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I have been following a thread on another forum that many of you have possibly seen.

The owner of an 07 GT vert with lowed suspension and 20" rims / low profile tires lost control of his vehicle when shifting into 2nd gear under load on a straightaway. The rear end swung 90 degrees one way and then the other before a rear wheel of thevehicle slammed into a curb with enough force to snap the rear axle, causing the rear wheel to fall right off the car. The vehicle had a CAI, but was not under forced induction.All components including the vehicle were either near-new or brand new. Long story short - the driver simply hit 2nd hard and the [brand new] 20" rims / tires on the vehicle could not hold pavement.

After reading all of the banter, I thought there was a real lesson here tobe learned [certainly by myself]. And that is to avoid playing street tag with a bling vehicle like this at all costs. Had this incident not happened, and the driver otherwisebaited into a show of manhood on a city street, the result could have been catastrophic. It would be the same as racing a hand gernade.

I am interested in others' opinions here. It's obvious that haphazard and/or incomplete mod's distort the inherent balance of performance and safety within a vehicle. But, I had no idea that 20" rims / tires on a vehicle are as worthless as they appear. The 20" bling vehicle appears to be about as roadworthy as a low-rider?

RUFDRAFT

All I'm going to say is I'm changing from 19's to 18's.

Nuff said!

metalmat

My mustang came with 20" rims. I dont really like them, especially since they are chrome. However, they are worth alot so I did not complain.

Shaguarama

I really don't think this accident had anything to do with 20" wheels. If anything it would have to do with the weather and type of tire being used. Also if the car swung 90 degrees one way then the other way my guess is that the driver overcorrected. Plus, my guess is that traction control was off as well. I did the same thing one time on a deserted road and learned the hard way that if you don't respect a car with this much power, it will bite you. -Andrew

SpeedRacer9220

Not to start anything, but then why does Saleen run 20" rims on there hi-po stangs? If they were not safe, wouldn't you think that they would go to something smaller? I don;t have all the info and I don;t know what thread you are referring to but there had to be some other contributing factors other than a set of 20" s. There are tons of people running that size without any problems. Maybe there was some debri on the road ? And yes, I have 20" rims and have not had any traction problems while driving. I also do not condone playing street tag as it is very unsafe, but I think the calling any mustang with 20" rims a " Bling" Stang unfounded. If so, then I would have no problem owning a Bling Saleen pushing 475 HP. JMHO on the above topic and if my opinion reads alittle rough/harsh, I apologize as that is not my intention.

skilz4u2nv

i agree the 20inch rims had nothing to do with it..
I have 20inch rims on mine too and the truth of the matter is that the diameter is the exact same as the 17" bullits... yes now my tires are lower in profile to make the diameters equalbut they are wider so more rubber is on the pavement...

GuitarGuyBMG

Yeah. I doubt the rims had much to do w/ it. I have 20 inch rims on my stang and I have never once felt out of control of the car. Sure the back end gets away from me, but only when I want it too. I would think it would have more to do with the tires then the rims in this case. I have Nitto 555's on mine and the back tires are very wide.

Sonic Boom NH

I agree with those that state 20" rims had "nothing" to do with it. Without making any changes to the motor the bigger the rim the more power and performance you LOSE. Taller tires, heavier rims will take horsepower away. You put 20" rims on any vehicle, again with no other changes, and you will have slower quarter mile times and harder time even smoking the tires...

RUFDRAFT

Check out the aspect ratios on the NASCAR cars.

Or - road racers.

It's not simply a matter of tire width.

Look at John Force's tires.

S281 E

I have 20's on my Saleen Extreme and have not had any traction problems.