not sure where to post this
whats the difference, on an 05+ mustang, between the stock factory wheels and the "bullit" wheels, other than the center cap? i like the stock style better than my 10 spoke GT aluminum wheel, any opinions? should i get the bullit wheel or the stock wheel?

 

Whe I ordered my 2005 GT,the Bullitt wheels wre the stock set.
Upgrade was the 18" polished.didn't like them,stayed with the 17
' Bullitts .

 

Hello. I'm not sure which wheels you're asking about. As jts points out, 17" bullitts are stock, but the 18" bullitts are very different from these, and they weren't available until 2006. You can see a picture of them in my avatar and if you click on my "camera" button, there's more pictures of them. Unfortunately, none of them show up-close the real difference between the two styles, which is the lip design.

The 17"s have a lip that is more "classic" in style, like the old TorqThrust D or TTIIs. The 18"s have a lip that is called (somewhere, can't remember) "European" in style, and its spokes are brought right up to the edge. The effect of this is that the 18" looks like a much larger wheel, since the spokes extend futher. Also, the spokes on the 18"s don't get pinched down to fit under the lip, so they retain the leading ridge along their spine--if you look at the 17"s, they start with a crest/ridge as they come off the hub, but then flatten at the outer edge of the wheel (the 18"s don't do this). To my eye, this makes the 17" wheel look much smaller than it is and less aggressive. Contra jts, I greatly prefer the 18" style to the 17"s, and I even prefer the Ford 18"s over similar aftermarket 18"s (TorqThrust IIs, etc.) that have the older-style lip. You get an 18" wheel that visually looks like a 19" wheel but performs like an 18" one, rather than an 18" wheel that looks like a 17" one and so forth. Of course, if you start w/a 17" one, it looks like a 16" wheel, and I just don't dig that.

I think if you look on ebay some sellers have very good images of the new Ford 18"s, and you can then compare them to the 17"s and aftermarket 18"s. Remember, if you're not asking about performance, this is all personal preference and you should feel free to side with jts, me, or neither.

Best,
-j

--I just noticed that crisc just put up a picture of an 18" bullitt with the classic-style lip--you'll see that the spokes are contained under the lip, not brought up to it. This is not the Ford 18" upgrade wheel. This is:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-...39683726QQrdZ1

Incidentally, I've only seen the Ford wheels offered in silver painted, black painted, or chrome. Mine are polished, not chromed. Don't know if that was an early 2006 option or still available.

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