Kluski

I am happy with the 17's. That is the biggest wheel I have owned.

kn7671

That's like 1/10th of an inch.

Dan

Its too bad that the 18" poll and discussion bothers some of you. You have to understand that many of us believe 18's fit the design of the car more nicely than the 17's.

Also, I wanted to make a few points:

- Why would ride be any worse than the current car....both the SN95 GT's and the 05 with 18's have a 45 aspect ratio? Its not like they are any lower profile.
- Just as the 17" rims fit the old car and its design, the overall diameter of the wheel/tire combo was increased for 05. Why does it not make sense that the rim size should increase as well?
- I understand the "classic" look to the car with 17's or even 16's. That's cool. But low profile wide summer tires with 18's are very appealing as well.
- You can be sure ford exec's read this site........so, as far as the other poll goes I figure if Ford is deciding whether to wait till 06MY to offer the 18's or release them early, we're just saying, release them early!

Lalo

18's cost more than my car

adrenalin

I live in Canada and I am use to paying more for stuff than you guys in the US and I am not complaining about the price of the 18" rims and tires. The 17's that come stock will make great rims for my winter tires and I will be buying a set of 18" chrome rims for the summer. Just trying to figure out what to get. Even if those 18's that are in all the mustang ad's were available I wouldn't get them. They are nice mind you, but why pay that much money for something the majority of buyers would have on their car.

If it's not aftermarket........it's CRRRAAAAP!

SVTJayC

There is nothing visually stimulating about those 18s. They are plain, and there are a million aftermarket wheels just like them. The 17's are great looking, and those should have been the higher performance 18's with some nice rubber, like the concept. If you want to pay a boatload extra for some run of the mill, heavy, 5 spoke rims, be my guest. I agree 100% that the car needs larger rims, and some better rubber, but the ones you are fighting for (and not that anyone cares that you are), are not even innovative looking. :scratch: Innovation, remember that word? That is what the mustang was made famous by.

And let me tell you why "Ford execs" coudn't care less what goes on here. We do not represent their target audience. Sure they may say the enthusiast is who this car was designed for, but get real. How many enthusiasts are there? Not enough to make a car a success these days. Especially not a car that is going to be a staple. Ford's target audience is the masses. Fleet sales, stripped down V6 sales. Govt sales. Law enforcement, etc. Places that order hundreds of not thousands of cars, not 1. See, the thunderbird, GTO, Focus SVT, Chevy SSR, Chevy Camaro/Fbird for that matter. Enthusiasts don;t keep cars afloat. Big contracts do. Is it nice if 20k people buy a GT because they like the power, yup, will it make or break the car, nope. Decisions are made with money in mind. Not public opinion. Ford's been burned plenty of times weighing public opinion, they just arent that good at it. Better to go with the bread and butter, the dumb masses.

It's an awesome car from what we know so far. But griping over a set of crappy 18 inch rims, that you could do better aftermarket for less money on, just isnt worth it. A nice set of those FR500 rims would look sweet. I'd rather spend my effort hoping they will be available, then some fan blades.

André

Yeah, same thing with IRS, it seems to bother "somebody"... Dan, maybe he should make a list of the subjects we are allowed to discuss...

Dan

Andre, grow up man.

It doesn't matter how rational and neutral I try to be with you, or how many posts/how much time I take to explain my reasonable position, you choose not to hear it.

I've been fair with the IRS debate. I've shut down a thread in the past because of arguments not because of IRS. I like IRS. I understand your frustration. But NONE of that seems to matter. Its like talking to a wall.

We've know each other for a long time. I think I've proven myself to be a rational voice who doesn't take sides and looks at things objectively. I don't always agree, but so what, everyone is allowed their own opinion.

And I've stated many a time that I understand where you're coming from while others shoot you down.

Its nice to know who your friends are.

Frankly, I'm tired of this whining. I only give people so many chances before I want nothing to do with them..... and just so were clear, your on your last chance.

Dan

No, let me tell YOU why I'm right. Because I've talked to one. I'm not speculating, I'm telling you fact. Believe it or not, your choice. That's as much as I'm willing to say.

André

You got me wrong Dan, I was not reffering to you...I think you have the right to discuss any topic, and as much as you want... Since I don't really care about 18s I usually just skip that topic, everybodys concerns about the new mustang is valid and should be respected, I don't see why I should try to impose my views on anybody wich is what the topic starter of this thread is trying to do.

My comment was supposed to be a joke and not meant to offend anybody, I'm sorry If you felt this was directed against you.

Peace...

woody1

B) 18" .... I'm a truck guy... maybe we should complain they don't have DOUBLE-DUBs; maybe w/305R10. Slammed and bagged. Big ol spinners. Neon under lights, Fuzzy mats. Flames and bullet holes. Now we're pimped

icemant180

Could someone post a couple of pics with 18in and 17in on the same car so we can SEE the difference in appearence? When I see pic's of the 05 they all seem to have the 18.

