More sidewall - less gap for Mustang

[Jfitz]

Looking to flush up and fill out my wheel wells. I'm trying to be a little different than most Mustang owners and avoid the standard 5 spoke or 20 inch wheels. I like sidewall.

S197 2006 Mustang GT Convertible. 5x4.5 lug pattern. Stock tire and wheel configuration is 18x8.5 with 235/40's and a 50mm offset.

I want fat rubber. I want to stay in the 17-18in wheel size. I don't want to run a staggered setup.

From what I've looked at, I have a few millimeters to play with on the front end before it starts rubbing on the struts. The back wells of the 05+ Mustangs are cavernous, so not too worried there.

17 or 18in. No more than a 40mm offset and at least 9in. wide. The wheel has to be able to support a 275 AT LEAST. Preferably more like a 285/40.

Can anyone suggest some wheel ideas that might set off a new look on my Mustang? Any tips or (math) corrections are welcome.

[h3llk1t3]

You should definitely first measure exactly how much more room you have under your fenders as far as poke and inset goes.

Performance wise, if you wanna run a 285/40 you shouldn't be using anything much narrower than a 10J wheel. Personally I'd use a 10.5J for performance purposes coupled with that tire size.

Obviously there would be a bunch of people that would disagree but let me explain.

There is very little use performance wise to put an overly wide tire on a rather narrow wheel because at some point the tire starts to slightly "bulge" around the edges (some tires more than others) and you may not even get more contact to the road than with a narrower tire that actually fits the rim. It also lets your sidewall flex more under hard cornering and not to mention you add unnecessary weight with a too big tire. Furthermore you will need a shit-ton of horsepower already to make the 285's sweat.

The only scenario it is possibly useful in is when dropping the tire pressure and you do drag races.

Beyond that it really depends on you, if you're after form or function - and which function or which form for that matter.

Best would be if you state what your primary goal is with the new setup. Spirited driving or even tracking? Drags? Or simply the looks of a square wheel/tire setup? Maybe an extremely bubbled up tire look even?

Unfortunately this can only help you getting the right wheel/tire combination - as for which wheel design itself I fear I can't help you with, sorry!

[Jfitz]

I personally like the ride and look of a squared wheel tire setup. Extra rubber will offset the stiffer springs of lowering. I'm not worried about extra weight or cornering sacrifices as I do not track the car. Spirited highway driving is the most I'll likely do.

Any tips on measuring wheel wells?

[h3llk1t3]

As for measuring I'd just simply go with a ruler and see how much more room there is on the inside towards the strut and on the outside towards the fender.

Now there is a few things you want to consider:

On the inside when you find there is much more room left and you want to go for a wider wheel, you have to factor in what kind of suspension your car is using. MacPherson struts for example are known to cause camber when compressed.
So if you go balls to the wall with wheel width, which is still clearing your struts while standing still, they may very well be touching when actually driving. So for cases like these you will always have to leave some room.
Also note that many cars have different types of front and rear suspensions. There are many cars that use double wishbone up front and macpherson in the back. Be sure to check both.

On the outside, in order get the really flush look your fenders will require rolling.

The 285/40 would probably be most square looking on a 10.5J wheel, however that is also highly dependent on which tire you're picking with that size. Tires this wide are known to have as much as 15mm actual section width differences even though being the same proclaimed size. If it's running narrow a 10J will suffice, if it's running really wide a 11J will be perfect. Nonetheless for the average 285/40 the 10.5J will be the best I reckon.

You also should know that you don't necessarily need to go super wide in order to get a flush, squared look - offsets can always be adjusted.

Check below:





These are for example only 255/35's on a 18x9.5J.

[Jfitz]

That is gorgeous. Thanks for the tips.

[lublub]

h3llkit3 almost makes me want to get 255/35's. I don't have the haunch an R34 has, but a man-boy can dream...

[h3llk1t3]

Should probably mention that the tires used in the example pics are Toyo R888 which are notoriously square shaped to begin with. Not many tires will look exactly like that.