hi, I have a 2012 mustang gt bone stock. I have the stock 18x8 inch wheels and the 235/50 18, tires. I like the looks of the 19 inch wheels. My question is can I put on 19 inch wheels without changing out the suspension or anything? If so, what size wheels and tires should I get? I only want to upgrade my wheels to the 19 inch size for better looks. I still want to be able to use my spare tire and don't want to void my warranty. Which will be the best size wheel? like 19x8.5 or like 19x9.5 or something else? please also include the tire size, thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Yep, you won't have any trouble with the suspension on a 19 inch wheel. Factory wheels were 19x8.5 or 19x9 depending on if you had the Brembo package or not, and I believe the Boss 302 uses a 19x9.5 rear, so you should be fine going a little wider as well.

 

If you buy from americanmuscle.com or latemodelrestoration.com they give you the exact width, offset, and tire package you need, all you do is pick the diameter (19") and pay.

 

I would go as wide as you can afford. If you can do a square setup at 19X9.5 on all 4 corners thats what I would do. Go as wide as possible on the front. For the Stang I like 19x9.5 front and 19X10+ in the rear. Go with a 275/35/19 front and a 285/35/19 rear.

The Mustang 5.0 is a front heavy car it needs all the tire it can get on the front. If you only go with a 8.5" wide front rim you are pretty limited to a 245/40/19 front, you can get a 255 on there but it won't be optimum.

Dave

 

Agreed. The 9.5" wheel fills out the car nicely up front, and in back is alright. if you can swing a 10" rear wheel, it's even better.

 

Well I can't think of a single 9.5" wide wheel that has a matching 10" wide wheel for the Mustang. If you guys know of any, post some links.

Depending on what you do with the car, and how you want it to look, you have lots of options. Use TireRack.com as a source for tire widths and diameters, as well as the two sites mentioned in previous posts for combo's and alternate tires sizes.

You going to find you have probably just as many 20" wheel options as 19" options. The 20" wheels will look better IMO, but I personally don't want the ride to be any stiffer than the 19" combo already provides.

 

You can do Forgestar F14s but then I would go with a 19X9.5 and a 19x11. The F14s can do a 42mm offset for the 19X9.5 and a wide range for the 19X11 is avail from 23-55mm offset. Not to mention they are about 5lbs lighter per wheel than the OEM wheel. You will be out of $1700 though..

Dave

 

alright so can I just put the new 19 inch wheels on or do i have to upgrade the suspension? If I don't upgrade the suspension and just put the new wheels on will this affect anything?

 

You'll be fine.

 

As Overboost points out you should be fine as the car is offered with 19" wheels from the get go even if you don't get the Brembo package.

Dave

 

ok thanks, I'll order the 19's from americanmuscle. so in terms of weight I know the 19's will weigh more, do you think this will affect performance? like will it affect my 0-60 time, mpg and whatnot? can it improve performance like more traction? i'm worried about the weight.

 

more weight = slower car most of the time. If the tires you purchase have better traction capabilities, you may see a balance or improvement in performance.

Of course, this may be so small of a change that it would be hard to feel unless ran on the track under controlled conditions to compare each wheel setup.

 

I was going to move to a 9.5" rim up front with a 275 tire, and the tire shop guy thought that 275's were maybe too wide for the front. Not that it would rub, but it may affect steering and that the wider tires would tend to follow the road, and send that feedback to the driver.

?? True ?? Any issues with a 275 up front ? (275/45-18 or 275/40-19)

 

I have 275 up front. It likes to follow dips in the road but its not that bad. I'm keeping them.

 

Same - no issues 275/35/20 all around