Skrappy

I just picked up a 2006 GT 5 spd, Vista Blue, with the 18" polished aluminum wheels. And I must say I am happy with what I have!

When I picked up my new ride, the guy at the dealership told me that when you order the Mustnag with the 18" polished wheels that Ford installs a wider rear axle. Have any of you heard this before? I am usually very sceptical, but this guy is a serious enthusiast that owns several mustangs himself that are thouroghly modified...

What have you guys heard?

Thanks,

Skrappy

Skrappy

Supposedly the shallow offset of the wheels requires a wider axle? Still sounds like a lot of work for such a simple thing?

Sk

ratzila

It sounds like he's b.s . you. They probably just use a different offset wheel to make it look wider. There is no way that Ford uses a wider axle on cars with the 18" wheels. That is just a salesman that dosen't know s**t about the product he sales.

jbailer

I seriously doubt they put a wider axle on it for a 1" taller wheel. Think about that a moment. That means carrying more parts in inventory (costs them more), the longer axle if the same diameter would be weaker and all for something that could be fixed with propper offset on the wheels. Plus, they do charge crazy money for wheel upgrades but then it would have to be even more rediculous. -Joe

Professor Wizard

Nothing in the spec sheets!

QuickShortBus

Looking at the '06 FRPP catalog, the factory 18x8.5" and 17x8" wheels have the same backspacing, making the 18's sit 1/2" further out.

fairlane292

Exactly, any Ford employee who thinks their company could even afford to have a different rearend for an 18" rim should be fired for outright stupidity. They're closing plants, their stock is an embarrasment, but they could supply a different rearend for no reason. Please....

...I'm sorry... just gets me when salesmen say this kinda thing; and when they 'make up stuff' it really gets me mad. Just think of all the unknowing folks they bull__.

ok, I feel better now.. (lol)

Skrappy

Obviously this fool had nothing to do with me purchasing my GT (since I have owned a 1st gen lightning and 2 SVT coutours), but I thought it might be worth asking.

He might have heard about the wider rear track that "Short Bus" was talking about and confused himself enough to say a wider rear axle. That is pretty stupid, big difference there.

Thanks for looking into this for me.

Skrappy

Rdub76

The suspension is setup different for the 18's supposedly

Philostang

Haven't heard anything about a difference in suspension for the 18"s.

One thing I know--FRPP's website and catalogs can not be trusted when it comes to specs (ex. they used to list the big blocks as the same weight as the short blocks). The 18x8.5" rims do not have the same offset as the 17x8" rims--these numbers are cast in the back of the wheels, the 18"s come with 50mm offset, while the 17"s come with 45mm offset.

That's less than a quarter inch difference. So, I agree with the others, there's no way that Ford would put a different axle on for this. Some salesman are just bs-ers.

Best,
-j

p.s. --wait, what am I an idiot? [:@] +50mm brings the wheel IN an extra 1/4" over +45mm offset. But the rim is 1/2" wider, so (divide by 2 to get the increase OUT on each side--a 1/4" outward increase) it effectively cancels out any difference in placement between the OEM 17" and 18" rims. There's definitely NO way Ford would put a different axle on these cars simply because of wheel diameter.