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I am about ready to swap out my stock set for a new set. I am leaning towards the TSW Bathurst. I love the color and the concave on rears.
Pic of the Bathurst:
My current setup:
Couple questions:
These are not available at the traditional sites like LMR or AM so I am trying to find the best price online and possible a discount code if possible. Lowest price I have seen is Performance Plus Tire at about $336 each.
1. If I am going to use the TPMS off my current set, then I would not want the tires mounted on the wheel from the online store correct? My local shop would have to do that?
If the above is correct, then can I just buy the wheels online and then look for maybe a good set of tires locally maybe to save a little $$?
2. I have stock suspension and it's going to be a month or so before I can get the car lowered. I want to go WIDE in the back...maybe 305's if I can....the widened part is more important to me than the flushness of the tire, just FYI.
What size tires should I go with? Maybe 255/35/20 on front and 305/30/20 on rear?
This is not a DD, more a garaged vehicle that gets driven about 2-3x a week...maybe 50 miles a week total....never sees bad weather.
Those are good looking wheels! They'll look awesome with your paint.
Nice RTR stripe, BTW. What was your source on that?
1. If I am going to use the TPMS off my current set, then I would not want the tires mounted on the wheel from the online store correct? My local shop would have to do that?
Umm.. yes. Unless you're planning on pulling the TPMS from your current wheels and mailing them to the shop, it would be tricky for them to install your current TPMS.
So yeah. Unless they have some crazy deal on (good) rubber, you probably want to source your tires somewhere else.
One thing to consider is buying another set of TPMS from Amazon, etc and keeping your stock wheels/tires intact. You really never know when you might need them. Besides, the batteries in the TPMS units supposedly only lasts 7-8 years and you'll end up buying another set then anyway. Your car is already 5 years old! Just saying...
2. I have stock suspension and it's going to be a month or so before I can get the car lowered. I want to go WIDE in the back...maybe 305's if I can....the widened part is more important to me than the flushness of the tire, just FYI.
What size tires should I go with? Maybe 255/35/20 on front and 305/30/20 on rear?
305s will certainly fit on the back...so long as you're not running some really weird offset, I don't think you'll have a problem. As for the fronts, 255s are stock width for the BBP/TP cars. They're not that much of an upgrade if you're spending all of that money. I'm running 285s with no problem. Wider is always better.
My advice here would be to do the suspension FIRST. The wheels are going to look really, really bad on a stock ride height car.
Second, shop around for the best tires that you can afford. MPSS are kind of the go-to performance tire but they're $300+ each. You don't need to spend quite that much but it's not a good place to save a buck, IMO.
Thank you for the info! I got the stripes from promotorstripes on eBay...3M vinyl and I think the set was under $100 and a local graphics put them on for $120. I like how they turned out. Let me know if you can't fine them and I'll send you the link...just do a search for RTR style side strips on eBay and you should be able to see them. I have the side spears and the hood U-stripe also.
Do you have a reason for wanting to have such a big difference in tire width front to rear? Are you just looking for most straight line grip?
I ask because on a stock suspension setup this will push your handling balance towards understeer (more grip in the back than front). You can correct this with sway bars, but I don't know what you have planned. If you want all around grip you could also do 285/35/20 on the fronts. Just food for thought.
Don't buy the Amazon TPMS. I did last year and 3/4 of them failed within a month, and of course I didn't install them for 3-4 months , so well beyond the return policy. I'd just bite the bullet and buy new ones from the tire shop or Ford. The Amazon ones were supposed to be Ford, and they came in Ford parts bags, but who knows how long they were sitting on a shelf before I bought them! Now I have the annoying "TPMS fault" alert that comes up every time I start my car.
What are the sizes and offsets for the TSWs? From my recollection they tend to go a bit more aggressive than most companies. The S550 can also accommodate a bit more negative (yes that sounds weird) offset than the S197, so keep that in mind from those pics.
Here's my story now: I purchased the Centerline MM1s last year from Car ID, and I was one of the first couple people to buy them. I went with 20x9 +35 and 20x10.5 +40 - I didn't realize at the time that they also came in a 20x10.5 +45, which is what I should've gotten. They didn't list the weights of these wheels, but they ended up being a couple pounds heavier than the stock Brembo wheels. I also had a set of barely used MPSS from a buddy, 265/35/20 and 305/30/20. What I didn't realize until they were on the car - the rear tires were Michelin's XL fitment, which is used on Ferraris - the contact patch is actually quite a bit wider than Michelin's 315 wide version of the same tire, and much wider than the normal 305. I was lowered on H&R Supersports, which are the equivalent to Eibach Sportlines as far as how low they go. The rears rubbed on my fenders over hard bumps. And they were a lot heavier than the stock tires. The whole combo added about 8lb per corner of unsprung weight - this is HUGE in the feel and performance of the car. Acceleration suffered. Turn-in suffered. Ride quality suffered.
That said, I had my wheels custom powder coated so I wanted to stick with them. I dropped down to 255/35 and 275/35 Cooper RS3-S, the same exact tires that Roush uses on their cars, including the Stage 3. Holy crap the car felt so much better. The wheel/tire combo is still a couple pounds heavier than stock, but close enough that I don't notice. The 305 Michelins also didn't have any more grip than the 275s, at least when cold. I could light either one up at will, so no loss/no gain there.
Now, TSW tends to rotary forge most of their wheels, and looking at those Bathurts without looking it up, I'd be willing to bet they are too. This means they'll probably be lighter than your stock 18s, so as long as you look up the weight of your stock tires and compare them to the tires you're looking to buy, you should be fine. I do love the way my 255/275 combo performs on my car, but I miss the beefy look of the wider tires. If your wheels are lighter than stock, then go with a 275/305 combo. You're more likely to fit the 275s up front without any issues, compared to 285s. 275s will also be less expensive.
