The Alien

Hello AM folks, Hi Shane.

First of all my apologies if I opened a thread only for that; I'm sure there is plenty of other similar requests but when I did search it was like browsing the whole forum for how many there were...

So, in a close future (I need to wait to mount some engine parts I already ordered from you ) I have to change tires to my 2005 GT 'vert with stock 17" and I was planning to have bigger shoes/wheels

I really like the GT500 replica but I don't know what to choose between 18 and 19"

I know that bigger is better (except for headache and kidney stones) but I didn't find a good picture to see the difference.

On your website I saw the Customer pictures to see in real the effect but some of those are confusing; it seems someone posted a 19" on the 18" section (I saw the same pictures on forum with the tag 19") and instead of helping me it confused me more (for sure is not your fault, it's me that I'm weird)

So my considerations are:

18"
I see the 18" and it seems a good size for my ride, and if I'm right, it was the same size for the Shelby 2009.
but some picture with the 18" has "chubby" tires so I was wondering what could be the real effect with the 255/45/18 you are proposing on the kit

19"
I like the 19" look but I'm not sure if on my car it will be "too much" especially because I'm considering to lower it a little bit, 1.3"F/1.6"R
but at the same time, maybe I'm wrong, comparing the tires, 255/45/18 and 245/45/19, same model obviously, they don't have a huge price difference, so, putting a 18" to have a maintenance money save it could be useless.

I see a lot of pictures of coupe but I don't know why, the convertible has a different impact on the wheels decision.

do you have any suggestion about the 18 / 19, considering the car proportion and the tire cost difference? (unfortunately I commute a lot)

thank you in advance guys for your help

DLEN

xtn

Uggs would be great new shoes

AMWill

DLEN,

I don't really think you can go wrong with an 18" or 19" wheel on an 05-09 S197 Mustang. They both fill up the wheel well perfectly IMO, it just depends on the look you're going for. Since you're not looking for a "chubby" tire and still at stock ride height, then I think a 19" wheel would suit you best.

Were you looking at the 2010 or the 2013 GT500 wheels? I'll post up some good reference pictures with the set you're looking for, once I know what style you're interested in.

Now, there are still benefits to using an 18" wheel over a 19", too. You'll see a VERY slightly better ride quality with the 18" wheel over rough roads. Also, the 18's look much better under lowered Mustangs than stock ride height Mustangs. Not to say the 19's don't... again, looks are all opinion.

Hopefully this helps your decision! Plus, once I know exactly which wheel and finish you were looking at, I'll be able to post up some pics for you to reference. Let me know if there's anything else I can assist you with, too!

Shane

The Alien

Thank you Shane for the reply,

yep my apologies, I forgot to tell you the model year, I like the 2010 five spokes:
http://www.americanmuscle.com/machin...eels-0511.html

Reading your suggestions, I think the 18" is more suitable because I'm planning to lower it a little bit. the 17" I have is something like they swapped from Prius, is really out of proportion with the car...

anyway, I'll wait for the pictures. Thank you again for your help.

PS: I take the chance to ask you another info:

I was reading the review about the lowering springs, almost on all models, they needed to buy also the camber adjustment bolt. Is it really "mandatory" even with springs with 1.3/1.6"?

thx

Maurizio

cariacou

I'd say 19 is ideal for our car, but 18 looks really good too.
17 is too small, 20 only looks good with tall & super wide tires

depending on your car color, you should consider black or charcoal rims, they look really nice.

make sure to get 27" diameter tires.

The Alien

Agree!

the car is White. I'm not very convinced with the black rims, they loose the design look.

I have black stripes so they could match but I think it will be "too much"
also because I'm planning to change the stripes in the future, maybe in matte white with writing in "phantom" color. So I will leave less black and Machined or charcoal should be a nice choice.

GT500 2010 are not charcoal but the 19" boss Laguna Seca style they do...

aaquib1992

You could go black/charcoal with some type of polished/chrome lip to keep the design a little visible.

They would match your stripes too.



Edit: Whoops just read you were thinking about removing the stripes. Lol my bad, in that case you can't go wrong with some machined GT500 replicas IMO.

The Alien

yep, I like the carbon look stripes but I see too much black on it, especially on the rear that I made black the decklid too.

I want to leave carbon stripes but in less surface than now. I'm still studying a couple of ideas on it

yep, it's a good suggestion. I was thinking on that too but I didn't find yet the rim I like...

AMWill

Maurizio,

I agree the 17's are just way too small for S197 Mustangs. The 18's will really change the appearance compared to the stockers.

I added two photos below of an 18" 2010 GT500 wheel on a 05-09 Mustang. They were pulled right from our customer submitted photos, but I can confirm the wheels are definitely 18's!

Also, when lowering your 05-10 Mustang 1.3/1.6" you usually can get away with the stock camber adjustments. However, I would pick up camber bolts to make the camber adjustment even better. So, I wouldn't say it's mandatory..

Shane

The Alien

Thank you Shane for the pictures. I can't tell you which size is better but definitely the 18" is a nice look and it has a good proportion with the car body.

I think I will take the 18x9 for all four wheels, I like the staggered style but because of my commuting I need something I can rotate easily (with the staggered I can only swap tires, non asymmetric, removing them from the rim and keep them anyway on the same axle... to much hassle and less result)