seriously whats the fascination with 18s.. ive read some people saying "OH NO WAY IM BUYING A GT NOW IF NO 18S ARE ON IT" i mean is that extra inch over the standard 17s REALLY that important.... im just wondering if its a style issue or a performance issue.?

 

For me it is for the looks. I have never been one to buy a car and leave it stock. Always have to change something and what makes a car really stand out are the rims. I have placed my order for 18" Foose Spank 5 rims for the 05 Sonic Blue. Should look pretty sweet. This will be my 4th stang. I did paint jobs and graphics on the others but never the rims, which I have always regretted so this time I am starting with the rims and going from there.

 

18's will fill out the wheel wells in my Mach.

 

Well, it's one louder, isn't it?






...Somebody must get the Spinal Tap reference...

 

 

I think the biggest deal is that the 18's wear 255/45 shoes! Thats almost an additional inch of rubber in contact with the asphalt. That will most assuredly help with grip and performance. But, I'm sure that there is an aspect of style in it too. typically, not always, a larger rim on a sports car with a moderately low profile tire (read /45) looks better then a 17 with at 55 prof. It the individual's prerogative and what they like.

 

...but it goes to 11.

 

I have no idea what you mean by "Well, it's one louder, isn't it?"

 

spinal tap movie reference.

singer talking to interviewer

"see our amp right here is the loudest ever. most amps only go up to ten on the dial, our goes up to 11"


"so is this one louder?"

"well, it's bloody one louder idn it"

:flag2:

:headbang: :headbang: :rock: :headbang: :headbang:

 

Well the deal is even bigger now that we know the base 17"s are gonna be bullits. We've been stuck with those for five years. Are they good? Yes? Is it time for them to go? Yes.

The 18's look incomprehenisbly better... to me, and apparently quite a few other people. And those concept rims are lame. There are a heck of a lot of other things that could have been carried over from the concept :bang: HOOD!!!!!!111!!!1oneoneon

 

For me it's not so much the 18's, but the tires that the 17's are mounted to. I don't like the narrower and taller 235/55/17's on the '05. I would be content if Ford was offering the concept style wheels (they look much better in person imo) mounted to the current Mustang's 245/45/17's. Some people might argue that the 55 series fill out the wheel well better, but imo its at the cost of having a tire that looks more at home on a Ford Explorer than a Mustang GT.

For those individuals that have to deal with a northern winter climate, the all season 55's are probably a necessity half the year. But for me, living in L.A. I'm fine with a more agressive tire year round.

 

I live in a snowy area of the world,

my intention was to get nice, sticky tires for the summer and then some steel wheels and snow tires for the winter.

The reason I was hooked on the 18's is because they are bigger, wider and better looking than either of the 17's available, and I would get the tires I want as opposed to the all-season tires... it would save me an expensive trip to the aftermarket.

 

Do we know the offset or the bolt circle?

 

:bang: We've been over this 100 times before. The 18's will not fill out the wheel wells better, because they 18" tires have the same diameter as the 17's. The wheels may be bigger, but the sidewalls are shorter making for the same overall size.

 

:bang: We've been over this 100 times before. The 18's will not fill out the wheel wells better, because they 18" tires have the same diameter as the 17's. The wheels may be bigger, but the sidewalls are shorter making for the same overall size. [/b][/quote]
V10-

Then let's go over this 101 times!

Take a look at this link, and look at how the 18x9, and 18x10.5 with 265/35/18 and 295/35/18 tires respectively fill out the wheel wells to the edge of the fenders! The wheels and tires are flush with the fenders. Unless I am "seeing things"! The width has more to do with it, I understand. However, a 245/35/18, and a 245/45/17 would not be the same diameter. The 18's would have a 15.4mm greater diameter. (Not a whole lot, but not equal.)

Maybe I should have clarified my statement better, stating the 18's (with the width) will be "flush" with the fenders instead of "filling" them. Hope you understand now.

http://www.mach1registry.org/forums/showth...t=julies+wheels

 

Those tires look a lot better flush with the fender flare on that mach.

 

That isn't really of function of 17 vs 18. That is more to do with width.

 

Yes you should have clarified your statement.

You said Which is not the case unless you change the tire size too.

Larger width & height 17" tires will fill out the wheels the same way 18's will.

Ford had selected the 16", 17" and 18" OEM tires such that they will ALL have the SAME approximate overall diameter. This way the spedo & odo will read the same and the the T/C, ABS and A/T will all function properly without software changes no matter which OEM tires are on the car. That may not be the case if you change the tire diameter.

 

Yes you should have clarified your statement.

You said Which is not the case unless you change the tire size too.

Larger width & height 17" tires will fill out the wheels the same way 18's will.

Ford had selected the 16", 17" and 18" OEM tires such that they will ALL have the SAME approximate overall diameter. This way the spedo & odo will read the same and the the T/C, ABS and A/T will all function properly without software changes no matter which OEM tires are on the car. That may not be the case if you change the tire diameter. [/b][/quote]
Like I stated there would only be a (1in=25.4mm - 10mm sidewall difference) 15.4mm diameter difference with the 18's, which is over 1/2 inch. Not much, but larger.

A 245/30/18 has the same diameter as a 245/55/17 .

I will try and clarify further in the future. I forget that people are not mind readers.

 

It would be nice to know what the offset and bolt circle would be. I doubt the would have changed it much from the previous model.