So there's my $0.02...it all depends on the weights of the new wheels, their offset, the weight of your tires that you choose and how low you're willing to lower your car. If I was on H&R Sports or Eibach Pro-kit, or any Steeda springs, the rubbing wouldn't have been an issue.
I think my stock wheels are about 23lbs and the 20x9 & 20x10 Bathurst are 24.45 lbs. To answer the above question, I am not sure why I chose the discrepancy in widths in front and back, tbh. I know I want wider rears for a very aggressive look and some of the sites chose that front size as a default. A friend that lives near me who is very knowledgable said he thought 255/35/20 and 295/30/20 was the best combination.
Choosing a wheel has been difficult to say the least. I know I want Concaved and like the Bathurst, KMC 685 district and also the Verde Axis but I don't think I want to go black on my SG GT. My last vehicle was almost the same color grey and I had black wheels and I'm just ready for something different...I think
My budget for wheels and tires a is about $1800-$1900 and the Bathurst are $336 ea so about $1400 so that's doesn't leave much for tires which means I'll have to go with a less expensive tire or get a wheel that's cheaper. Struggling with this! I don't drive a ton so maybe the cheaper tire is not so bad?
Here are the KMC's:
Here are the Verde Axis:
What do you guys think about the above three choices? The KMC's and Verde are about $100 less per wheel than the Bathurst but the KMC is black only or machine faced.
LOL the gray 2015 you posted is my buddy's car. You'd have to get the fitment for our cars - their s550 rear 20x10.5 is a +35. No chance that would fit under our stock fenders. Why not just get the wheels you want, save up a couple more months and get the tires you want?
Fyi, my Coopers were $860 installed at America's Tire.
LOL the gray 2015 you posted is my buddy's car. You'd have to get the fitment for our cars - their s550 rear 20x10.5 is a +35. No chance that would fit under our stock fenders. Why not just get the wheels you want, save up a couple more months and get the tires you want?
Fyi, my Coopers were $860 installed at America's Tire.
That's a good looking car!
I could but there's other things in the pipeline for the car and the longer I wait the better the chance my wife will spend the money in the wheels fund Sooner or later she is going to tell me to choose between her or the mustang. I sure will miss her.
I could but there's other things in the pipeline for the car and the longer I wait the better the chance my wife will spend the money in the wheels fund Sooner or later she is going to tell me to choose between her or the mustang. I sure will miss her.
How bout this - would you be interested in my Centerlines with the tires? My wife just picked up a set of Foregstars with tires on them for me. I was going to ask $1600 for them, but obviously I'd need to ship to you too...
Regarding the TPMS, just order the TPMS from the SAME place where you are getting your tires/wheels. Then have them ALL MOUNTED together. No worries about having them shipped separately, or having to worry about getting it installed post shipment, etc. That's what I did with mine. All ordered together, all shipped together. All I had to do was mount them (then marry the TPMS).
As for the sizing, 255/305 is fine. That's what I run. I love the staggered setup. Some folks run 275's up front with a 305 rear. Your call.
As for the Bathursts themselves, I like it. Would look good on your car.
Good luck on your choice.
p.s. I hope you are planning to lower your car with the proper springs and suspension. Your setup, despite your nice new wheels, will look goofy on a stock suspension setup.
LOL the gray 2015 you posted is my buddy's car. You'd have to get the fitment for our cars - their s550 rear 20x10.5 is a +35. No chance that would fit under our stock fenders. Why not just get the wheels you want, save up a couple more months and get the tires you want?
Fyi, my Coopers were $860 installed at America's Tire.
Originally Posted by FromZto5
OP...
p.s. I hope you are planning to lower your car with the proper springs and suspension. Your setup, despite your nice new wheels, will look goofy on a stock suspension setup.
I am looking at the Ford K springs and BMR Panhard bar - it just won't happen for a month or so after I get the wheels on. We do garage days in my mustang club and I'll likely get the springs on / lowered then....hopefully not too long after. Maybe more suspension work Soon thereafter - shocks/struts etc.
If you can get those wheels in that size for that cheap do it! TSW interlagos are my next track day wheels. 19 x 9.5 or 10 inch $335-$340. These wheels are killer!
For lowering purposes I think I am going to go with the Ford K racing springs. A guy locally is selling a set new in the box for $100. Seems like a great deal. My friend also mentioned to get strut mounts for the front ($35 each) and a BMR Panhard bar but there are a lot of choices so not sure which one I need. BMR adjustable?
I'd skip the K-springs. When you go that low, you really need to do a lot more to do it properly. You'll need at least - new shocks/struts, LCAs and relocation brackets, adjustable UCA and mount, the PHB, and camber bolts.
Can you get away with just springs and PHB? Yes. But you'd really be doing your car a disservice by going that route. Install everything at the same time. Don't redo installs 2-3x because you don't have enough money to buy it all at once.
I'd skip the K-springs. When you go that low, you really need to do a lot more to do it properly. You'll need at least - new shocks/struts, LCAs and relocation brackets, adjustable UCA and mount, the PHB, and camber bolts.
Can you get away with just springs and PHB? Yes. But you'd really be doing your car a disservice by going that route. Install everything at the same time. Don't redo installs 2-3x because you don't have enough money to buy it all at once.
2/9/16 | 10:15 AM
I was lowered on H&R Supersports, which are the equivalent to Eibach Sportlines as far as how low they go. The rears rubbed on my fenders over hard bumps. And they were a lot heavier than the stock tires. The whole combo added about 8lb per corner of unsprung weight - this is HUGE in the feel and performance of the car. Acceleration suffered. Turn-in suffered. Ride quality suffered.
Sooner or later she is going to tell me to choose between her or the mustang. I sure will miss her.
