Would a GT500 front end conversion look weird without the rims to match?
 

Hey y'all,

I'm doing the GT500 front end conversion, but am on the fence as to whether or not to get the GT500 rims to match as well. I currently have the stock 17" Machined Aluminum rims on my GT.

What do y'all think? Do you think a mustang would look weird with the GT500 front end but without the GT500 5 spoke rims?

Looks like it'll cost me about $1150 from ebay, and that's the cheapest I can find for rims/tires combo.

Also, if it matters, I will not be badging cobras on my stang, but will have the running pony logos there instead.

Thanks for your input y'all!

all kinds of rims will look good with the gt500 front, just pick whichever ones YOU like the best. the stock 17s will look kinda small and plain with the gt500 body parts though IMO

dont worry about that dude, there are plenty of wheels that will look good and work with a GT500, so no worries dude

I think the stock 17's are to timid for the standard GT front end and would look really off on the GT500 front. I dont think the stock 18's even look aggressive enough for that front end. I would definitely upgrade the rims and at 1k for the GT500 rims and tires, its a pretty good deal. And I wouldnt stress about the whole badging thing either. I think that whole issue died down a while ago. Put whatever you like, or dont. But dont feel like you have to explain your actions to ANYBODY here.

buyfordracing.com has the gt500 rims and tires for 999.00 and 150.00 for shipping. i dont know if your ebay order includes shipping

http://buyfordracing.com/shop/produc...s_id=667cPath=

+1 Totally agree

give me sec and i will find a pic of the conversion with my stock rims and no badges

here is what it looks like with my stock 17" bullits, minus the handsome dude!

http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/p...d55/shelly.jpg

with rims and badges

http://i393.photobucket.com/albums/p...CF0271-1-1.jpg

Sexy...and the car dont look bad either...LOL just meesing wwith ya bro!
dont look too out of place, but looks much better with wheels.

Sexy...and the car dont look bad either...LOL just messing with ya bro!
dont look too out of place, but looks much better with wheels.

here's another pic of the 500 front end with factory 17s for you

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...h_DSCN1248.jpg

i would do it and just suck it up for a while til you can get some new wheels. who cares what other people think, just tell them to come back in a month or so...:D

I would go wheels first, and then whatever else. That way wheels are there and THEN you add to that!

I agree with limitedex, there are a lot of new take off GT 500 wheel/tire combos for sale on ebay for about the price of tires alone. There is no better deal around so I would not wait on that IF you like the gt 500 wheels. I have them but keep looking at the silver razors in 20" or the same wheels as 06elnr also Shelby KR's I think. But wheel and tire combos like these are about $2000 and if they are heavier than the 18s are going to be slower.

So I'm leaning more towards getting the GT500 rim/tire combo at this point. I have one question for those of y'all that dd it though:

What about your spare tire?

I'm assuming that my normal one, which would have gone on 17" rims won't fit anymore. And since the wheels are different sizes in the front and back, I can't simply get an extra tire, right? Or can I?

How'd y'all tackle this problem?

The GT500 wheel and tire combo is going to be almost the exact same size as your current wheel and tire setup. So you will still be able to use your spare tire.

Use this if you want to check the size difference:
http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

I'll give you my complete front end for the gt500 one, that way you don't have to worry about getting new wheels :D

haha. That does NOT solve the problem! :P

I have the GT500 wheels and tires and thought about this also. As said above they're still roughly the same ratio. But to be safe, if you happen to have a flat rear tire you can swap a good front tire to the back and put the spare up front. That way the two rear tires are the same, which is important since they are the ones actually spinning. ;)

I saw a silver stang like mine with a gt500 front, stock rims and stock rear end. looked weird as hell to me.

The different widths between the front and rear tires wouldn't affect things too much? (40 vs 45)

Sry to get off-topic
Man, I gotta give you major props on your car, it looks simply amazing! SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE A REPLICA OR LOWER THE PRICE FOR THE 20" SUPER SNAKE ALCOA'S!!! Too me, they are the best looking rims for a S197, bar far....But I just can't shake it @ $500 a pop :( Either way, I love your car bro, great job.

**Back on topic, I was wondering the exact same thing last night....If it would look goofy with the GT500 front end on with everything else stock....I came to the conclusion, that once I finally make up my mind on what setup I want to go with; it will be wheels first(they will look good no matter what)....then the 500 front......But what about lowering, rear end, stripes, etc.....oh man...

JMO, but one of the big things I would recommend in conjuction with the GT500 front end is not only lowering the car but replacing the stock GT rear wing....it really throws everything off. Might be just me, but I think with those things done to the car, you can pull off the stock wheels.

Yeah, the gt500 conversion I saw still had the stock GT wing. Made me wanna puke.

the width of the spare or putting a front tire in the back wont affect anything in the rear as long as the height is the same...also just so you know the (40 vs 45) has nothing to do with the width of the tire for example on a 295/35/18 the 295 is the width which you take the 295/25.4 to get the width in inches...then you multiply that number by .35 (the 35 in the middle is the percentage of the width for sidewall measurement)...then you multiply that number by two because there are two sidewalls to add together....then you simply add the wheel size to that number and you have exactly how wide your tire is and how tall...with this tire:

295 / 25.4 = 11.614173 in. wide

11.614173 x 0.35 = 4.064961 x 2 = 8.129922 in. of sidewall

8.129922 + 18 = 26.12992 in tall

I got pwnted. D'oh. :D

Thanks for the info.

LoL no problem man!! I used to think the same as you that the numbers in the middle somehow had to do with the width until I learned of this formula...definately makes looking for tire sizes a lot easier when your trying to figure out what would work best to keep the height you are wanting