stangprincess

Ok, so I'm being a true girl here. I dont understand this whole wheel sizing stuff. I have an 05 V6 and I'm looking to put a set of 17" bullitts on it. At any rate, I found a set online, that are 17x8 (the same size as the stock GT wheels) and then it said "5x114.3 30 offset" ... what does all that mean ?! Help a princess in need oh, and anyone selling their stock GT wheels/tires????

sicride

5x114.3 is the bolt pattern dork :-p thats the one question I could have answered but you didn't ask me haha.

Offset is what I'm curious about so maybe someone can help me here. I realize that offset is the distance from the middle of the wheel (width wise) to the hub area.. Is this toward the inside of the wheel it is offset 30mm or is this toward the outside of the rim? This always confuses me and I guess to others it's self explanitory cause nobodys ever made it clear.. I've seen + and - offsets so which is which? If you wanted to make the wheels come out further (without spacers) would you decrease this offset? say 25mm would bring the edge of the wheel further out toward the fender? Thanks..

MustangBuddha

Haha!! Yup - 5x114.3 = 5 lugs on a 114.3 mm circle (4.5 inches). The positive offset indicates that the mounting flange is 30mm toward the outside of the wheel from centerline (which moves the hoop toward the car), negative offset, by deduction, indicates that the flange is moved inboard (moving the hoop away from the car).

StangPrincess, stock GT wheels have a 45mm offset. The wheels that you mentioned will ride 3.6mm further inboard than your stock V6 wheels. But, since they are wider than your wheels, though, they will also sit 21.7 mm further out than yours (almost a full inch). Just keep that in mind.

FYI: A stock GT wheel rides roughly 0.75" closer to the suspension and 0.25" further out than the stock V6 wheels. That's with the 45mm offset.

Hope that helps...

stangprincess

That helps, thanks... one more question I've come up with as I price these wheels on various websites whats a 5.295" backspacing mean?

Sorry [sm=dontgetit.gif]

MustangBuddha

Backspacing is similar to offset, but it uses the inboard rim as the reference point rather than the centerline. The figure you mentioned indicates that the mounting flange is 5.295 inches from the inboard rim of the wheel. You can use this to calculate the offset as: backspacing - (width/2). For an 8" wheel with 5.295" of backspacing, that's 1.295 inches, or basically 33mm. (Stock V6 offset is 39mm).

Ain't this fun?

ravenblack67

You might check Ebay. I lot of GT owners are selling wheels and tires as soon as they buy the car. GT wheels should fit with no problem. Funny, all of the magazines were fond of the V6 Premium wheels on the GT. I'm keeping my car stock. All my money goes into my '67.

hawgman

yup, they are all over fleabay. In fact, I just sold my bright machined wheels over the weekend on there.

Lizardking

To bad Ford changed the offset for 05. There are lots of 01-04 17in wheels on e-bay. Im not fond of wheels that hang out any farther than necessary, they end up peeling paint off the body. Ive got the Deluxe 16in wheels. Maybe I will find a set of chrome 16in wheels to replace them. Some American Eagles or Cragers. I just hate tossing new 16in tires. I could use the tires on the wifes Taurus, but it has about 2 years before the current ones will be ready to go.

Stangdewd

I'll be selling my wheels pretty soon. Polished 17" off my vert. See pic Make an offer??

stangprincess

Sorry I'm lookin for the bullitts. The non-upgraded wheel. Good luck selling yours!