SVTJayC

So you talked to one Ford exec...what do you think he was going to tell you? "No Danny Boy, we couldn't care less about you enthusiasts, but thanks for buying anyway, have a tee-shirt." Jesus man, take a business class or something. This is the only board I've ever been on that actually seems to believe that these people care about the enthusiast. If they did, there would be no aftermarket, because Ford would have a monopoly on the parts. There would be no V6 model, because why have a V6, when you could have a V8? You represent such a miniscule part of thier projected sales, that you are frankly inconsequential. If Dan get's pissed because there are no 18's, and throws a hissy fit and doesn't buy a mustang, Bill Ford will sleep OK. If HERTZ or ENTERPRISE decide not to buy 50,000 mustangs or 100,000 Focus', then they have a problem. It's not terribly long ago that the best you could get was 16's. You think that was because Ford just didn't realize 17's performed better?

You made the point that if it wasn't for the enthusiast, the mustang would have moved to a FWD platform. Well, it's not like Ford abandoned that idea...it was called the Probe. Investment is in the facilities and desing, and it didn't take much for them to just keep the same tired chassis for another 15 years, and throw different sheetmetal on it. Again, most of their sales went to fleet, and the enthusiast got a car with a chassis that dated back to the Carter administration. Yeah, Score one for us!

Again, I love this car, I think 18's would be better (though not the 18s they offer), but to think that just because you take polls and write letters, and sign petitions, that Ford is going to change thier business plan for you is, well, a little egotistic. Ford has enough problems just staying in business.

gotmy05

My sisters boyfriend had a Infinity G-35 coupe ( which he hated and so did I just for the record ) with 18's. Yeah they fit the wheel wells better but you can't just drive you always have to look out for bumps bigger than pebbles cause the low-pro tires just don't have any meat on them you might bend the rim. Since I live in Jersey all us Jersey people here know how the roads are. I would never get 18's on anything I own unless it is a show car. On my Stang I went with the 17" bullits a wheel I think we all love. I figure if I really want i'll get the rims I want to get.

Dr Iven

Yeah, Dan, take a business class! Don't you know Ford would rather invest in a 200 hp Contour than put a set of performance wheels on the best-selling V8 car on the road? MORON!!

And, dude, we believe they care about the enthusiast because we've been here for over a year, and have seen and heard many circumstances where Ford execs have visited the site. Last year, Brad noticed a certain IP address he knew was Ford-related frequently visit the site. (correct me if I'm wrong, guys )

And lighten up... we're not like other boards where you can just attack anybody for simply having an opinion.

SVTJayC

Uh, not to start a pissing contest, but my "200hp Contour" will blow most of your stangs off the Auto-X course, and certainlly YOUR pimped out Tbird. My car has better seats, tires, suspension, than any other mainstream Ford product every built, with the exception of the SVT Focus. So slow down. Not everyone is looking to burn up tires on the drag strip.

My point is simply that all your crying falls on deaf ears. You'll get those lousy 18 inch rims when Ford has is slated, and not an instant before.

Dr Iven

You wanna bet?

2000 Ford Contour SVT:
Acceleration (0-60 mph): 7.1 sec. Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 132 ft.
Road Holding Index: .86 g Base Number of Cylinders: 6
Base Engine Size: 2.5 liters Base Engine Type: V6
Horsepower: 200 hp Max Horsepower: 6700 rpm
Torque: 167 ft-lbs. Max Torque: 5625 rpm
Maximum Towing Capacity: 1000 lbs. Drive Type: FWD
Turning Circle: 40 ft.

1997 Lincoln Mark VIII LSC:
Acceleration (0-60 mph): 7.0 sec. Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 122 ft.
Road Holding Index: .85 g Base Number of Cylinders: 8
Base Engine Size: 4.6 liters Base Engine Type: V8
Horsepower: 290 hp Max Horsepower: 5750 rpm
Torque: 290 ft-lbs. Max Torque: 4500 rpm
Drive Type: RWD Turning Circle: 37.2 ft.

Dr Iven

And nothing against your SVT Contour... I used to want one and came really close to buying one about 2 years ago.

SVTJayC

uh, i dont know where you got those bogus numbers, the SVT's skidpad is over .9 It also weighs about 1000 lbs less. And your car doesn't stop in any 122ft. Ive owned 2 MN-12's, the disk brakes on them are terrible, too small, and the rotors warp easily.

Dr Iven

A Lincoln Mark VIII is not just a glorified T-Bird. They have similar body styles and chassis, but that's about it. The Mark VIII has a sport suspension, IRS, performance brakes, etc. I've never heard of rotor warp being a problem on the Mark VIII.

Lincoln Mark VIII: 3765 lbs.
Ford Contour SVT: 3126 lbs.

Just because it's big doesn't mean it can't handle well.

Who really cares, anyway? This is a Mustang forum!

But, opinions are just opinions until you actually drive the car.