSign:
 
#3
^ x2 ^

You said you already got plenty of opinions, but heres another: It will look silly on your mustang. I dont know about handling, but your ride will suffer compared to the 18's because on the 20's you will have very little room for tire in the fender, so the sidewalls will be super stiff and thats gonna go straight through the chassis into the cabin.
 
#7
Trust me, I'm taking in all factors hence I didn't buy anything yet. I'm trying to get an accurate (experienced) opinion from someone who has put them on their car or actually knows someone who has done the swap. If its a little speed loss, I'll get it back somewhere else. If its drastic, ill looks close at the 18''s.

Does anyone know what the 18''s will do to performance/ride/MPG?
 
#8
Vanilla Mustang said:
Trust me, I'm taking in all factors hence I didn't buy anything yet. I'm trying to get an accurate (experienced) opinion from someone who has put them on their car or actually knows someone who has done the swap. If its a little speed loss, I'll get it back somewhere else. If its drastic, ill looks close at the 18''s.

Does anyone know what the 18''s will do to performance/ride/MPG?
Click to expand...

I stated above what I know the 20's will do - Give you a rougher ride. Not the 20's themselves, but the tires you will need to have to make them fit. The sidewall profile will have to be so small, that it will need to be stiffer, and it will roughen the ride. Performance wise, you will slow down a bit. 20's are heavy - its just not a very performance oriented size so lightweight 20's will be hard to find, if even made. MPG wise, you MAY do better than the 18's because you are looking at a smaller wheel (width wise), and will translate into less friction.

Honestly, I feel 18's are a far better choice. Popular size, so there are alot of wheels available. You will be able to run more tire and fill up the wheel well, but have enough that you wont kill your ride so much. Lightweight versions are out there, so you can minimize the effect it has on your acceleration. Go for 18's.
 
#11
there are 2 stangs out by me in riverhead with 20s and they hate the ride. To be honest they are two big and your not going to get the performance loss back. A big rim means small tire which in turn equals less traction. 18's are hard enough to hook. I had 18x8 saleen replicas on my car painted white...They were 48lbs each. for 20's your probely looking at closer to 55lbs each. Remember every 10lbs unsprung is a tenth in the 1/4 and traction in the 1/4 is priceless
 
#12
Taken from a forum I found on Google:

Other than aesthetics there aren't really any pros to the 20 inch rims. The appearance is a matter of personal taste. From a functional standpoint the 20s are only negative. They are heavier overall which hurts your ride and handling because of the increase in unsprung mass. Your ride is also hurt because of the extreme low profile tires you have to use. Also more of the mass is concentrated at the outer edge of the wheel. This increases the rotational inertia of the wheel. That makes the wheel act like a flywheel. Once it is turning it tends to want to keep turning. Also if the overall rolling radius of the tire/wheel combo is increased, you are effectively incresaing the overall gearing of the drivetrain. Because of these changes it will hurt your acceleration and your braking. The only real functional reason for going with such a large rim would be to clear larger brakes. But since a 14" rotor will easily fit in an 18" rim and you are unlikely to find a brake rotor larger than that for the mustang this is a moot point. Finally you have the issues of clearance in the wheel well.

Drive it... every day... every where... then stick with 17's... you have to have enough sidewall to absorb the shock of hitting pot holes and expansion joints on general roads. 17's give you a low profile look while keeping enough rubber to be a good all around road car. These tires also give you good sidewall torque for solid launches under normal heavy acceleration and yet stiff enough to give you good handling under most curvy road conditions.


Ok I have to disagree with y'all here. I have 20's on mine lowered and re-did all the suspension on mine and the ride does not suck at all. I will admit that I have to be more carefull driving around town not to bend the rims and I do have to check the tires more often and I am not that apt to smoke them either. But like was said in the other posts it is what you are going for. Lowered on 20's looks just sick. Cant hook up to save my life but hey you have to give to get I guess. I have ordered a set a 15's for the track so no biggie I guess, I dont run fast in town anyway so I would rather look good.
His Mods: Falken wheels(20 x 8.5) w/ Kumho tires, Steeda racing springs, sway bars
 
#16
Ruckus46Gt said:
there are 2 stangs out by me in riverhead with 20s and they hate the ride. To be honest they are two big and your not going to get the performance loss back. A big rim means small tire which in turn equals less traction. 18's are hard enough to hook. I had 18x8 saleen replicas on my car painted white...They were 48lbs each. for 20's your probely looking at closer to 55lbs each. Remember every 10lbs unsprung is a tenth in the 1/4 and traction in the 1/4 is priceless
Click to expand...
I don't believe that 18" rims have THAT much of an effect. I have 18x9 chrome cobra R's and chrome is heavy. On bald ass tires and with a 2" drop, i ran a 13.86@101 in this beast a few weeks after i got it. Are you saying that if i simply had stock rims on the car i'd be turning ~13.4's with an x-pipe and catback?
Doesn't seem very possible to me but if it is, I wonder what i'll be running in a few weeks in ALOT cooler weather with DR's on 15" v6 wheels and with 3.73's and a short shifter.....12's LOL? :shrug:
 
#17
Vanilla Mustang said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&mfcisapicommand=ViewItem&item= 250034576807

Heres a link to what I was looking at with the 20's.

I'm currently awaiting a response from the guy on how much each rim weighs.

Thanks for the input!
Click to expand...

Good wheel choice. You can make 20's work alot better (looks wise) on an S197. The new saleens come with 20's I think stock, but it might be 19's I'm not sure. 20's on a fox, SN95 or new edge just look rediculously stupid to me, but that is just my opinion. My vote goes for those wheels, but 18's.
 
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