Deep Dish Wheels and Tire Size...

[TimGossett]

I've looked through the other tire threads. I haven't seen much info on running the dished wheels and tire sizes. Anyone thats running the deep dish wheels please let me know what we can get away with on the 99-04 bodystyle cars. I would prefer to stay in the 17in wheel range if possible. Any info would be helpfull. :thumbsup:

[blk04cobra1]

I've looked through the other tire threads. I haven't seen much info on running the dished wheels and tire sizes. Anyone thats running the deep dish wheels please let me know what we can get away with on the 99-04 bodystyle cars. I would prefer to stay in the 17in wheel range if possible. Any info would be helpfull. :thumbsup:
Ive got 18x11 on the rear of mine...most are going 17x10.5, you just have to shave down the IRS bolt :thumbsup:

[TimGossett]

ok, if I went will an 18 could I avoid having to trim back that irs bolt?

I would prefer not to have to grind down, roll any fenders, or any other major body mods. I'm looking for bolt on and forget about it. just wanting the most traction possible. I had to roll the fender lip on the rear and add more steering stops to the rack on my 93 coupe just to run the 96 cobra rims on it. I just hated it cause it still rubbed, and I couldnt turn the car as tight as I wanted without spinning the rear to bring it around. I want to avoid that with this car.

[ausie]

18x10 in a cast wheel would be the way to go for the rear fitment. Considering most street tires come in a maximum with 295/35-18, the 10 inch wheel will be good and no need to grind down any bolts or use spacers. In the 17 inch variety, the widest (true to size) tire is 275/40-17 up to 285/40-17 (max) unless you move into a drag radial. I still have the 18x10r and 18x8.5f BBS wheels that I bought for my 01 Cobra (8.5 was the maximum recommended width for the front) which works just fine for the 04 Cobra. I have 285/35's mounted on the 18x10's and no clearance issues and can easily move up to the 295's. The 17x10.5 wheels were intended for the non IRS mustangs since they have a slightly different offset than the 18x10's.

[TimGossett]

Nice, those look great. While I would prefer to stay in the 17 dia. I'm not against the idea of going up in size. Your information has been great, on the fronts what becomes the clearance issue that you cant go with a 9 inch rim like the factory rims?

[psycho43142]

You could always go with custom wheels like Forgeline or Fikse that make the wheels for your individual car to clear brakes and backspacing to fit he tire under the car. I have a set of Forgelines on my '97 Cobra 18x8.5 up front and 18x10 in the rear with 245/40's up front and 295/35's on the rear and fit nicely.

Chris

[ausie]

Here is what the 01 looked like with the same wheels. Note the stock stance but most importantly there was not much wheel in the front sticking out beyond the fender flare. When I traded in the 01 for the 04, I had the wheels swapped. The 5 spoke 17x9's did fit on the 01 but the front wheels really stuck out from the fender. Since I did not have the factory wheels for my 04, later on I opted to get some ford 10th anniv wheels. the 17x9's do stick out a bit on the 04 but not quite as far as they did when I saw them mounted on the 01. If the car was lowered I could see a problem with the fender and tire up front since the 17x9 wheel extended almost an inch beyond the fender flare. I think that the 03/04's are slightly wider in the body panels when comparing the earlier model years. Where as the 18x8.5's fit just right for the front fitment. As far as performance, there does not seem to be a noticable difference. It all depends on tires. I recently mounted BFG g-force kdw's 275/40-17 on the 10th anniv. wheels which ride as comfortably as the Toyo T1-R's that I have mounted on the 18's. Probably due to the softer sidewalls of the tires.

[TimGossett]

Wow those look great on the 01. Really good information. I can't thank you guys enough. This is the kind of info I was looking for. Now I just have to decide on a wheel I like and what tires I want to run. Never really easy to choose is it... :D


Again everyone thanks for the help, this put me on the right path now. The pictures are always a great help thanks for posting them.

Tim.

[ausie]

Tim,
The important issue to consider is the offset or backspacing of the wheel. I got lucky with the BBS wheels since both front and rear had the same backspacing as the factory 17x8 wheels as well as a bit more clearance for the brake calipers. Most wheels specify an offset which is how much distance the mounting surface of the hub is from the center line of the wheel. Since you are after a deep dish fitment, that is much easier to find wider wheels that will either maintain the same backspacing, or have a bit less which will pull the wheel out a bit from the axle. Below is a link that has deep dish wheels other than ford copies. I have not done any business with cruzinconcepts so I cannot recommend them. Other sources would be AFS, or mustangtuning. Before you decide to purchase any wide width wheels it would be best to make a phone call or send an email so that you get the right fitment. View it for enjoyment. Cast wheels are a one size fits most type deal, some 3 piece wheels can be custom made for your specific vehicle with a much higher cost. It all depends on how much money you want to spend.

http://cruizinconceptswholesale.com/categories.asp?cat=16